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Steve and Richard, Can you give us any clues as to how to identify which Sony reissues have been outstandingly remastered and which have not? Hunter Kevil On Fri, Jun 1, 2012 at 3:09 PM, [Richard A Kaplan] <[log in to unmask]>wrote: > Sony's release of Bernstein's Mahler cycle last year in new masterings from > session tapes was revelatory; it shows (a) what they're capable of when > they're willing to use the resources, and (b) how inadequate the huge > bulk of > their CD reissues have (has?) been. I'm with Steve: More! > > Rich Kaplan > > > In a message dated 6/1/2012 3:05:07 P.M. Central Daylight Time, > [log in to unmask] writes: > > I recently heard the last 2 movements of the Beethoven 3d Piano Concero > on > the radio and was amazed. I had no idea who was before the public at > present who played the piece this well. What particularly grabbed me was > how > rich the piano tone was, how clear the various piiano voices and > orchestral > parts were and how well the whole thing sounded together. > > Imagine my surprise. It was Leon Fleisher, George Szell and the Cleveland > Orchestra, made in 1959. > > After a bit of investigation, I learned it was a new, 2012 24 bit ransfer > from Sony. I orderd the box of the 5 Beethoven and two Brahms Concerti > that > night. When it arrived, it also proved to contain the Brahms Handel > Variations, the op. 39 Waltzes and Mozarrt's 25th Concerto. > > I'm playing the 3d now through my office listening set-up. It's far more > than the radio disclosed. > > Though I've yet to see a review that addresses it, this is clearly (!) a > huge improvement over all previous releases in any format. > > I am assuming they've used Capstan as there is no wow or flutter- > something > to which my my ear is particulary sensitive. The crispness of the sound > indicates corrections to problems caused by slight misphasings, firmly and > distinctly positioning the instruments within the orchestra. A slight cut > made here at about 2700 cycles allows the piano to sound completely > equalized throughout its range with no notes suddenly sticking out. The > occassional buzzy noise I used to think were defects in the recording are > now revealed as piano problems. I can't hear any tape hiss at all. The > only > negative is that the time between movements is often too short and > unrelated > to the music's pulse. > > Oh, yes. Setting aside a few missed notes in a few of the more elaboate > passages, the 3d is a terrific performance. They are well enough known by > now not to require a review. > > The digital millenium has arrived. More! More! > > Steve Smolian >