Pristine release: We begin the Krauss Ring Cycle with Das Rheingold, 1953
Andrew Rose
WAGNER Das Rheingold
Pristine Audio PACO 039
Featuring Hans Hotter as Wotan
Full list of soloists below
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra & Chorus
conducted by Clemens Krauss
Live concert recording from 1953
XR remastering by Andrew Rose at Pristine Audio, January 2010
Cover artwork detail from painting of Rheinmaidens at the Rainbow Bridge
by Arthur Rackham
Total duration: 2hr 25:15
�2010 Pristine Audio.
http://www.pristineclassical.com/LargeWorks/Vocal/PACO039.php
Wotan - Hans Hotter
Donner - Hermann Uhde
Froh - Gerhard Stolze
Loge - Erich Witte
Alberich - Gustav Neidlinger
Mime - Paul Kuen
Fasolt - Ludwig Weber
Fafner - Josef Greindl
Fricka - Ira Malaniuk
Freia - Bruni Falcon
Erda - Maria von Ilosvay
Woglinde - Erika Zimmermann
Wellgunde - Hetty Pl�macher
Flosshilde - Gisela Litz
Choir and Orchestra of the Bayreuth Festival
conductor Clemens Krauss
Live concert recording, Bayreuth Festival, 8th August 1953
Download listening sample:
(Scene 4: Abendlich strahlt der Sonne Auge (Wotan) Ambient Stereo)
--
Andrew Rose
Pristine Classical: "The destination for people interested in historic
recordings..." (Gramophone)
wkasimer
> New release today:
>
> WAGNER Das Rheingold
> Pristine Audio PACO 039
Interesting. What original did you use?
Bill
wagnerfan
news:4b62ede2$0$942$ba4a...@news.orange.fr...
This should be interesting to hear - the latest mastering via Opera D'Oro is
superb. Wagner fan
wagnerfan
news:4b62ede2$0$942$ba4a...@news.orange.fr...
I compared the sample on the Pristine site to my copy of the Opera d"Oro
mastering - the very beginning of the Pristine sample with the massed
strings has a "swimming" quality that is probably the result of the original
source - the sound is transparent with the voices forward. The Opera D'Oro
mastering is more compact with the voices embedded in the orchestral fabric
(this may be what Wagner actually wanted to Bayreuth sound to be). So they
really have complimentary qualities - this is one of the great Rings and its
a shame Krauss's sudden death in May 1954 prevented him returning to
Bayreuth that summer. Wagner fan
Romy the Cat
Bill, it is true irrelevant what the source was used. This CD is XR-
processed – the Andrew Rose’s own mastering, which means it needs to
be trashed on arrival. This idiot have vandalized one more performance.
wagnerfan
We all know you don't like Rose's work - you tell us over and over and
over -so why not just shut the fuck up about it???
Matthew�B.�Tepper
letters to be typed in news:ee57f081-93d3-4a3a-bf7a-
c348cb...@m16g2000yqc.googlegroups.com:
> We all know you don't like Rose's work - you tell us over and over and
> over -so why not just shut the fuck up about it???
It is the job of the insult-generator to generate insults.
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
Read about "Proty" here: http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/proty.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of my employers
Romy the Cat
> wagnerfan <wagner...@comcast.net> appears to have caused the following
> letters to be typed in news:ee57f081-93d3-4a3a-bf7a-
>
> > We all know you don't like Rose's work - you tell us over and over and
> > over -so why not just shut the fuck up about it???
>
> It is the job of the insult-generator to generate insults.
>
> --
> Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
> Read about "Proty" here:http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/proty.html
> To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
> Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of my employers
Idiots are clustering in packs. You are and similar to you retards are
the best illustration of it.
Andrew Rose
> wagnerfan <wagn...@comcast.net> appears to have caused the following
> letters to be typed in news:ee57f081-93d3-4a3a-bf7a-
> c348cb...@m16g2000yqc.googlegroups.com:
>
>> We all know you don't like Rose's work - you tell us over and over and
>> over -so why not just shut the fuck up about it???
>
> It is the job of the insult-generator to generate insults.
>
Fortunately it's not the only opinion in the world - this just arrived
by e-mail from a Dutch customer:
"Dear Pristine,
Yesterday I downloaded your XR remastering of Das Rheingold. What a
superb job you have done with it. I own the Krauss Ring on Archipel, but
what an ashtonishing improvement the Pristine version means. I just
would let you know, since I am so enthousiastic about it.
Looking forward to Die Walk�re!"
And this from someone on AOL yesterday (whose address I haven't checked
so could be anywhere):
"Hi,
Congratulations! It's really great compared to the recent CD reincarnation.
Looking forward to the other three.
Regards..."
And finally, from the UK and the person who inspired me to begin this
Ring cycle in the first place:
"Dear Andrew
I have done quite a lot of comparative listening this morning. Through
my not-so-great Sennheiser headphones, the Qobuz download is revealed to
be vague, swimmy and thick in the bass. You get what you pay for -
strictly for iPods. The copy that I copied from a friend's (Melodram?)
set about a decade ago is much closer to what you have achieved and
sounds, through the headphones, warmer but less focused than your version.
Change to the loudspeakers, however, and the slight 'brightness' of the
Pristine version is revealed as, well, pristine. My equipment is a cheap
Sony transport (replacing an Audiolab 8000 transport which now sounds
less good!) going through an 8000 DAC to an Audiolab 8000A amplifier out
through ProAc Reference 1 speakers (the audiophile turbocharged versions
of the Tablettes). The sound of the system tends to the bright and
analytical, which I like. It transforms the slightly aggressive quality
that I thought I detected through the headphones into a glorious
unfolding of magnificently balanced sound. I can't believe that I am
listening to a historical recording.
Congratulations. You are rescuing a quite miraculous performance, in the
work that you are doing on this Ring. Krauss tends to the light and
feline in performances of Wagner, being a sort of antithesis of
Knappertsbusch, but one is not aware of that in this performance. All
one hears is a perfectly paced performance that sets the music free - it
is full of personality, but it's Wagner's personality. There is no
agenda, no interpretative distraction to take one's attention away from
the music. Add to that the most accomplished cast of singers on record
and one has something truly remarkable.
One last thing. Clearly, I need to get some better headphones. Any
ideas?..."
I wouldn't normally post these here (I don't normally get such a quick
and positive response) but this is the sum total in the 48 hours since
release and I thought them worth sharing more widely given the previous
comment from one of 'usual suspects'. As these e-mails were written
privately to me I have not included any names.
wkasimer
> I wouldn't normally post these here (I don't normally get such a quick
> and positive response) but this is the sum total in the 48 hours since
> release and I thought them worth sharing more widely given the previous
> comment from one of 'usual suspects'. As these e-mails were written
> privately to me I have not included any names.
Those are lovely encomiums indeed, but you have not answered my
original question, which seems to have gotten lost in the streams of
invective - what original did you use? Is it a new source, or the
same as one of the previous issues of this cycle?
Also, I'd be a lot more interested in reading a comparison with the
most recent Opera d'Oro, as mentioned by Wagnerfan, which is certainly
superior to other incarnations of this cycle that I've heard.
Bill
Andrew Rose
> On Jan 31, 7:51 am, Andrew Rose <and...@pristineaudio.com> wrote:
>
>> I wouldn't normally post these here (I don't normally get such a quick
>> and positive response) but this is the sum total in the 48 hours since
>> release and I thought them worth sharing more widely given the previous
>> comment from one of 'usual suspects'. As these e-mails were written
>> privately to me I have not included any names.
>
> Those are lovely encomiums indeed, but you have not answered my
> original question, which seems to have gotten lost in the streams of
> invective - what original did you use? Is it a new source, or the
> same as one of the previous issues of this cycle?
I've not managed to unearth a new source, unfortunately, no.
>
> Also, I'd be a lot more interested in reading a comparison with the
> most recent Opera d'Oro, as mentioned by Wagnerfan, which is certainly
> superior to other incarnations of this cycle that I've heard.
I personally believe this release is a considerable improvement on the
Opera d'Oro issue - given the price of their CD set it would be hard to
compete with it unless this was the case, as I certainly can't come
anywhere near matching them on price.
I was aware of the reputation of that release and had to be convinced
that there was a significant gain of quality to be had over it before
embarking on a project of this scale.
I'm pleased to say that the initial sales over the weekend have been
much better than I'd anticipated, which means the work that's already
gone into Die Walk�re has been time well spent.
Right now, however, it's back to Beecham in Seattle, 1943, for the next
few days...
ex-neo-con
I was under the impression that the Opera d'oro mastering was a ripoff
of the Gala mastering. Is this not the case?
ex-neo-con
wagnerfan
>
> - Show quoted text -
You are confusing this issue with the Opera d"Oro release of the 1950
Furtwangler Ring which was allegedly a copy of the Music and Arts
mastering of that performance. Wagner fan
ex-neo-con
Actually, no. I'm aware of the Opera d'Oro Furtwängler Ring.
So I guess I now have two questions:
1) How does the Opera d'Oro transfer of Krauss Ring compare to the
Gala?
2) Are there in fact "legit" Opera d'Oro transfers (i.e., not rip-offs
of others)?
ex-neo-con
wagnerfan
Yes there are legit Opera D'oro transfers - when they first started
out Opera d'Oro was a very "iffy" purchase - the issues could be be in
very poor sound with better alternatives available but they have
gotten their act together and the current transfers are quite good. As
for the Ring, both the presentation (the box, notes and CD labels are
beautiful) and the sound - this is the best sounding Krauss Ring since
the original Foyer release on Lp and CD -the Gala was very good though
a bit over-filtered but the Opera d'oro remastering is better - it
sounds more like the way it sounds at Bayreuth. I have compared the
Pristine excerpt to the Opera d"oro and it depends on what you want -
the Pristine sound is opened up and more transparent with the voices
more forward - on Opera D'oro the voices are more embedded in the
orcheatral sound and the sound is more compact. Wagner fan
wagnerfan
I have purchased this Ring and, as I wrote another poster, I'm glad I did.
The whole is more "alive" and "electric" - very much in your face - the
voices are up front which in Hotters case esp. is a great asset since one
can hear his many Lieder like inflections. The Opera d:"oro set has its
virtues regarding the vocal/orchestral mix but this is equally valid and in
some ways more exciting to hear. This great Ring reading deserves both.
Wagner fan
Romy the Cat
others CDs, crap them up with cheap digital plug0in and sell this shit
as “mastering”. Amassing! The people who do truly complicated and
sonically-respectful transfers from analog souses shall catch this
Pristine asshole and cut his hands off. It is no surprise that he has
the “protection” and endorsement at this forum only from the sleaziest
scams of this community.