The new audiophile vinyl series The Original Source from Deutsche Grammophon (AAA)

[Mike Lavigne]

Thank you for this interesting comparison!

If you keep could only one record – – maximizing the sum of performance quality and recording quality – – which is your favorite?

Ron,

assuming you have Roon and Tidal or Quboz, it's easy peasy to sort through plenty of Beethoven's 7th performances, then choose one you like that has a vinyl version. maybe even just focus on the 2nd movement (my fav of this Symphony and very 'accessable' musically ) and sample those. not every performance will be on streaming, but many will.

or just buy the 'Original Source' pressing which is going to be clean and flat and you can depend on the pressing being good, no risk. can't go wrong.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Thank you very much, Don!

 

[Kjetil]

I always found the fourth mvt of the Kleiber DG LvB7 to be troublesome. It sounded like CK was too fast for the orchestra. Now I’m not so sure. The clarity of the TOS seems to find them in agreement, at least based on the snippet at the end of this video:

I opted out of this one. Too many LvB7s in my collection, previous releases of this recording included. However a friend of mine has bought it so I shall give it a spin in due course.

 

[Al M.]

I always found the fourth mvt of the Kleiber DG LvB7 to be troublesome. It sounded like CK was too fast for the orchestra. Now I’m not so sure. The clarity of the TOS seems to find them in agreement, at least based on the snippet at the end of this video:

I opted out of this one. Too many LvB7s in my collection, previous releases of this recording included. However a friend of mine has bought it so I shall give it a spin in due course.

Thanks for the video. That 4th movement of the Kleiber DG LvB7 sounds perfectly fine to me.

 

[No Regrets]

Lately amazon has been putting the lp in a cardboard 'sleeve' form-fitting box and then mounting that box inside a much larger box. Very securely shipped, albeit with more cardboard than I'd like.

Thank you for your post!

My Verdi Requiem just arrived this afternoon via Amazon and it came exactly as you have described. The record was secure, no damage at all to the sleeve corners, the record is flat with no warping. I'm very satisfied with the shipping experience that Amazon has provided with this. Still awaiting my Trout that I had ordered via Amazon.... looks like it will arrive on Saturday

Best wishes,
Don

 

[the sound of Tao]

I always found the fourth mvt of the Kleiber DG LvB7 to be troublesome. It sounded like CK was too fast for the orchestra. Now I’m not so sure. The clarity of the TOS seems to find them in agreement, at least based on the snippet at the end of this video:

I opted out of this one. Too many LvB7s in my collection, previous releases of this recording included. However a friend of mine has bought it so I shall give it a spin in due course.

Some love Kleiber and others find him a tad too cool and caught up in his precision. His DGG Beethoven 7 is among his best for me and I’d have put both the scherzo and finale as the real performance highlights here… in movements 3 and 4 I find the spirit compelling and quite brilliant. But we all have our take on how we like the performances to be… I completely get that. Of the LvB 7’s you have which are the ones you most prefer? It’s a great work deserving of plenty of love and attention.

 

[No Regrets]

Just finished side one of the Verdi Requiem.

My God, what a recording this one is! Extremely well done! They again push it to the limits, but with this recording the dynamic range is HUGE! From the softest of the pianissimo to the loudest of the fortissimo with excellent dynamic shading and gradations all the way through! Very impressive and all without distortion!

With this recording I would think that you would ideally want to have a big system. Big full range speakers, components that have huge power reserves with lots of headroom to avoid clipping and to let the music breath and soar to the best of it's ability.

The soundstage is incredible! It's wide, it's deep, it's high, it's enveloping. Layers upon layers! It's breathtaking!

The acoustics are so alive and present, you feel as though you are there basking in the waves of music. It just flows over you and through you!

The voices of the choir and the soloists are pure, the tenors are sonorous and the sopranos are angelic!

The strings sing with beauty and the brass with authority!

The performance is so well done and articulate. This one really gets you deep inside your heart and soul. I'm talking goosebumps!

This recording is a powerhouse that engulfs you with emotions of death, of humility, of judgment, hope and of grace!

The Original Source has knocked this one out of the park! I am so happy I ordered this one. The vinyl is flat, centered, and quiet! No tics, no pops, no distortions! If you even have the slightest interest in choral works and you want to experience it on vinyl, I dare say that this recording is a must have!

Here is a pic of my system that I just got done playing it on.... ( the distortion is from using wide angle lens )




If you are sitting on the fence, trying to decide if you should order this record or not... kind of like I was just a few days ago. Don't wait! Get it now while you still can. I am so completely thrilled to have this record and I think you may be too

Now onto side two! If I hear anything in the remaining sides that change how I feel about this recording, I will come back with an update

Best wishes to all,
Don

 

[Kjetil]

^To make myself clear: The snippet in the video sounds (to me) like it’s better played than other masters I’ve heard of those seconds of that recording. It’s a compliment!

My favorite LvB7? Carlos Kleiber on DG!

 

[tima]

It's great to hear people talking about music.

 

[the sound of Tao]

It's great to hear people talking about music.

Big +1

 

[kodomo]

As I have a 38 days old son now, I am not able to play the records and review them I am really missing out on this beautiful thread I started. So happy, it is about the music. Please keep on going, I will surely join very soon.

 

[bonzo75]

As I have a 38 days old son now, I am not able to play the records and review them I am really missing out on this beautiful thread I started. So happy, it is about the music. Please keep on going, I will surely join very soon.

congrats.

 

[oldvinyl]

The Barshai Mahler 5 is compelling. Compared to many of the other recognised front running Mahler 5’s its spirit sits in the white hot spectrum… kind of like Kondrashin’s 5th but even more so.

The Barshai seems quite extraordinary, which then becomes mind blowing when realising that it was performed with a student orchestra. Barshai’s is almost a fairy tale moment and an utterly captivating performance and I do feel all Mahler lovers should hear it. But does it reflect what Mahler might have intended for the 5th. That is genuinely hard to say for sure.

I do really like this Karajan here as well. Apparently Karajan put in over 50 rehearsals preparing for this recording of the Mahler 5. It sits at a more traditional romantic beauty for beauty’s sake (not a criticism) in the more effusively romantic end of recognised great interpretations. In a lot of ways Mahler 5 presents as an almost ideal vehicle for the kind of sonorous lush beauty that Karajan and the Berlin Phil could lean into… but for me this is still exemplary music making… (and Karajan’s Mahler 6 is even more successful if DG later release that in this series).

On a side note for anyone wanting to explore more takes on Mahler 5 here are a few suggestions with 3 analogue stereo, 3 digital stereo and a mono (the ‘51 Rosbaud) shortlist of some of the greater Mahler 5 performances (for me on performances and not necessarily for recording quality) here are some choices I find fantastic.

Bernstein / Vienna Philharmonic (SD)
Barshai / Junge Deutches Phil (SD)
Barbirolli / New Philharmonia (SA)
Karajan / Berlin Philharmonic (SA)
Abbado/ both at Chicago (SA) and the Berlin Phil (SD)
Rosbaud / WDR Koln Rundfunk (MA)

PS I do have a personal favourite Mahler 5… what might be for me the most enduringly enchanting (and I well imagine Mahler might have wanted this work to enchant Alma the woman he dedicated it to) is the Bernstein 1988 Vienna Phil performance… though I’d happily listen to any of these (and there are others as well) when wanting to experience Mahler’s 5th symphony.

Did someone mention Mahler? On vinyl?
I have several versions of each of the symphonies. Also have the songs and the lieder. Can't seem to get enough Mahler. His music gets into my bones, blood, mind, soul.
I was in Bavaria a few years ago on a business trip. It was summer and one of the ski resorts used the ski gondola to take people up for sightseeing at the top of the mountain. On the ride up, the gondola went over a herd of cattle. The bells on the cattle were clanging and reminded me of Mahler's 6th symphony. In a euphoric moment, it occured to me that Mahler was pointing out that everything is music - all earth, all life, all sound, all experience.

 

[the sound of Tao]

Did someone mention Mahler? On vinyl?
I have several versions of each of the symphonies. Also have the songs and the lieder. Can't seem to get enough Mahler. His music gets into my bones, blood, mind, soul.
I was in Bavaria a few years ago on a business trip. It was summer and one of the ski resorts used the ski gondola to take people up for sightseeing at the top of the mountain. On the ride up, the gondola went over a herd of cattle. The bells on the cattle were clanging and reminded me of Mahler's 6th symphony. In a euphoric moment, it occured to me that Mahler was pointing out that everything is music - all earth, all life, all sound, all experience.
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I can imagine crazy joy lighting up Mahler’s face if Christopher Walken had said to him more cowbell Gustav, more cowbell!

 

[tima]

On the DG Web site I see the Kleiber/Beethoven, Abbado/Stravinsky and Gilels-Amadeus/Schubert are sold out at DG.

New (to me) listings:

- Emil Gilels, Beethoven Piano Sonatas 25, 26, 46.99€
- Ozawa & Boston Symphony Orchestra, Berlioz Symphony Fantastique, 46.99€
- Friedrich Gulda, Abbado & Vienna Philharmonic, Mozart Piano Concertos 25, 27, 63.99€
and
- Friedrich Gulda, Claudio Abbado & Vienna Philharmonic, Mozart Piano Concertos 25, 27
White Label limited to 75 copies, available only from DG, 129.00€
Other than the exclusivity, white label and price, DG site indicates no difference between the two Gulda/Mozart 25, 27s.

These can be pre-ordered with estimated delivery of 9-29-2023.

For a brief moment I was tempted to pre-order the white label edition; it is available as I type, but then -- as much as I love Mozart -- reason occluded desire.

 

[tima]

I can imagine crazy joy lighting up Mahler’s face if Christopher Walken had said to him more cowbell Gustav, more cowbell!

But what Gustav heard was 'more horns' so he scored for 6 ! (Beethoven's 5th has 3.)

 

[bonzo75]

Beethoven 5th and the connection to rock riffs

 

[the sound of Tao]

As I have a 38 days old son now, I am not able to play the records and review them I am really missing out on this beautiful thread I started. So happy, it is about the music. Please keep on going, I will surely join very soon.

That is awesome… and such a great start in life Kodomo… a curated music collection complete with horns and SET. When does his intro to music begin… and which album?

 

[Michael S.]

My copy from the Brahms concertos arrived yesterday and I had the time and the desire to listen to it.

I compared it to my issue of the same recordings on Sacd (both remastered from Emil Berliner Studios)


They pushed the limits with this vinyl remasters at EBS, yes vinyl has its flaws which are in the technical limitations. I have never seen a record cut with such few inner groove.
But it works well I must say.

As good as the Sacd is (and it is very good), I would prefer the vinyl. More attack, more soundstage, warmer timbre in the sound.
Are those characteristics possible in comparison to Sacd or part of the flaws of vinyl that tricked my ears?

Maybe. But for me it is more important what gives me more pleasure.

That Brahms reissue is the perfect example what brought me into this hobby. Highly recommended!

 

[bonzo75]

That is awesome… and such a great start in life Kodomo… a curated music collection complete with horns and SET. When does his intro to music begin… and which album?

i think for the first few years when he says daddy, how did I come in to this world? Kodomo will reply, through the JMLC