Rite Of Spring - Lorin Maazel - Cleveland Sym Orchestra - Telarc

[Jazzbo]

Good Memorial Day to all,
As a retired vet I want to personally thank all others who ever participated. Thank you so much!
Who can share with me the particulars of how this recording was made? Was it originally recorded on reel to reel tape and then transferred to digital? Was is ever put on vinyl and were there ever concerns regarding tone arm/stylus tracking such as was the case with the cannon shots in Erich Kunzel's 1812 recording? Was any of the Telarc recordings put to reel to reel initially? Thanks much for educating one who wants to know more.

"When words fail, Music speaks loudly

 

[RBFC]

I know that Jack Renner of Telarc made a direct-to-disc LP of organ music, but am unaware if they used tape. They were the first name label to use the "Colossus" digital recording system (also used on a select few recordings by Bainbridge) for their Alexander Nevsky cantata.

Lee

 

[Andre Marc]

Good Memorial Day to all,
As a retired vet I want to personally thank all others who ever participated. Thank you so much!
Who can share with me the particulars of how this recording was made? Was it originally recorded on reel to reel tape and then transferred to digital? Was is ever put on vinyl and were there ever concerns regarding tone arm/stylus tracking such as was the case with the cannon shots in Erich Kunzel's 1812 recording? Was any of the Telarc recordings put to reel to reel initially? Thanks much for educating one who wants to know more.

"When words fail, Music speaks loudly

Happy Memorial Day to you as well.

I can answer some of the questions. YES, it was available on LP..my father used to play it all the time.
I own the CD. It was recorded direct to digital. Soundstream Digital Tape Recorder. The CD sounds
pretty remarkable to me.

 

[RBFC]

Also, I know that the great Maazel/Cleveland recordings were made in the Masonic Auditorium, not in Severance Hall ( their live performance venue ). Severance was later remodeled with stage baffling to improve the acoustics.

Maazel's Feste Romane is another outstanding example of this venue and artists' work.


Lee

 

[Andre Marc]

Also, I know that the great Maazel/Cleveland recordings were made in the Masonic Auditorium, not in Severance Hall ( their live performance venue ). Severance was later remodeled with stage baffling to improve the acoustics.

Maazel's Feste Romane is another outstanding example of this venue and artists' work.


Lee

The Rite of Spring recording he is asking about was actually recorded in Severance Hall, May 14, 1980.

 

[RBFC]

Andre,

Thanks. I didn't know that the Rite was recorded there. Telarc made their LPs from the digital tapes, according to my long-term friend who was their sales manager for several years. I don't believe that they made "analog-chain" LPs.

Lee

 

[Andre Marc]

Andre,

Thanks. I didn't know that the Rite was recorded there. Telarc made their LPs from the digital tapes, according to my long-term friend who was their sales manager for several years. I don't believe that they made "analog-chain" LPs.

Lee

You are correct. I must say, I remember that LP sounding magnificent on my dad's all Quad system, Kenwood marble base turntable.

 

[RBFC]

You are correct. I must say, I remember that LP sounding magnificent on my dad's all Quad system, Kenwood marble base turntable.

Agreed. Many of those LPs sounded incredible, regardless of source and production chain. I had no reason to complain when he brought me a box of the LPs!!!

Lee

 

[Andre Marc]

Agreed. Many of those LPs sounded incredible, regardless of source and production chain. I had no reason to complain when he brought me a box of the LPs!!!

Lee

Lucky you! Unfortunately, down the road, others did not follow Telarc's lead in using digital recording coupled with purist techniques.

Using tons of processing, post production, and/or editing is going to compromise a recording regardless if it is analog or digital.

 

[astrotoy]

I have many of the Telarcs in vinyl which were released beginning in the late '70's. I couldn't find the "Rite of Spring" however. I did find the very first Maazel Cleveland recording by Telarc, "Direct from Cleveland" which was a rare direct to disc recording - no tape or digital - also no editing, done in 1977 The mastering engineer is Michael Bishop who was responsible for many, most? of the great Telarc recordings of that era. Michael and his partner Robert Friedrich of Five/Four Productions have been Winston Ma's (First Impression Music) main mastering engineers for the past few years and among other releases have done a bunch of the best of the Telarc's in Winston's relatively new UHD process for CD's. I have 13 of those FIM CD's, all done since 2011. I will ask Winston whether he is planning to release the Telarc Rite of Spring.

I read somewhere that the famous big, deep Telarc bass drum was done by using a simple trick. They turned the bass drum sideways, so the drum would face in the direction of the main mikes, resulting in a much bigger sound.

BTW, the famous Maazel Feste Romane was a Decca release - analogue Decca SXL6822 (one of HP's TAS Super Disc's) recorded in Masonic Hall in 1976 and engineered by legendary Kenneth Wilkinson. My favorite Maazel Cleveland recording is his Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet, done in Masonic Hall in 1973 again on Decca. It is also a TAS Super Disc. Decca SXL6620-2, a three record set. The London vinyl is a good substitute if you can't find or afford the Decca original. There is also a 1 disc highlight album - haven't heard it. I am guessing it has been rereleased in digital, but haven't heard it that way. There is also a fantastic Porgy and Bess on Decca done by Maazel and the Cleveland. Neither of those were engineered by Wilkinson. Maazel also recorded an earlier Rite of Spring on Decca in 1974 with the Vienna Philharmonic. Maazel's first Decca recording was done in 1962, at the age of 32! Read the wiki article about his feats as a child prodigy. At age 70 or 71 he became the director of the NY Phil in 2001 and he is still actively conducting. I heard him in a spectacular performance of the Mahler Sym 1 in London a couple of years ago at age 81 as part of his Mahler cycle with the Philharmonia Orch during the Mahler centennial.

From my database, it looks like Maazel who was essentially an exclusive Decca artist from the early '60's, recorded with them until the late 70's when he switched to Telarc.

 

[Jazzbo]

Good evening everyone and what a treasure trove of information you all have provided me. You have answered every question I had and more. Thank you all so much for helping me answer these questions. I am more than pleased.

"When words fail, Music Speaks proudly".

 

[RBFC]

Larry,

The Romeo and Juliet is superb! I had the Decca LPs, and had placed the CD in my Amazon cart, only to wait too long & it wasn't available for a while. This reminder will get me back there again!

Since Telarc was bought by Concord Music Group, they no longer produce SACDs and you may also have trouble finding some of the classic recordings from them.

Lee

 

[astrotoy]

Hi Lee, I emailed Winston Ma and he said they would look into doing the Rite of Spring. He is currently licensing the Telarc recordings from Concord. When Michael Bishop, Robert Friedrich and producer Thomas Moore (who among them have won more than a dozen Emmys) left Telarc in 2009 to form their own company Five/Four Productions, Winston worked with them to develop his new CD mastering and production process and start doing some of the great Telarc recordings on FIM.

Larry,

The Romeo and Juliet is superb! I had the Decca LPs, and had placed the CD in my Amazon cart, only to wait too long & it wasn't available for a while. This reminder will get me back there again!

Since Telarc was bought by Concord Music Group, they no longer produce SACDs and you may also have trouble finding some of the classic recordings from them.



Lee

 

[Jazzbo]

Thank you all of my forum friends here. It's a shame that Telarc never recorded all that great music on reel to reel tape. I am also thinking of Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony orchestra and Choir doing some monumental things, but it was never put to tape. What a shame. Thanks again all for your very much needed input.

Where words fail music speaks beautifully