5つ星のうち5.0Absent Kempe's earlier recording for RCA, this one is a good first choice
2015年11月7日にアメリカ合衆国でレビュー済み
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This is one of the best "Alpensinfonie" recordings available; Rudolf Kempe is pretty much unsurpassed in Strauss. That having been said, I've always preferred Kempe's earlier recording of the work with (I believe) the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It was released by RCA (on LP) in the late 1960s and has not, to my knowledge, ever been reissued on CD. Whoever owns the RCA stable these days could do worse than taking a look at it. The RCA recording offers up just a slight extra degree of majesty in those extroverted segments (The Sunrise, The Summit, etc.) that benefit from it. In any event, nobody who is unfamiliar with the work should continue overlooking it. It packs the sort of sonic and emotional wallop that only Strauss can manufacture.
5つ星のうち4.0Marginally better treble than the domestic release of a superb reference recording, but...
2014年4月6日にアメリカ合衆国でレビュー済み
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This is not the cover art of the album I purchased, but the disc does appear to have originated in Japan as the majority of the print is in Japanese. I have purchased some splendid Japanese remasterings. This one isn't improved enough to justify the bother.
The original EMI recording was remastered in 1992 as part of a several-volume set. I think that Japanese engineers successfully cleaned up the treble but were able to do less for the bass. The result is a distorted balance that favors the upper 2/3 of the frequency range with deep bass definition better defined but lacking in weight. The tympani are recessed but better defined than in the 1992 reissued set. The organ is well heard but poorly defined. The upper registers are really quite good.
But let's face it: what makes this a classic is Kempe, who had amazing interpretive powers in Strauss. This is one I really wish I could have heard in person. Kempe took a perfect tempo for the work - not so slow that you feel lost and not so quick that you have little time to savor the scenery. Kempe's account with the Staatskapelle Dresden is very moving with a clear vision of what lies ahead. As such, the performance is highly recommended, but I would keep thing simple and stay with the domestic EMI release that I reviewed separately. Come on, EMI. Let's give this a state of the art remastering that it deserves!