Mozart piano sonatas

[Coopmv]

Gulda/DG sonatas
I got my CD version of the Gulda "Mozart Tape" sonatas which uses a cassette tape as music source since original master was lost. The sound is clear and detailed but it is miked closely and when the music is pushed hard at climaxes sound becomes harsh.......a valuable document to hear Gulda work his magic, but does become a bit fatiguing to listen to for exetneded periods compared to professional studio version........as CCAR correctly points out

Hmm.  This transfer of recorded music from a cassette tape to a CD for commercial release certainly sounds like a first.  If that tape was oirginally made on a Nakamichi tape deck, then the resulting sound quality may be quite acceptable after the tape noice has been removed.  The Nak decks are superb machines, though they were quite expensive in their times.  I should know since I have four of them.

[George]

Hmm.  This transfer of recorded music from a cassette tape to a CD for commercial release certainly sounds like a first.  If that tape was oirginally made on a Nakamichi tape deck, then the resulting sound quality may be quite acceptable after the tape noice has been removed.  The Nak decks are superb machines, though they were quite expensive in their times.  I should know since I have four of them.

I guess it very much depends on the microphones and recording equipment as well. I wonder if these were audience recordings, made by handheld devices? This is common for labels like Doremi, but very strange for DG.

[DarkAngel]

Hey Coop
Back in the "old days" before recordable CDs you could make some pretty decent cassette recordings of your records using metal tape cassettes and a Nakamichi deck, I had two Naks back in 1980s but not the mythical Dragon flagship deck.....for best results had to be careful not to make tape too "hot" by recording at high levels and overloading tape at climaxes (which was easy to do with wide dynamic ranges of classical music)

The cassette copy used for Gulda sonatas was never intended to be used as a master, just a cassette copy made by producer to have as reference. Since all professional studio masters were lost the cassette is all that survives and sound engineers did best they could to make it acceptable for CD release

[Coopmv]

I guess it very much depends on the microphones and recording equipment as well. I wonder if these were audience recordings, made by handheld devices? This is common for labels like Doremi, but very strange for DG.

George,

Good morning.  I thought I read somewhere that the tapes were actually made by Gulda himself, as DG was unlikely to have used a cassette deck to make the recordings.  It was his daughter or son who had offered these tapes to DG, which then decided to release the CD's.  I bought his Bach CD, But do not know if it came from the same group of tapes ...

 

[George]

George,

Good morning.  I thought I read somewhere that the tapes were actually made by Gulda himself, as DG was unlikely to have used a cassette deck to make the recordings.  It was his daughter or son who had offered these tapes to DG, which then decided to release the CD's. 

That seems much more plausible.

[Coopmv]

Hey Coop
Back in the "old days" before recordable CDs you could make some pretty decent cassette recordings of your records using metal tape cassettes and a Nakamichi deck, I had two Naks back in 1980s but not the mythical Dragon flagship deck.....for best results had to be careful not to make tape too "hot" by recording at high levels and overloading tape at climaxes (which was easy to do with wide dynamic ranges of classical music)

The cassette copy used for Gulda sonatas was never intended to be used as a master, just a sound test  device. Since all professional studio masters were lost the cassette is all that survives and sound engineers did best they could to make it acceptable for CD release

I still think the original recording effort might have been undertaken by Gulda himself, as it is quite unlikely DG would have lost its original master tapes, most likely recorded on a Studer deck.

BTW, I have a Dragon but it needs to be serviced due to its unexpected reverse during play ...

[DarkAngel]

I still think the original recording effort might have been undertaken by Gulda himself, as it is quite unlikely DG would have lost its original master tapes, most likely recorded on a Studer deck.

I use the term "lost" in a general way.....could have been destroyed in fire, stolen, damaged in storage etc
Booklet says original master tapes no longer survive and the cassette copies for producer are all that remain

[George]

I recently did a rough comparison of the first 5 sonatas from this set and the earlier one from Music and Arts. I found the Sony/Columbia one to be a bit more relaxed with much better sound. The earlier one is in mono, the later one in stereo. The Music and Arts set sounds more Schnabelian, as her teacher was Schnabel at one time. Perhaps as I listen on, I will find sonatas where the Sony is inferior, but so far that hasn't been the case for me.

I posted this in the listening thread, but thought it worthwhile to repeat here.

[prémont]

Thanks for the feedback George, which is very interesting for me, who own the Sony release and am considering how urgent the purchase of the Music and Arts release actually is.

[George]

Thanks for the feedback George, which is very interesting for me, who own the Sony release and am considering how urgent the purchase of the Music and Arts release actually is.

Your welcome. Again, it's just an initial impression of CD 1. Something else to consider is that the Music and Arts set covers repertoire not covered in the Sony set, almost a full CD's worth:

K 353, 398, 460, 396, 312, 574, 355, 540, 511

[Herman]

Hmm.  This transfer of recorded music from a cassette tape to a CD for commercial release certainly sounds like a first.  If that tape was oirginally made on a Nakamichi tape deck, then the resulting sound quality may be quite acceptable after the tape noice has been removed.  The Nak decks are superb machines, though they were quite expensive in their times.  I should know since I have four of them.

I couldn't help but LOL at this bizarre switch from Mozart to Let Me Tell You How Much Stuff I've Got.

[Coopmv]

I couldn't help but LOL at this bizarre switch from Mozart to Let Me Tell You How Much Stuff I've Got.

Lighten up.  Does every thread posted on this forum stay focused like a laser?

[prémont]

I couldn't help but LOL at this bizarre switch from Mozart to Let Me Tell You How Much Stuff I've Got.

Neither could I. 

But different areas have got different potency extenders.

[Coopmv]

Neither could I. 

But different areas have got different potency extenders.

Forgive me for digressing a little here.  This forum is pretty weak when it comes to members' knowledge of recording technologies (or tech in general) while the other forum a few of us frequent is extraordinarily strong in that respect but there are no more than about a dozen people on that forum who are really into classical music.  We live in a very imperfect world ...   

[Bulldog]

Forgive me for digressing a little here.  This forum is pretty weak when it comes to members' knowledge of recording technologies (or tech in general) while the other forum a few of us frequent is extraordinarily strong in that respect but there are no more than about a dozen people on that forum who are really into classical music.  We live in a very imperfect world ...   

Given that this is a classical music forum board, I'm not surprised that the subject of audio/visual equipment takes a backseat.  Actually, if it was front and center, I'd be out of here. 

[George]

I recently did a rough comparison of the first 5 sonatas from this set and the earlier one from Music and Arts. I found the Sony/Columbia one to be a bit more relaxed with much better sound. The earlier one is in mono, the later one in stereo. The Music and Arts set sounds more Schnabelian, as her teacher was Schnabel at one time. Perhaps as I listen on, I will find sonatas where the Sony is inferior, but so far that hasn't been the case for me.

OK, after further comparison, the Music and Arts is the clear winner for the K 280. The relaxed style doesn't work as well here, as it comes off sounding tentative and less exciting. I'll report my findings as I go, but so far it's dead even on these two sets. 

[DarkAngel]

Found another Mozart sonata CD that sounds promising by Fazil Say......order placed.
This is my first CD by Say......

Has a very vibrant and exciting style and includes the 12 variations on Ah vous dirai-je maman (twinkle twinkle little star) anyone else have this? Share some comments?



BTW also ordered the Haydn sonata CD by Fazil Say 

[The new erato]

Found another Mozart sonata CD that sounds promising by Fazil Say......order placed.
This is my first CD by Say......

Has a very vibrant and exciting style and includes the 12 variations on Ah vous dirai-je maman (twinkle twinkle little star) anyone else have this? Share some comments?



BTW also ordered the Haydn sonata CD by Fazil Say 

Your post made me remember one of the most devastating classical reviews I've seen for quite some time:


http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/reviews/fazil-say-lucerne-piano-festival-lucerne-1832997.html

[Herman]

Indeed. Fazil Say in Mozart is something I really cannot imagine. Fancy schmanzy isn't getting you anywhere in this kind of music.

[Mandryka]

Indeed. Fazil Say in Mozart is something I really cannot imagine. Fancy schmanzy isn't getting you anywhere in this kind of music.

But I can assure you that the Haydn disc is very enjoyable.  I haven't heard the Mozart -- please review it DarkAngel  as I am tempted.