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Praga Digitals

1K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  NLAdriaan 
#1 ·
Praga Digitals is generally a highly praised recording company, in particular of chamber music. I notice many classic recordings of the mainstream orchestral repertoire (Furtwangler, Susskind, Sejna, Ancerl etc) emerging in lovely packaging. Old recordings labeled ‘Genuine Stereo Lab’, bringing up hope of some new innovation in remastering. What is your experience of these recordings? Worth collecting?
 
#3 ·
I just purchased a Beethoven (IV) CD by Richter and a new recording of Bartok string quartets by Parkanyi Quartet, both on Praga Digital and at a low price.

The Richter recording is really nice (of course, it is Richter), but it contains a sandwich of live recordings, starting with 1976, then 1959 and closing with 1960. You can't read the dates on the outside of the sealed jewel case, which I find not very honest. The problem with Richter live recordings is that there are so many, they're being reissued all the time in different packages at high prices and quality of playing will be less different but sonics differ huge. In this case, I am not impressed by this CD issue, it is old wine in a new shiny case at a artificial high price. The outside of the box at least suggests that these are relative fresh recordings. To many of us here 1959 is still fresh:), but I don't like this approach and certainly not at such prices. The recordings do not sound miraculously recovered, the '59 recordings (50% of the CD) are sonically not at all impressive. In today's market you are supposed to offer boxes with many discs for a low price, this is the opposite approach. I think some people make nice profits out of recycling Richter recordings in limited re-issues and I don't think the heirs of the master are seeing anything of it.

Now the Parkanyi quartet, it is a great new recording (2008) and absolutely nothing wrong with it, apart from the issue on 3 separate CD's instead of a 2CD box (like all the peers).

As a conclusion, I think Praga wants to cash on its catalogue (nothing wrong with it), but the way they do it, does not work in my opinion. In today's shrunk CD market (only very few are still buying CD's at all), I can't recommend collecting their overpriced CD's.

If you want to collect CD's, I would recommend to look at Warner classics. They have a hugue catalogue (EMI, Virgin CLassics, Teldec, Erato) and they offer great cd boxes at rockbottom prices. Take a look at Prestoclassical, they currently offer Warner CD boxes at huge discounts.
 
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