Carols of Today, The Elisabethan Singers, ARGO ZRG-5499. 1966, Decca/Argo. Good quality recording, but to listen to it: a terrible burden to suffer. Brrr. Stay far away from it! 12/24/2020
HANS WERNER HENZE Elegie Fur Junge Liebende: DG. Holy F!!! This is true torture. Modern c.r.a.p. Bejeez...... SLPM 138 867 , DG. If you can listen to the entire work without suffering a brain trauma, then you deserve a medal. I was in shock for weeks after enduring about 15 minutes of it. It is so intense, that I had to leave the living room after 5 minutes, and listened to it from upstairs. Then, through closed doors. Then I could not take it anymore. When I think of it, just the memory is enough to bring about the traumatic experience. Were you ever in close proximity to someone who suffered a major loss and had a total emotional meltdown? That's the experience you get from this piece. If your stereo is not so resolving, then you are in luck, it's just a curious piece. "Unfortunately" my system excels at reproducing emotions, feelings, states of mind. If you have a chance to play this recording on such a system, then BY ALL MEANS DO IT! It will be an absolutely horrific experience - yet, a unique experience, at such a level you never though can be achieved through recorded sound. I contemplated heavily to keep this record to show it to my friends, but I could not bear myself to hear any of it ever again. It was THAT traumatic. Hats off, and my humblest compliments to the soprano who sang it, that was perhaps one of the MOST FORMIDABLE PERFORMANCES EVER. I fear for her though, it truly must have damaged her vocal cords seriously.
Beethoven Bicentennial / Choral works (VOL VI.): has Karl Richter, Leitner and Karajan conducting. The Richter conducted chorals are recorded awfully, and conducting also SUX really bad, big time. Nelli said she's going to have nightmares after hearing it, and I'm afraid it left indelible marks on my psyche as well. The Leitner conducted record has very nice piano (4/5), it's well recorded, good conducting. Ditching the two Richter LPs!!!!
LSC-1994 Morton Gould: Jungle Drums, 6S copy, Indy plant. Nice konga drums in the intro. Then, horrific screechy violins, as if it was a Hollywood pressing. Sometimes RCA has this cloyingly sweet, molten butterry orchestral sound when violins melt together in a cloyingly oversweet harmonee. Brr. Otherwise, medium noise level, nice big stage, and moderate detail level from a relatively early pressing. Microdynamics is good, but the strings are close to saturation, and also, jumbled together - not sure what they do to the violins, but it's an absolutely horrid experience. Think about the oversweet old movie strings sound - that's it.
MG50158: Handel's Water music, arranged by Sir Harty. Doráti, LSO. I was prepared for Water music.... Holy wreck, what DA F?! Cloyingly sweet dripping romantic brew with a slap of Russian heavy hand. Thorough disappointment. Leans toward Beethoven and modern music. hint: Hellooo, we were looking for Handel's music?! This is very removed from Handel! You bet, it's a frisby. I don't know Sir Harty's music - if judged from that eye it might be a good piece. This is certainly hard-core fusion cuisine, leaving no Handel in the mix.
CBS Masterworks, MK44926 Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies 1-6 Zubin Metha / Israel Phil Orch. Was curious to hear what Maestro Metha does to Liszt. Well, very strange conducting, certainly not Liszt. Instruments do not play together, each has his own style. Huge disappointment form the maestro. Sounds as if orchestra was unfamiliar with conductor, who in turn was completely unfamiliar with the music. Biggest let-downs I ever heard on a recording, ever! I'm sad to say, that since then, when I come across Metha's name this recording is what comes to my mind. This recording is a tremendous fail, the biggest recorded fail I ever heard, worthy of a DARWIN PRIZE. If this is the first Metha record you listen to, then you will refuse to hear anything from him ever again! It's that bad. A musically competent high school kid would have done a much better job conducting. Sadly, I am not kidding, that is not an exaggeration. I'm keeping this record as a demo disc for monumentally catastrophic conducting. Someone of Metha's stature should be more careful not to release recordings that undermine his reputation so badly. A suitable comparison would be Formula 1 idol Ayrton Senna getting stuck on the road because he can't find the clutch... Probably the maestro just had a very, very, very bad day or was just released from the hospital after brain surgery or a head trauma. Who knows. Sometimes we can't perform at our best, so we shall not judge. Nevertheless, this is a recording that should never have been released. Maybe he really hated the record company and banged it up on purpose. Maybe the orchestra was on strike. Who knows. Nevertheless, I am stunned and speechless whenever I recall this conducting and performance. If you have not heard this piece yet, PLEASE, PLEASE stay away! I think Zubin Metha is a worthy conductor, and he shall not be judged by a single catastrophic failure. However, I cannot unhear what I have heard.... but you deserve a better fate!