Topic: Looking for that OOP classic? Try here!

[Bogey]

At any rate, liner notes are not a big deal (at least not to me).

I used to be concerned, but found I fretted about something I rarely read. (see Allan for details)

I like having having a nicely labeled CD with the tray papers.  Otherwise, if I'm downloading and burning myself, the disc will probably just get lost, and the files will probably get destroyed in a disk crash.

Same here.

[adamdavid80]

Are you interested in the liner notes or the music?

Well, for me, I'm interested in the total overall package.  Obviously, the liner notes aren't a deal breaker if they're not included - I bought the dang CD, didn't I? - but I appreciate it when they're available.  And JCampbell is right, Hyperion and Helios tend to have very well-crafted overall packages. 

Incidentally, I once read in Consumer Reports that the best way to buy a barbeque was to examine the owners manual.  If it is clearly written, easily understood by...ahem...Joe the Plumber...then you can bank that it's a very well made piece of equipment.  The analogy is obvious...Hyperion and Helios tend to have great sound quality, top-notch performances, great cover art, solid notes, you KNOW it's going to be money well-spent.  Likewise, if I see that there is an obvious "flaw" in the packaging, I'm going to be a little skeptical about the quality of the product before I've even unsealed the wrap.


(BTW, on the flip side, supposedly the method some food critics employ to seek out the best sushi restaurants is to see how many misspellings the menu has.  THE MORE, THE BETTER: it's an indication that you're in for an authentic japaese immigrants approach to the preparation.)

Anyhoo, liner notes...

[Jay F]

I like having having a nicely labeled CD with the tray papers.

So do I. I participate in another music forum in which the majority of members post rhapsodic about "the smell, the feel, the look" of vinyl. Much is made of vinyl's superior artwork and packaging. I, however, have always preferred CDs and their packaging from a collecting standpoint. I like the way the cases open up, I like plucking the little silver discs off the spokes, I like placing them in the drawer and pushing "Play," and I like sitting down, listening to the first track while I look at the booklet.

I like the way the CDs look on my shelves. I even have a ruler I use to align the cases. As collectibles go, CDs wipe the floor with LPs, IMO.

Otherwise, if I'm downloading and burning myself, the disc will probably just get lost, and the files will probably get destroyed in a disk crash.

I have a bunch of discs I've burned, or ripped, or whatever it's called, but, yes, they get lost, and I don't feel like wasting the time or money to buy one of those books to store them in.

Also, unless something's otherwise impossible to listen to (the original SMILE, by the Beach Boys; an OOP version of the Left Banke's only album), I don't feel like playing CD-Rs. Finally, yes, if what happened to my old computer is any predictor, the music files on it are going to die someday, whereas my CDs  (and the few LPs I have left) have lasted for decades.

[Brian]

My favorite labels for notes + packaging are new (last year or so) CDs from BIS, harmonia mundia and Dacapo. Unfortunately, they're all really pricey labels. 

[Bogey]

My favorite labels for notes + packaging are new (last year or so) CDs from BIS, harmonia mundia and Dacapo. Unfortunately, they're all really pricey labels. 

Well, when they include a catalogue that rivals the old Sears Wishbook and a slipcase to keep it in, the cost cannot go down my friend.    Great label though.

[PerfectWagnerite]

Well, when they include a catalogue that rivals the old Sears Wishbook and a slipcase to keep it in, the cost cannot go down my friend.    Great label though.

Yes but the cd that includes the catalogue is usually $8.99 and most likely on sale for even less

[Bogey]

Yes but the cd that includes the catalogue is usually $8.99 and most likely on sale for even less

So they up the prices of their other cds to cover the cost. 

[PerfectWagnerite]

So they up the prices of their other cds to cover the cost. 

Don't know about that, but I agree that $22 for one cd is a bit on the pricey side. OTOH a major portion of Harmonia Mundi's catalogue is on budget price (the ones with while paper cases and not plastic jewelry cases) allowing you to get a lot of excellent music cheaply.

CPO also puts their catalogue with a cheap cd so the practice is not HM's alone.

[Brian]

Don't know about that, but I agree that $22 for one cd is a bit on the pricey side. OTOH a major portion of Harmonia Mundi's catalogue is on budget price (the ones with while paper cases and not plastic jewelry cases) allowing you to get a lot of excellent music cheaply.

CPO also puts their catalogue with a cheap cd so the practice is not HM's alone.

No; the paper cases from harmonia mundi are the more expensive discs.

[PerfectWagnerite]

No; the paper cases from harmonia mundi are the more expensive discs.

I have a bunch of budget HM releases like this one:



which is a paper case.

And a fullprice one like this one:




In a thin plastic double jewel case like the ones Philips DUO uses.

[Brian]

And a fullprice one like this one:



In a thin plastic double jewel case like the ones Philips DUO uses.

That's probably a few years old; their new ones are in the paper, like these excellent albums-







Frankly I think the new packaging is much classier - and, of course, it doesn't break constantly. 

[PerfectWagnerite]

Frankly I think the new packaging is much classier - and, of course, it doesn't break constantly. 

Yes, and much more environmentally friendly too. Frankly I haven't bought the newer ones...because I am not rich enough yet for $22 per cd.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

No; the paper cases from harmonia mundi are the more expensive discs.

No, no. The white paper releases are HM's budget-line reissues (like PW's Mahler image).

They've been around for ages.

Everything else on paper is fair game.

[mn dave]

I thought those little cd booklets contained short fiction. I guess I should have read one. 

[Lilas Pastia]

I dont think this is available:

 


The cover certainly makes it interesting. Anyone heard it ?

[Bogey]

I dont think this is available:

 


The cover certainly makes it interesting. Anyone heard it ?

No.  But now I am looking for it, André.  Very cool.  Actually going to a vinyl/cd show this morning and who knows.

[Drasko]

I dont think this is available:

You can get it on CD from Berkshire for $4, It's on Icone, or one used copy from amazon for $12

http://www.amazon.com/Berlioz-Symphonie-Fantastique-Yansons/dp/B00004SR2J

I haven't heard it but here is review from ARG:

Leningrad Philharmonic/Arvid Jansons

Icone 9421 (Albany) 49 minutes

No use beating around the bush: this performance is not going to challenge the supremacy of the 3 Ms--Munch, Monteux, and Martinon. Nor will it even challenge the EMI recording by the conductor's son, Mariss Jansons, which has greater polish, brilliance of orchestral tone, and more virtuosic playing from the Concertgebouw Orchestra. This interpretation is solid, businesslike, straightforward, and rather short on Gallic freshness and instrumental clarity as well as the diaphanous, Berliozian lightness in the strings that marks the most idiomatic performances.

The recorded sound--decent, ungimmicky analog stereo from a concert performance on 12 April 1971--is dry, though some artificial reverb appears to have been added in places. Tempos are brisk, and it shares some clarity of line and detail with the two Monteux recordings. Like him, Jansons builds a convincing case that this work should not be approached as an sprawling, syrupy, overwrought romantic excess of Gothic grotesquerie but as a work with many moments of affinity to Berlioz's musical idols: Gluck, Beethoven, and Weber.

In any case, despite its modest pretensions, the version at hand beats hands down the dispiriting group of four modern digital recordings I reviewed a couple of years ago (Jan/Feb 1998). Considering that three of those clunkers came from conductors of the stature of Boulez, Hirokami, and Chung, one must not go too harsh on these Russians.

The first movement suffers the most from the rather curt approach: a quick comparison to the luminous, diaphanous string textures of the Martinon (EMI) exposes the thick, starchy quality of the Russians. The conductor whips up a good deal of frenzy at the climaxes, and perhaps realizing that he's not going to get by on sensuous sound, he moves right along, giving the movement a compactness and focus that more cumulatively impressive performances (eg, Muti) do not have. Still, this is the weakest movement.

The Ball, II, moves along at a reasonable, though unhurried clip (no comets, alas). Once again, a comparison with Munch and Martinon shows what is missing here: lightness, transparent textures, and a swinging, lilting elegance that Jansons and his players just cannot quite manage. To make up for it, there is plenty of energy and high spirits--almost like a Mahier landler--and the idee fixe makes an arresting effect when it appears.

III comes off well; at 14:32 it is not unusually swift, but Jansons keeps it flowing and actually does better than some conductors who confuse profundity with dragging out and distending music to the point that it ceases making musical and emotional sense (eg, Ostrowsky and Hirokami). In IV and V, the least subtle of the symphony's five movements, conductor and orchestra are on solid ground, and they slam out these pot-boilers lustily. The March to the Scaffold goes along at a good clip, with plenty of mock-tragic gravitas, and there is plenty of wackiness in V, despite the conductor's tight pace.

I suspect this release will be of interest mainly to Jansons fans and to collectors fascinated by Russian orchestral playing and interpretation in general. Despite its general lack of brilliance or flair, it is an enjoyable, rewarding performance, and will no doubt appeal to people who do not like over-the-top Berlioz.

[Lilas Pastia]

Thanks, Milos ! Nothing turned out on google. I see BRO has it either on Icone or Lenengrad Masters. Do you know if one of these labels is more reliable than the other ?

[Drasko]

I have no experience with Leningrad Masters. Never heard any of their releases.

[M forever]

I have discs from both labels, but it is hard to generalize about their quality. Especially when it comes to material from as unreliable sources as Soviet recordings. Since they are both very cheap at BRO, I would just get both and see which is one is better and see how they both are. I had put this on my amazon wishlist before because it is probably rather interesting. Searching for it on amazon, I found there is a EMI 2fer of works by Honegger and Weill conducted by his son with the OP and BP. That looks rather interesting. I will probably get that.