Reference Recordings, USA

[MichaelRabin]

Which titles from this label should one buy? I came across Eiji Oue's Minnesota Orch's Rachmaninov Sym Dances, Vocalise and Etudes-Tableau (orch Respighi) as well as Oue & the MO's Heldenleben & Die Frau Ohne Schatten suite and bought both of them. I also picked up a 2CD set of George Chadwick's Romantic sounding orchestral music. It is also very nice.

Any others should one look out for? Thanks for your input. 

[springrite]

The two that I'd recommend:

Liszt Sonata in B minor, Mephisto Waltz, etc. (Nojima)
Ravel Gaspard de la Nuit, etc. (Nojima)

[Daverz]

The Nojima Liszt is wonderful.  I have this on one of their beautifully pressed Lps.  And Reference is going to start making Lps again!

On CD, I'd recommend the Janacek set, though I've only ever heard it in HDCD mode.  Some of the most fantastic sonics I've ever heard.

[MichaelRabin]

Thanks chaps for your picks. I like the Sinfonietta & Taras Bulba as well as the Lachian Dances CD, but the other CD is a bit of an acquired taste. I did not buy the Janacek CD as I already have Mackerras VPO, Kubelik BRSO and Ancerl CPO for the 1st 2 pieces.

Any others that I should look out for?

[bhodges]

That Oue Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances might be (IMHO) the best-recorded disc of anything I've ever heard--completely stunning, sonically.  Interpretation-wise, I still like Ashkenazy's version with the Concertgebouw better (and it's pretty amazingly recorded, too) but the Reference Recordings CD trumps it in sound.

Two others are excellent: another one with Oue conducting called Orchestral Fireworks with Ravel's Bolero, and the Bruckner Ninth with Skrowaczewski, both with Minnesota.  The Bruckner is particularly compelling if you like that piece.

And another vote for those two Nojima recordings.

--Bruce

[M forever]

That Oue Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances might be (IMHO) the best-recorded disc of anything I've ever heard--completely stunning, sonically.  Interpretation-wise, I still like Ashkenazy's version with the Concertgebouw better (and it's pretty amazingly recorded, too) but the Reference Recordings CD trumps it in sound.

Have you heard the one with Jansons and the St.Petersburg Philharmonic? If not, then you should treat yourself to that some time.

[not edward]

Have you heard the one with Jansons and the St.Petersburg Philharmonic? If not, then you should treat yourself to that some time.

That sounds interesting...how is Jansons with the symphonies? (I'm more interested in the Symphonic Dances and 3rd symphony than the rest, but if he's good with the first two, I see the 3CD set is very cheap.)

[PerfectWagnerite]

I highly recommend the Das Lied and the Bruckner 9th.

[Wanderer]

Speaking of Reference Recordings, here's what they're up to lately. 

Reference Recordings Aims At Your Hard Drive

"Reference Recordings has adopted a unique approach to computer and music server playback. Later this month, the company will begin to market what they call "HRx" discs. Incompatible with conventional optical disc players, these are data discs containing WAV files intended for playback on computer-based music servers. Each HRx is a digit-for-digit copy of an original Reference Recordings 24-bit/176.4kHz digital master".



Concerning the original topic, their Pomp & Pipes album (music for winds, percussion and organ) is quite an impressive listen; it's been a favourite for many years. If the repertoire is to one's liking, it's an easy recommendation.

[johnQpublic]

Concerning the original topic, their Pomp & Pipes album (music for winds, percussion and organ) is quite an impressive listen; it's been a favourite for many years. If the repertoire is to one's liking, it's an easy recommendation.

Here's another vote.
                               

[M forever]

That sounds interesting...how is Jansons with the symphonies? (I'm more interested in the Symphonic Dances and 3rd symphony than the rest, but if he's good with the first two, I see the 3CD set is very cheap.)

The whole set is just great. First of all, you get the St.Petersburg Philharmonic (the artists formerly known as the Leningrad Philharmonic) in excellent, very clear and well balanced sound rather than what you can hear on many technically challenged recordings from the Soviet period. They dropped the heavy brass vibrato pretty quickly around the time of the fall of the Eastern Block, but apart from that, the sound is still rather characteristic and the playing pretty badass. Although I liked the vibrato, it isn't really missing since that was a stylistical element they only started in the 40s or so.
They also recorded much of this repertoire around the same time with Temirkanov, but I generally prefer Jansons' more rhythmically alert and sonically sharply outlined performances to his older colleague's sometimes heavy-handed and lumbering direction.
Rachmaninoff's music is still seen by many as somewhat overly lush and indulgent, but that's more an effect of the sonic treatment his music was given by conductors such as Stokowski and Ormandy. Here you can hear him as an inventive and innovative Russian composer, not some kind of proto-Hollywood soundscaper.

[Iago]

Rachmaninoff's music is still seen by many as somewhat overly lush and indulgent, but that's more an effect of the sonic treatment his music was given by conductors such as Stokowski and Ormandy. Here you can hear him as an inventive and innovative Russian composer, not some kind of proto-Hollywood soundscaper.

And what may I ask is wrong with the overly lush and indulgent treatment favored by Stokowski and Ormandy?
Did you ever hear of heartfelt emotion or sheer beauty of sound?
Probably not. So I'm surely wasting my time with a member of the cognoscenti such as yourself.

[MichaelRabin]

Nothing wrong with lush & indulgent as favoured by Stoki & Ormandy. For example, Litton on his Virgin CD of Rach's Sym 2 used a slow burn, lush manner for that symphony. Ivan Fischer's Sym 2 version is an in-between of Litton against Kurt Sanderling Sym 2 (fast, no-indulgence but yet Romantic approach).

But I think Rach himself played most of his music in a less-sentimental manner (c.f. Rach PC played by himself & the PO/Ormandy - on Naxos say). Most versions of the PC (No 2 say) as very slow. Earl Wild and S Hough perhaps play the PC 2 closer to how Rach himself played it.

Either way, Rach's music can take it, I suppose. Your thoughts, please!

[PerfectWagnerite]

Rachmaninoff's music is still seen by many as somewhat overly lush and indulgent, but that's more an effect of the sonic treatment his music was given by conductors such as Stokowski and Ormandy. Here you can hear him as an inventive and innovative Russian composer, not some kind of proto-Hollywood soundscaper.

I tend to prefer the more "lush" and "indulgent" approach you described. The Jansons doesn't really do it for me. Most of the time when I am in the mood for Rachmaninoff I reach for one of these:



De Waart's approach is highly Romantic with big sweeping walls of orchestral sound. He milks every moment of these scores. The 2nd PC and the 2nd symphony are particularly fine.

[M forever]

To the three gentlemen above: since I have a far wider musical horizon than you guys, for me "not as lush" and "indulgent" doesn't automatically mean that one approach is "right" and the other is "wrong". They are just different approaches. "Lush and indulgent" as such is not necessarily worse either. I know this may be difficult to understand, but that's part of what makes comparing interpretations so interesting. There are different ways to approach the same pieces and different ways to cook the same dish, so to speak.

BTW, I agree "sheer beauty of sound" is an expressive and important factor in itself. That's why personally, I prefer the kind of approach Jansons takes. Instead of just one big, blended sound sauce, you get a much wider spectrum of sounds and colors, more nuances, more interesting details, more clearly outlined musical outlines. Rachmaninoff wasn't just a composer who came up with a lot of nice melodies and presented them in somewhat over-orchestrated compositions, like many think. He was an extremely original and innovative musician with a very wide spectrum of musical expression. Many interpreters don't do that full justice. There is nothing wrong with "sentimental, romantic". Except that Rachmaninoff's music is so much more than just that.

BTW2, who said these readings don't sound great? I didn't. The sheer quality of the orchestral sound and playing in itself makes it worth listening to these discs.

[George]

Just a bump for more recommendations for stuff on the Reference Recordings label that are great performances.

Also, if ripped, can you burn the huge HDCD files to CD-R? One CD I ripped was over 1 GB!