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It's a show that's consistently worthwhile attending, year after year.
I'll be there, with records and a nice system to play them on.
It's a show that's consistently worthwhile attending, year after year.
I'll be there, with records and a nice system to play them on.
The lady is FINE. The dude needs to adjust his codpiece.
I can't get past the incongruity of this image being used to promote a performance by Sir Adrian Boult, one of the staidest of staid English conductors.
John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile
I recall Stereophile had a dedicated article on the best Planets recordings. That was way back in the mid-1990s I think??
The best 'Planets', IMO, is London/Decca's 1986 MSO/Dutoit. It has the NASA false-color image of Saturn on the cover. Excellent performance, outstanding DDD recording (esp. dynamics -- wow! Hear that, M. Fremer?!). Wish they'd re-master it as London/Decca has with some others recently. Unfortunately, many modern Red-Book re-masters are no longer released in the USA (for those, gotta go to Japan, and -- to a far lesser extent -- Europe). Dutoit, Mehta, and other box sets, released in the past few years, revitalize older Red Book releases to an important sonics-improving extent.
I wrote ... "Unfortunately, many modern Red-Book re-masters are no longer released in the USA (for those, gotta go to Japan, and -- to a far lesser extent -- Europe). Dutoit, Mehta, and other box sets, released in the past few years, revitalize older Red Book releases to an important sonics-improving extent."
Below is a shining example of what I mean ... a release not readily avail. in the US. The 2002 re-master of this 1989 DDD recording has the much-sought-after Sym 2 by William Walton [this is the best Walton Sym 2 version I've heard; Szell from 1961 may be better, but the sheer dynamic nature of the work, esp. mvt 1., REQUIRES 'DDD']. BTW ... for Walton Sym 1, THE REFERENCE is Colin Davis LSO (LSO label) live recording from late 2005.
EMI - Classics for Pleasure - 7243 5 75569 2 7
Recorded: Watford Town Hall, I - 1989
Have to disagree with you hollowman - Atkinson's description can apty apply to Boult's reading of the Planets: staidest of staid performances. Not that it is bad mind you but it does not have the bite of the Karajan, Previn, Maazel, Judd or Dutoit performances. Mind you I do think he recorded it several times so it all depends which recording we are talking about. Love that record cover!