EMI ASD 279 Album of the Day!
Nights in Vienna
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Rudolf Kempe, conductor
Pressing: UK, ED1, white/gold
Stampers: 2YVH 1-1, 2YVH 2-2
Performance: 10/10
Sound: 9/10
Price range: $35-291, mean $112 on popsike
Comments: I just finished listening to this record and enjoyed it so much that I felt immediately compelled to write about it. If you are in the mood for some Viennese favorites performed with excellence and superbly recorded, look no further. This LP is a winner and my album of the day. So, what works are on this record? Side 1 has Suppe's Overture "Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna", Heuberger's Overture "Der Opernball", and Johann Strauss' Overture "Die Fledermaus". Side 2 has Lehar's "Gold und Silber" Waltz, Reznicek's Overture "Donna Diana", Josef Strauss' "Spharenklange" Waltz, and last, but certainly no least, Johann Strauss' Radestzky March. Each piece is played with such joie de vivre, you can't help but feel transported back to Old Vienna. The sonics on this album are really fantastic, especially for an early tube EMI ASD. Great dynamic range, clarity, and ambience.
I highly recommend this record. I don't know if it was reissued by EMI on one of its budget labels (perhaps one of the dedicated blog readers would be so kind as to comment on this), but if you are able to pick up a copy of either, you will not regret it. This album has been digitally remastered and is available in part on a Testament reissue as well as part of Kempe's EMI Icon boxed set.
I enjoyed listening to CD11 of Kempe's EMI Icon boxed set tonight. Great performance indeed. Thank you very much for introducing it.
ReplyDeleteSeven works on this record were reissued by HMV Concert Classics Series in two separate LPs:
1.SXLP 30060 "Viennese Delights" including
Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna Overture
Donna Diana Overture
Gold und Silber" Waltz
Radestzky March
Spharenklange Waltz
2.SXLP 30083 Viennese" Nights" including
Die Fledermaus Overture
Der Opernball Overture
I'm glad you liked it! Thank you very much for posting the HMV CCS reissues. I think that readers will find that to be a useful reference.
Delete$140 I show recently for Blue and Silver. No other British pressing except the above Concert Classics.
DeleteI'd missed out on the Kempe Icon. I just snagged his Brahms 1 on Classics for Pleasure for about $8 delivered. The original goes for $1000. The 11 cd Icon set makes a lot of sense at $40.
Try the Icon set. It's a budget buy, though unfortunately it is not as comprehensive as the Silvestri Icon set and does not include some of his other rare recordings. For Kempe, I actually went a slightly pricier route and took advantage of a Testament sale from Presto Classical. For a lot less than I would pay on Amazon, I got almost all of Kempe's Testament CDs which were both stereo and mono remasters of his EMI recordings.
ReplyDeleteThere is a Hi-Q Supercuts of this record, and I wondered if anyone has heard it. After reading your review, I decided to order it, as it's on sale for $10 from one of the big audiophile retailers. I'll be happy to leave a comment if anyone is interested.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment! We’d love to hear your thoughts about the Hi-Q Supercuts reissue. I know my coblogger Meles has been picking these up and may or may not have heard this one.
DeleteI've been getting these, but for money 15-17.50. Some are fantastic as only the original pressings at over $100 are available. A hidden secret is that these Hi-Q are all DMMs done with emi's latest technology. Much better than what they'd done for Testament back in the 1990s.
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