New Karajan conducts Strauss Tone Poems DVD

[MISHUGINA]

Hi I just bought this 3-dvd set



The first thing that was disappointing was the visual. I mean, wtf the quality in Alpine Symphony and Zarathrustra was pale, washed out VHS quality which was a setback with previous release on "His Home Video Legacy" - the visuals on that release was far sharper and looked more like it was remastered for DVD. It is good to watch Metamorphosen, Death and Transfiguration which I do not think was out on dvd.

The cover remarked also that the audio was re-recorded at the original acoustic venue - Musikverein and Philharmonie Berlin. I mean, what is the point of doing that? No wonder the sound resonance felt a little too excessive but not disturbing. Anybody watched it?

[M forever]

The "point" of rerecording the audio in the original venues is to allegedly generate a surround mix which allegedly reflects the acoustics of those venues. But I think that's a very vague concept, more a marketing gag than anything which makes real sense. Playing back a recording on the stage is very different from having an orchestra on the stage. These videos have been around on Sony for a long time, BTW. I have the original Sony releases in which the image quality was variable since the Alpensinfonie and Zarathustra were taken from TV broadcasts. The image quality is OK for that source. Dunno if they messed around with it for this new release.

[imperfection]

The "point" of rerecording the audio in the original venues is to allegedly generate a surround mix which allegedly reflects the acoustics of those venues. But I think that's a very vague concept, more a marketing gag than anything which makes real sense. Playing back a recording on the stage is very different from having an orchestra on the stage. These videos have been around on Sony for a long time, BTW. I have the original Sony releases in which the image quality was variable since the Alpensinfonie and Zarathustra were taken from TV broadcasts. The image quality is OK for that source. Dunno if they messed around with it for this new release.

M, have you heard Zarathustra on DG's Karajan Gold series? The one recorded in the 80's. I think that recording's dynamic range is quite impressive, but the sound is very harsh.

[M forever]

Indeed it is, like pretty much everything DG recorded in Berlin in that period. Unfortunately, since that doesn't do the sound quality the orchestra had under Karajan justice at all. Although it is not quite as nasty as the Alpensinfonie CD which is nearly unlistenable. Still, I prefer to listen to Karajan's earlier DG recording of Zarathustra or watch the video. The latter also for nostalgic reasons, as I was in the actual concert. You will notice that at the climax of the introduction, the image starts shaking as if the ground was vibrating. I don't know why that is (TV cameras were rather heavy back then), but that was the subjective feeling one had, it was so immensely loud and massive. Maybe they added that as a visual effect. 

[scarpia]

It is good to watch Metamorphosen, Death and Transfiguration which I do not think was out on dvd.

The original release is still available.