Joined
·
2 Posts
Pls comment on the vinyl impressions!I've just got an e-mail. and my copy arriving in two days.
Solti's Ring is being reissued yet again
41 - 60 of 117 Posts
Joined
·
1,284 Posts
Evidently the target audience is new young CD collectors with great eyesight.
On an unrelated note, does anyone ever wonder why sales of this stuff is down?
Depends what you mean by "this stuff".
1) I would expect sales of older recordings to be down because those that want them already have them in previous physical incarnations.
2) New recordings of standard rep won't sell many copies as most opera fans seem to prepare the singers in the older recordings (see point 1).
N.
Joined
·
41,382 Posts
On this moment the only thing I can do is stare at it,Pls comment on the vinyl impressions!
iI looks stunning and I have to start but I am so scared it's getting sticky fingers or some kind of silly accident . I will let you know in time.
Joined
·
41,382 Posts
I just received this, now I can spin the whole lot .Pls comment on the vinyl impressions!
Joined
·
2 Posts
I compared 2012 vs 2022 in Qobuz and I am pretty confident to the point of ordering the vinyl too (looks promising).I just received this, now I can spin the whole lot .
2022 sounds apparently louder (some people claim the same) but when you compare both during low volume passages, both sound very close, only when volume rises it is when 2022 seems louder, either by mastering compression or reaching higher dynamics. ¿?
Due to the slight brighter sound of 2022, I would say it is compression due to remastering choices reviving old tapes, however the tone seems to be (by far) more correct than 2012.
2012 edition has a common colour that affects every voice, instrument, etc. and in 2022 this is gone and tone seems truer to the nature of the instruments, maybe due to closer fidelity at 24/192 on original tapes)
I believe however this certain brightness may well be tamed in the vinyl edition, getting the best of both worlds: detail but also certain warmth.
More thoughts on this when I have the vinyl.
Also lookig forward to the comments of Rogerx!!!
Joined
·
2 Posts
I listen to the
- original LPs (I got the from ebay: original UK pressing 5 years ago at 250 pounds)
- Bluray [email protected]
- Qobuz (just Walkure and Rheingold)
Joined
·
5,580 Posts
I haven't heard this since I was a teen in Mississippi but upon all the good critical praise I decided to buy a near mint condition LP version of Solti's Gotterdammerung at a very good price, although more than any other vinyl I have been buying lately. I look forward to hearing it's supposed virtues. I wanted to get Varnay's version with Knapperbusch ( sp?) but they were over $100 and that is too rich for my blood. I got the Time Life edition which I suppose is the same as the regular initial version. I am very excited. It is one of my 2 or 3 favorite operas.
Joined
·
3,938 Posts
The Time-Life was super deluxe in the day. iIt should sound sumptuous.
Joined
·
700 Posts
Frankly this is just another money-spinning exercise by Decca. Unless you have superlative equipment (which I haven’t) or the hearing of a bat (again wanting) you are not going to tell a lot of difference apart from that which your mind tells you - that because you spent £400 it must be better!
Yes. You can get several on Idagio (both well known studio recordings and private recordings from 1950's Bayreuth to present). Spotify has even more options. Here is a sample of what is available on Idagio for Gotterdamerung.
Lots of duplication but there's a pretty good selection there.
Attachments
Joined
·
3 Posts
Greetings from a (very) new member prompted to join by this very interesting and erudite thread - thanks to all.
I only have the original 15 CD release (1984?) of the wonderful Ring recording produced by John Culshaw and his team (aided and abetted by Solti and Wagner, of course, and the magnificent musicians and singers).
I wish I had bought the Bu-ray reissue on release partly because of hoped for improved sound and placement but mainly because of the convenience of the whole shebang on a single disc!
My hi-fi is old (c1995) but decent - Quad 67/66/bi-amp 606s/Ruark speakers. My ears are also old (c1948) and not as good as they were particularly on the left channel.
I remain to be convinced that I would gain from “upgrading” at some expense but I really should spend more time listening to what I have!
Incidentally, I believe Culshaw moved Valhalla and Earth in trying to obtain the release of the Decca 1951 Bayreuth Knappertsbusch Götterdämmerung but even he was ultimately defeated by the legal bods at Decca and EMI over artists recording rights.
Best wishes for 2023 to all.
I only have the original 15 CD release (1984?) of the wonderful Ring recording produced by John Culshaw and his team (aided and abetted by Solti and Wagner, of course, and the magnificent musicians and singers).
I wish I had bought the Bu-ray reissue on release partly because of hoped for improved sound and placement but mainly because of the convenience of the whole shebang on a single disc!
My hi-fi is old (c1995) but decent - Quad 67/66/bi-amp 606s/Ruark speakers. My ears are also old (c1948) and not as good as they were particularly on the left channel.
I remain to be convinced that I would gain from “upgrading” at some expense but I really should spend more time listening to what I have!
Incidentally, I believe Culshaw moved Valhalla and Earth in trying to obtain the release of the Decca 1951 Bayreuth Knappertsbusch Götterdämmerung but even he was ultimately defeated by the legal bods at Decca and EMI over artists recording rights.
Best wishes for 2023 to all.
Joined
·
3,938 Posts
Greetings!
It’s worthwhile to get the Blu-ray Audio release, though you’ll have to play it on your Blu player and thus your TV (no picture) - the sound is spectacular, especially if you have the first CD release.
Joined
·
3 Posts
Thanks for your advice; I’m sure you are right and my Blu-ray player can be played through the hi-fi so I’m not reliant on the 10 pound/dollar/euros worth of amp/speakers normally found in a TV set. The problem is a) extremely limited avaliability and b) extortionate advertised price of Solti/Ring Blu-ray Disc!
I wonder why an upgraded Blu-ray is not included in the latest Decca offerings?
I wonder why an upgraded Blu-ray is not included in the latest Decca offerings?
Joined
·
3,938 Posts
You’re right, the prices ARE outrageous - I hadn’t checked before I wrote the above! When I bought mine it was around U.S. $60.
Joined
·
145 Posts
If people want to buy the Solti Ring in its new remastering, I can't see why they would buy the physical product when they can just download it. I looked on Qobuz and both Rheingold and Walkure can be bought in the same 24 bit/192 kHz format as the SACD for about $25 each. The downloads aren't the cheapest (the whole Ring would come to $100), but in comparison the SACDs are about $85 and $100 respectfully, which is way too steep for a single recording.
I don't do downloads. Whether I would pay about $385 for a new mastering of a Ring Cycle, probably not. (Although I would be tempted if it were the Keilberth 53 and the technology could produce a modern studio quality sound.)
N.
Joined
·
5,580 Posts
I just found out that the Solti Gotterdammerung LP Set I bought is from the estate library of Kurt Masur! I have a celebrity recording!!! I am stoked. They sent me Siegfried by mistake and it was a Time Life Issue and was the most beautiful and impeccable boxed set I had ever seen. I listened to the duet and it was astonishing!!!!! The Gotterdammerung is in the mail.
Joined
·
21,842 Posts
You're bringing back nice memories of acquiring the Solti Ring in my teens (omitting the Walkure, for which opera I preferred the Leinsdorf recording in RCA's magnificent Soria series). I have to say that life has been downhill ever since.
41 - 60 of 117 Posts
