Deutsche Grammophon Announces a Treasure Trove of Releases in Batch #8 of the Original Source Vinyl Reissue Series
Brilliance, Virtuosity and Eclecticism Rule the Day in This Outstanding Selection of Titles, all mastered and cut AAA directly from 4 and 8-track masters
Impossible to know where to begin with this Aladdin’s cave of treasures, but this record of Maurizio Pollini playing core Chopin repertoire is as good a place as any. The earlier Original Source release of his album of Chopin’s Preludes is one of the highlights of the series so far, which is saying something. Reviewing duties on this one fell to my colleague Michael Johnson, who was very impressed. My video review amounted to a rave.
Maurizio Pollini
I make no secret of my lifetime admiration of Maurizio Pollini - I bought his still-benchmark rendering of Stravinsky’s Three Movements from Petrushka and Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 7 when I was 13. From then on I bought all his records as they were released. This album of Chopin’s Polonaises was hailed upon its appearance in 1976, and its reputation has not faded with the passing of the years. Here is what Bryce Morrison, Gramophone magazine’s longtime piano critic, had to say upon its subsequent CD reissue:
“Here is Pollini in all his early glory… Shorn of all virtuoso compromise or indulgence, the majestic force of his command is indissolubly integrated with the seriousness of his heroic impulse. Never have I been compelled into such awareness of the underlying malaise beneath the outward and nationalist defiance of the Polonaises.”
There in a nutshell is what lends these performances their quality. This is not “prettified” Chopin, and it is riveting.
However, the original vinyl release was hampered by extremely long playing sides, and - Hallelujah! - for this release DG and the Emil Berliner Team have chosen to surmount that problem by cutting at 45rpm spread over four sides. If you thought the piano sound on the earlier Preludes release was lifelike (and it was amongst the best piano sound I’ve heard on any record), just imagine what this is going to sound like. I’m not normally too much of a fan of 45rpm cuts in classical, because doing this breaks up the flow of longer works, but there will be no such problem with these shorter piano pieces.
Needless to say, I can’t wait to hear this one.
I am so glad DG decided to step a little bit out of the mainstream for this next release. As is so often the case with 20th and 21st century music, this is music that will often appeal to the irregular classical music listener, attracting the ear of those left cool by Mozart and Brahms by its very differences from the standard classical fare.
I urge every one of you who maybe does not listen to classical music regularly to seriously consider this record. Those of you who already know the work will need no extra pleading on my part. And for classical fans who are maybe a little wary of “modern” music - this is a work you might be surprised by.
In the chamber music repertoire, the Quartet for the End of Time is a piece of such originality in form and sound that it is essentially sui generis, and is transcendent in its emotional effect. The unusual instrumental combination - piano, ‘cello, violin and clarinet - derives from the fact that it was composed by the young Olivier Messiaen while he was a prisoner of war interred in a German World War II camp, and had to compose for the instrumentalists who were available, willing, and able. It was first performed there by himself and his fellow musicians who were also held captive.
Messiaen (l.) at the First Performance in January 1941 in Stalag VIII-A, in front of 400 prisoners and guards
As with all of Messiaen’s music, it is suffused with his deep Catholic faith and love of birdsong (which is directly quoted), combining to create a work which communicates profound faith, hope and humanity in the face of adversity. For Messiaen, The Quartet for the End of Time is both a warning and a vision of something better. Right now this feels like a work we all need to listen to.
The variety and originality of the music will surprise newcomers to this work, and they will be spellbound by the long, sustained expressions of inner transcendence and joy expressed in the two slow movements, culminating in the extraordinary final duet for violin and piano "Louange à l'Immortalité de Jésus” (Praise to the Immortality of Jesus). This is music which truly ascends to the heavens.
This recording has always long been admired, and features an outstanding group of French soloists, along with superstar pianist Daniel Barenboim. It was always considered one of the better sounding DG records of its time, and was actually previously reissued by Speaker’s Corner in an improved “audiophile” cut. However, I imagine that will be superseded by this new Original Source reissue. Kudos to DG for choosing this out-of-the-mainstream but important - and compelling - record.
DG’s representation of Gustav Mahler’s epic symphonic blockbusters within the Original Source series continues apace (after Karajan’s 5th and 6th symphonies) with this fine rendering of the massive 2nd Symphony, subtitled “Resurrection”. This is a huge work for orchestra, soloists and choir, and is a personal favorite of mine. Again, I bought this recording when it was first released in 1977, and it immediately became a listening staple.
By this time the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was well versed in Mahler via its principal conductor Georg Solti’s series of recordings for Decca (plus a handful with James Levine for RCA, and a famous 4th with Fritz Reiner for RCA Living Stereo), but it had yet to tackle the “Resurrection” on record. (Solti would set it down digitally in 1981, a rendering that fails to outclass his mighty London version of 1966, an acknowledged audiophile classic).
Abbado would go on to record the 2nd again later in his career with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra (2004), joining a series of Mahler re-recordings with the Berlin Philharmonic, but his earlier cycle of Mahler symphonies on DG from the 70s and 80s with different orchestras remains highly regarded. With top-flight soloists Marilyn Horne and Carol Neblett, this is a recording that will benefit enormously from the sonic refresh that every Original Source release brings. If this comes close to the sonic fireworks we heard in Daniel Barenboim’s Bruckner Symphony No. 4, also recorded in Chicago, this could be quite something…
Speaking of sonic fireworks, we come to what has often been cited as an “audiophile” contender even in its OG form: Abbado’s blistering accounts (again with Chicago) of two of Prokofiev’s firecracker scores: the Lieutenant Kijé and Scythian Suites. Fritz Reiner’s version with the CSO of Lieutenant Kijé on RCA Living Stereo from two decades earlier has long been considered one of the very finest of all that legendary series of audiophile classics, but I must say that I have always loved Abbado’s version. Likewise his Scythian Suite is second only to Dorati’s 1958 account for Mercury Living Presence for sonic glory, a top pick title from this long-established audiophile label (seek out the Classic Records reissue). What will the Original Source refresh begin? Dorati may have to look to his laurels... It’s almost frightening to contemplate.
“Batten down the hatches!”
Prokofiev’s music is colorful, rhythmically alert, full of ravishing, catchy melodies and, in the case of the Scythian Suite, is as thrillingly dynamic and aggressive as anything in The Rite of Spring. This is a record which, in its Original Source refresh, has the potential to be as room shaking as any full-bore rock record in your collection.
This is a great line-up of releases, with something for everyone. Longtime Original Source collectors will want them all. And you have to think that DG has been listening to collectors of this series clamoring for more instrumental and chamber music: this time we have a couple of real keepers in that department.
All of these new releases are now up for pre-order on DG’s German site. No doubt the usual stateside sources, like Acoustic Sounds and Elusive Disc, will have their pre-order dates up soon (these tend to lag behind the European release dates).
Naturally Tracking Angle will be running the usual in-depth reviews.
This is a great time for classical vinyl collectors - to say the least!
