A lovely new release of orchestral works from Lalo. The folks at Presto Music brought it to my attention recently, so I thought I’d give a listen via Qobuz. I may have to order the disc or get the download.
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Lalo is a bit underrated. My favorite recordings for these works are Jean Martinon (Namouna, on Decca or DG), Charles Munch (Le Roi d’Ys), and Thomas Beecham (Symphony).
Try this : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxDRr-FLi9k
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I agree, and if anyone thinks the Symphonie espagnole is just a bit of second-rate showoff music, this should convince you otherwise:
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@weedeewop which performance is this?
Sir Simon Rattle:
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Funny. Artwork alike Alex Steinweiss’s covers for Columbia.
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Are the HDTT Transfers to be recommended for these works?
Have you been able to compare them to the original 1960 CD or vinyl?
Horowitz one of my favorite artists, and I see it’s a very new HDTT issue:
JohannSeb, I don’t have the CD and no longer have the vinyl. But I can report that the HDTT transfer of the 4-track tape sounds very good. In the DXD and DSD256 formats to which I listened, I’d say that they likely capture every bit of the sound that is available on that tape.
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Since you could A/B both formats do you detect a noticeable difference in the DXD version given the processing involved as opposed to the DSD?
The difference in sound quality will depend on your DAC, in my experience. On my primary DAC, I prefer listening to the DXD because it has one step fewer conversions. But on my wife’s office system, she prefers the DSD256. Here’s a recent article discussing what we hear when comparing four different formats of the same HDTT track made available by Bob Witrak for us to share as free downloads:
What We Hear With DXD 32-bit Files (Free Sample Downloads)
Note that HDTT will allow you to download at no additional cost ALL the different formats if you purchase the most expensive file format (typically the DSD256). True for most, but not all, of their releases.
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This is a wonderful performance, imo. I really enjoy the approach Gunar Letzbor applies in most of the music he and Ars Antiqua Austria record. And, the sound quality of the recordings is regularly top notch given the skills of recording engineer Bert van der Wolf. Given your prompt, this is now playing here yet again today.
Letzbor, to my ear, arrives with a fresh sound in most of the music he records. In the liner notes for this recording (2016) he writes: “It is almost impossible nowadays to perform Vivaldi’s music without any preconceptions, even if one engages with it only rarely. Vivaldi’s sound is ubiquitous. Or is that perhaps the sound of only a few works from his rich oeuvre? When I played through La Cetra for the first time on the violin, I found some typical Vivaldi-isms which I really cannot stand. At the same time, however, I was surprised to find a remarkable body of new features waiting to be discovered. One just must not succumb to the temptation of immediately putting the familiar Vivaldi stamp onto everything.”
Of this performance, he writes “It is as it is, in the moment, and that is good. Between the recording sessions, we play two concerts, performing this programme. The audiences are enthusiastic, but at the same time also surprised. The unanimous opinion: we have never heard it like this before. Well, of course not…”
And, thus, I immensely enjoy his fresh take on Seasons.
And still, Rachel Podger’s recording, for a more traditional approach to this work, is ravishing.
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Those early BIS warnings were hilarious 
(sold to Apple now)
One of my few and treasured DSD256’s.
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Oversold argument. Some Telarc’s did alike.