Maria Callas

A few weeks ago we were discussing future releases here at Pristine and noticed that our official release day, Friday, happened to fall on St. Valentine's Day.

"Why don't you do something truly romantic this year, Andrew?" I was asked.

"Good idea. But what? Where do I start?" I replied.

Naturally, this being the 21st century, I started at Google! I started typing "most romantic" and the word opera popped up as an option. So I followed it and immediately landed on a 2008 blog which listed the writer's top ten romantic operatic arias.

At number one was O soave fanciulla from Puccini's La Boh�me, a Maria Callas recording of which I just happened to have awaiting my attention!

OK, so we weren't expecting to reach this particular recording for some time yet - I've been working through the early EMI operas more or less by date of recording - but I was prepared to make an exception in the name of love and romance!

The recording dates from the tail end of the mono era, and it's so well-made that it's quite a surprise not to find it in stereo. I've done some careful analysis of residual electrical noise embedded in the recording to try and determine as closely as possible the original pitch, which appears to be around 445.5Hz - sharper than concert pitch, but lower than the 452Hz that was once regularly used at La Scala, causing extra unwelcome strain on the top notes for a lot of singers!

Looking out for other recent transfers of this recording for comparison, I was surprised to find a particularly dull, flat-sounding EMI transfer that appears to be their current offering. By contrast, Mark Obert-Thorn's Naxos transfer is much more lively and clear.

In my own transfer, XR remastering has helped not only lift a veil from the top end, but has also filled out the rest of the sound at the lower end. This extra body is further enhanced if you opt for the Ambient Stereo version, which gives a real sense of space around the singers and orchestra.

I've put together a longer-than-usual sample for you to enjoy, comprising the last quarter-hour of Act 1 from Giuseppe Di Stefano's wonderful Che gelida manina! on through to the final, enchanting O soave fanciulla that inspired this release in the first place. I hope you enjoy it, and wish you a very happy St. Valentine's Day today.

Andrew Rose
14 February 2014 

 

Bruno Walter's celebrated live performance of Mahler's Ninth Symphony with the Vienna Philharmonic - recorded by Fred Gaisberg for HMV in January 1938 - has been reissued many times over, and it is included as part of the Bruno Walter box in EMI's Icon series in a clean and pleasing transfer. What's remarkable about Andrew Rose's new transfer of the same recording is the greater sense of ambience: there's a tangible (and audible) audience presence, and the range of the recording as presented here is, I think, pretty extraordinary for any recording made before the Second World War. The performance is beyond praise. Anyone who loves it should certainly try to hear this superb Pristine transfer. I found it revelatory (PASC389, 1 hour 11 minutes).

Rose's transfers so often mark a significant enhancement of familiar material. So it's a surprise to find Pristine's version of Walton and Dvorak Cello Concertos played by Gregor Piatigorsky with the Boston SO under Charles Munch sounding less well than RCA's own transfers. The Walton in particular seems to lose a little focus in an attempt to compensate for the rather dry acoustic of the original recording, but I have to say that the RCA transfer (on 74321 92575-2) sounds cleaner and clearer to my ears. The Pristine transfer of the Dvorak is much more successful and both performances are tremendous (PASC398, 1 hour 12 minutes).

The early recordings of the Juilliard String Quartet included a cycle of the Schoenberg quartets recorded in 1951-52. The Juilliard had worked on Schoenberg's quartets with the composer just before his death, so these performances have real authority. The combination of superlative playing from a technical point of view and interpretative insights makes for an utterly absorbing experience. Uta Graf is the fine soprano soloist in the Second Quartet. These are fiery and very expressive readings (according to the Juilliard's leader, Schoenberg initially found the playing too 'wild', but he warmed to the approach, presumably because they are also very secure and refined). These recordings - and that of Webern's Five Movements, Op. 5 - appeared a couple of years ago in a fine West Hill Radio Archive box (WHRA6040) that also included the first Juilliard Bartok cycle discussed below. But the Pristine Schoenberg set is an excellent option, in sound that has been expertly remastered by Rose from UK Philips issues of the LPs (PACM087, two discs, 2 hours 24 minutes).

The complete Bartok Quartets were recorded by the Juilliard a couple of years earlier, in 1949, and Pristine has now reissued these memorable discs. Greeted at the time as a set of major importance, it was the debut recording by this extraordinary ensemble (founded in 1946 at the instigation of William Schuman) and the first cycle to be made by a single quartet. It has come up sounding better than ever in this new transfer. Perhaps the stereo remakes (from 1963) have even greater polish and assurance, but there's a freshness, excitement and technical assurance to these early performances that emerge with startling clarity on these discs, which have greater warmth than any copy of the LPs I ever heard. As with the Schoenberg Quartets, the West Hill transfers are also good, but the Pristine sound feels a shade richer and more open (PACM089, three discs, 2 hours 38 minutes).

Another memorable collection of chamber music recordings includes the Brahms Piano Quintet, Smetana 'From My Life' Quartet, Schubert String Quintet and Dvorak 'American' Quartet, all played by the Hollywood String Quartet (with Victor Aller in the Brahms and Kurt Reher in the Schubert). As with the Hollywood late Beethoven, the Schubert Quintet combines the most beautifully disciplined playing with sensitive and profound musical insights, while the Brahms is a formidably impressive performance. The two Czech quartets are stylish, elegant and full of the energy that characterizes so many recordings by this marvellous ensemble. This is an anthology to treasure, in sound that has been beautifully restored in these new transfers (PACM085, two discs, 2 hours 16 minutes).

Edwin Fischer's 1953 Salzburg Festival performances with Wolfgang Schneiderhan and Enrico Mainardi of Beethoven's 'Ghost' Trio, Op. 70 No. 1 and Brahms's Trio in B major, Op. 8 have been released a number of times before, but a new Pristine transfer brings greater clarity and presence to the sound. The performances are exceptional: Fischer's playing is not only full of wisdom but is also most eloquent, matched by two gloriously committed and lyrical string players. The slow movement of the 'Ghost' Trio reaches an extraordinarily intense climax, and the Brahms is superb - radiant and exciting (especially in the Scherzo). The broadcast sound is a little wiry and the balance somewhat favours the strings, but this is such engrossing playing that technical shortcomings are quickly forgotten (PACM088, 59 minutes).


You can now subscribe to a digital edition of International Record Review with considerable savings to be made for non-UK residents over regular subscription prices. To find our more, visit http://recordreview.co.uk.You can see a complete sample November 2013 copy of International Record Review at http://tinyurl.com/pa8u36z