Pristine release: Kempe's 1956 Meistersinger
Andrew Rose
WAGNER Die Meistersinger von N锟絩nberg
Pristine Audio PACO 052
http://www.pristineclassical.com/LargeWorks/Vocal/PACO052.php
Hans Sachs: Ferdinand Frantz
Veit Pogner: Gottlob Frick
Kunz Vogelgesang: Horst Wilhelm
Konrad Nachtigall: Walter Stoll
Sixtus Beckmesser: Benno Kusche
Fritz Kothner: Gustav Neidlinger
Balthasar Zorn: Manfred Schmidt
Ulrich Eisslinger: Leopold Clam
Augustin Moser: Herold Kraus
Hermann Ortel: Robert Koffmane
Hans Schwarz: Anton Metternich
Hans Foltz: Hanns Pick
Walther von Stolzing: Rudolf Schock
Eva: Elisabeth Gr锟絤mer
Magdalene: Marga H锟絝fgen
David: Gerhard Unger
Ein Nachtw锟絚hter: Hermann Prey
Berliner Philharmoniker
Ch锟絩e der Deutschen Oper Berlin, der Berliner Staatsoper und St.
Hedwigs-Kathedrale, Berlin
Conducted by Rudolf Kempe
Studio recording from 1956
XR remastering by Andrew Rose at Pristine Audio, August-October 2010
Recorded 4-20 April, 1956, Wintergarten, Berlin
Transfers from Angel box set 3572 E/L
Total duration: 4hr 21:32
"The first choice
However, what is in my opinion the greatest Meistersinger recording of
all was made five years later: Rudolf Kempe's studio recording with the
Berlin Philharmonic. The BPO produces a gorgeous, idiomatic sound, and
the cast has no weak link. Ferdinand Frantz, although not the most
beautiful singer, portrays Sachs movingly. The remaining singers are
flawless. Schock's Walther, barring the odd touch of leather in his
voice, is ardent and poetic, rock-solid of voice and interpretation. The
supporting cast boasts tremendous performances from Unger, H锟絝fgen,
Kusche, Frick, Neidlinger and Prey. However, this recording is
distinguished above all by both the greatest vocal performance, the Eva
of Elisabeth Gr锟絤mer, and the greatest conducting, from Rudolf Kempe, in
the entire Meistersinger discography. Gr锟絤mer's voice is radiantly
beautiful, silvery and pure, and her interpretation is peerless in its
passion, lyricism and spontaneity. Her legato singing in the great
climaxes of Act III is meltingly beautiful, and continuously brings a
tug at the heart. Kempe is every bit as wonderful. His unexaggerated
tempi are ideal, his ear for balances is unsurpassed, and he
communicates more winningly than anyone else his love for the opera and
the music. His interpretation is astoundingly moving and warm-hearted
throughout, with passion and beauty in generous supply. His Act I
prelude is exhilarating, his Act III prelude exceptionally noble and
tender. Walther's Act II entrance quickens the pulse, and Kempe's ardent
support to the big climaxes is peerless.
It is the performances of Kempe and Gr锟絤mer, more affectionate and
heartrending than Karajan and Schwarzkopf, that push me over the edge. I
recommend this recording, captured in superb mono sound, as the top
recommendation for this endlessly satisfying and moving work. "
From Amazon.com article "So you'd like to... Buy the best 'Die
Meistersinger'"
Technical notes:
I regularly receive e-mails and calls with suggestions of recordings
deemed necessary of a Pristine Audio XR and Ambient Stereo makeover.
Occasionally these are accompanied with a CD-R transfer of the recording
in question. In this case, the collector, Dr. John Philips (to whom we
are extremely grateful) arrived in person, bearing an armful of LPs for
my consideration and a huge amount of enthusiasm and knowledge.
Above all he was insistent that I at least consider strongly the present
recording of Die Meistersinger von N锟絩nberg, in his opinion not only the
best recording ever made of it, but also in its US Angel pressing, the
very best vinyl LP versions to be had. I was astonished to discover
that, despite a reissue by EMI on CD some years ago, this masterpiece of
the recording studio was now out of print and difficult to obtain. But I
was still somewhat concerned that the LP transfers might not live up to
the quality of the EMI CD transfers.
I need not have worried. Towards the end of the LP transfer and
remastering process I finally managed to track down a copy of the CD
issue for comparison. Despite this being a very good 1950s recording,
the XR remastering had found a greater depth and clarity in the
recording than was ever to be heard from the CDs. The LPs were so clean
and clear to begin with that, after applying the same XR processing to a
section of the CD issue that had been applied to the LP transfers, the
two were entirely indistinguishable by even the closest listening tests.
This is certainly a recording where I would recommend the Ambient Stereo
issue. As with all our Ambient Stereo releases, the central mono sound
remains perfectly intact - this isn't the "fake stereo" of years gone
by. What you do hear though is a real sense of the space around the
singers and orchestra. In the original recording one can detect what is
a rather primitive use of studio reverberation at times - by allow this
some spread and using advanced digital signal processing it has been
possible to enhance and significantly reduce the artificiality of the
effect.
The end result is a supremely listenable, crystal clear sound, with real
depth in the bass, fabulous transparency in the treble - all in all a
most worthwhile improvement on the now unobtainable EMI CD set of this
superlative recording.
Technical notes by Andrew Rose
Sample: Act 3, Scene 4: Die selige Morgentraumdeut-Wiese
Listen to MP3 @224kbps: http://tinyurl.com/PACO052
--
Andrew Rose
Pristine Classical: "The destination for people interested in historic
recordings..." (Gramophone)
Dumbarton Oaks
>
> Sample: Act 3, Scene 4: Die selige Morgentraumdeut-Wiese
>
> Listen to MP3 @224kbps:http://tinyurl.com/PACO052
>
> --
> Andrew Rose
>
> Pristine Classical: "The destination for people interested in historic
> recordings..." (Gramophone)
>
> www.pristineclassical.com
It sounds very good!!