Decca SXL 6025 Beethoven Overtures with Lorin Maazel
Beethoven Overtures:
Leonore 1, 2, & 3
Fidelio
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Lorin Maazel, conductor
Pressing: ED1
Stampers: ZAL 5587-5W, ZAL 5588-2G
Performance: 8/10
Sound: 6/10
Price range: $25-94, mean $53 on popsike
Comments: This 1962 recording by the Israel Philharmonic conducted by the young Lorin Maazel presents us with the set of all four overtures Beethoven wrote for the opera Fidelio. Beethoven apparently struggled to come up with a satisfactory version of this overture, producing four different iterations over a span of nine years: Leonore No. 2 (1805), Leonore No. 3 (1806), Leonore No. 1 (1808), and Fidelio for the revival of the opera (1814). Frankly, these have never topped my list of favorite Beethoven overtures -- Egmont, Coriolan, and Creatures of Prometheus are my preferences -- but I picked up this record while trying to collect some of Maazel's earliest stereo recordings on Decca, EMI/Columbia, and Deutsche Grammophon. The performances of the IPO are fine.
The sound stage is pretty wide on this album, and overall presentation is a little more laid back. You feel like you are sitting some rows back in the concert hall. Unfortunately, this record suffers from the characteristics of some of the early Decca FFSS pressings. The frequency range, in spite of being "full frequency stereophonic sound", sounded a bit constricted on my system. Treble was bright, even a bit shrill, and lacked smoothness. In the more dynamic, climactic passages of music, I sensed a lack of clarity and picked up some distortion, particularly in the sound of the brass instruments. On the other end, bass felt shallow and lacked fullness. As you can see from the label, this is a first pressing ("Original Recording By" at the 10 o'clock position). I wonder if later pressings or any reissues solved this issue with the treble. A nice Decca, but not one of the essential ones, at least in its ED1 FFSS pressing.
The sound stage is pretty wide on this album, and overall presentation is a little more laid back. You feel like you are sitting some rows back in the concert hall. Unfortunately, this record suffers from the characteristics of some of the early Decca FFSS pressings. The frequency range, in spite of being "full frequency stereophonic sound", sounded a bit constricted on my system. Treble was bright, even a bit shrill, and lacked smoothness. In the more dynamic, climactic passages of music, I sensed a lack of clarity and picked up some distortion, particularly in the sound of the brass instruments. On the other end, bass felt shallow and lacked fullness. As you can see from the label, this is a first pressing ("Original Recording By" at the 10 o'clock position). I wonder if later pressings or any reissues solved this issue with the treble. A nice Decca, but not one of the essential ones, at least in its ED1 FFSS pressing.
Israel Philharmonic Decca/London's can disappoint and yet Solti's Rossini-Respighi: La Boutique Fantastique London (CS 6005) can be pretty good in the right pressing.
ReplyDeleteI challenge someone to name a great RCA or Decca of a Beethoven piece. I'd settle for an overture. If nothing comes to mind, then perhaps a Brahms piece. Nothing leaps to my mind.
I do like Backhaus Beethoven Piano Concerto 1. I might even love it a little. A very subdued, sublime sound.
DeleteI agree with you on the Backhaus Beethoven Piano Concertos. Those sound quite nice. I just picked up one of Backhaus' Beethoven piano sonatas albums on Blueback FFSS. Will report back on how it sounds. What do you think of Ansermet's Beethoven? Or Solti's Beethoven with the VPO, not the CSO?
DeleteI'll check what I have piled up, but don't hold your breath. I've not been too impressed. I've got a lot on stereo treasury.
DeleteI'll answer my own Brahms and Beethoven question based on ebay completed prices. There are some concertos. Symphonies? Zip, nada. If these are the two best labels why don't they have a decent recording? Answer: Technologically inferior to Columbia/EMI.
DeleteThere's also Isserstedt-Schmidt's Beethoven symphony cycle as well as Brahms symphonies conducted by Lorin Maazel and Istvan Kertesz, all on Decca. I haven't heard all of them on LP (though I've heard them on CD), but they might be competitive. I agree, though, that Columbia/EMI did a lot more of the big B's during the Golden Age. Beethoven -- Klemperer, Karajan (mono), Kempe, Kubelik, Szell. Brahms -- Klemperer, Giulini, Kempe.
DeleteThere is a great recording of a Beethoven piece on DECCA (actually 4 of them), albeit in mono: The recordings of Symphonies 3, 5, 7 and 9 by Erich Kleiber. They are all recorded in glorious mono. Tantalisingly the 3d was recorded in stereo, but the stereo tape was wiped by accident.
DeleteUgh I knew the BBC was guilty of reusing tape and wiping out so much art. this is an absolute tragedy that decca wiped a master tape. I hope this is the only time that happened.
DeleteWell, in the case of DECCA it was an accident. BBC, like many other state-owned organisations (RAI, German Radio and many others) were under a budget and could not buy all the tapes they wanted, so they had to reuse them, unfortunately. I have read that MGM did the same with many of its soundtracks, for budgetary reasons.
DeleteYes, there is a great Beethoven Recording on RCA/Decca-in a way on both: The Readers Digest Beethoven Box, conducted by Leibowitz. It was produced by Charles Gerhardt, recorded by Kenneth Wilkinson with Decca equipment, then licensed by RCA to Readers Digest. Still, imho, the best sounding Beethoven cycle, and a great interpretation too. The British pressing was mastered by DECCA and should be even better indeed.
ReplyDeleteIn America the reader's digest versions are dynagroove, But of course there is strong rumor that the British refused to use that process to spite it being on the cover Of the Decca mastered one. Versus a regular shaded dog I'm not sold on decca Versions.
DeleteThat is not entirely true, I own the American Readers Digest edition and my copy is not Dynagroove-though many others are. One has to weed through the dozens of sets on offer on ebay to find the right one. But it Is true that British editions of these sets were not Dynagroove and were mastered by Decca. I have the set Treasury of Great Music in the British edition (containing among others the Reiner Brahms 4th Symphony) and it is obviously mastered and printed by DECCA.
DeleteOne more thing: I was dumbfounded when I discovered this blog a couple of weeks ago, so happy to find a place where likeminded nerds write about my favourite records. Then my heart sank when I realised you stopped writing some 7 years ago. I am now so glad to know you are still around and at least acknowledge occasional readers like me.
ReplyDeleteWe are thrilled that you discovered the blog and have enjoyed reading its content. The fault is at least partly mine - I took on a new position 7 years ago that involved a lot of writing and editing, which unfortunately discouraged me from writing even more in my leisure time. Meles, on the other hand, doesn't have this excuse! We love receiving your comments and replying, and I am actually contemplating reviving the blog and perhaps even moving it to a different, more contemporary site.
Delete