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

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Thanks for posting this, great read. On March 2 I will hear Mahler 6 live at Boston Symphony Hall with the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. I'm excited.

You should be. I have listened to impressive performances from the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester (an Austrian youth orchestra). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Mahler_Jugendorchester , they sometimes come to Lisbon.

They are surely top performers, selected from the best - and IMO the energy and emotional intensity of young orchestras brings us unique experiences.

 

[Kjetil]

One of the very best Mahler buys you can do is the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie conducted by Rudolf Barshai in Symphony 5 and 10, the latter in Barshai's own reconstruction. CD and CD quality only though. They sound very good.

 

[Michael S.]

Hello, apparently I was happy too early about the improvement of the quality control.

My copy of the Mozart Requiem is actually not audible. From the inlet groove the needle jumps back and forth, sometimes gets stuck, accompanied by loud popping.

I haven't tested the other pages anymore. Going straight back.

That sucks.

 

[tony22]

My white label copies arrived yesterday. All in spotless condition. They go through the ultrasonic tomorrow.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

Latest TOS batch arrived at my UK base this morning

 

[Michael S.]

Hello everyone, I know that I am not the first to whom the new Ravel box has fluttered to match the composer's birthday.
But one has to make the beginning.

Been listening to the first disc:

Ravel- Bolero, Rhapsody Espagnol, La Valse

Boston Symphony Orchestra
Ozawa

This record is very well made, practically no background noise and also at the finale of La Valse shortly before the outlet groove no distortion.

I first listen to the records to notice any defects before I compare them against my box from 1975.

Maybe that would be something you could do in the circle of interested people

 

[Al M.]

Thanks for posting this, great read. On March 2 I will hear Mahler 6 live at Boston Symphony Hall with the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. I'm excited.

You should be. I have listened to impressive performances from the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester (an Austrian youth orchestra). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Mahler_Jugendorchester , they sometimes come to Lisbon.

They are surely top performers, selected from the best - and IMO the energy and emotional intensity of young orchestras brings us unique experiences.

(Emphasis added.)

Indeed! Here is a short report about the performance, one of the most intense Mahler experiences of my life. The playing was unexpectedly precise and tight, with very few (timing) mistakes. The French horns had several very exposed passages ,which can be treacherous since they can ruthlessly reveal impurity of tone, but the players mastered them beautifully. Woodwinds had a wonderful tone.

Some string passages sounded strident but that was evidently how they were composed. I did wonder, however, if the massed violins in the songful, loudly played "Alma" theme of the first movement could have had a more beautiful tone. On the other hand, there was a gorgeous, lush string tone in the slow movement, which for the most part does not feature very loud passages.

What might have been lacking in the last perfection of playing here and there was more than compensated with passion. All throughout there was an incredible, relentless, fiery intensity of playing, making for a thoroughly exciting and riveting performance. The young musicians, aged 13 to 21, were really into it. Benjamin Zander, the conductor, said in his very useful 20 min introduction about the music that the players all deeply loved the music. He is a tremendous Mahler conductor, couldn't have wished for a better interpretation. Dynamics were brutal, and peaks were incredibly loud (much louder than the levels even I listen at in my system). I sat in row 8 from the stage, ideal for great sound.

There was a prolonged standing ovation at the end, perhaps lasting almost 10 minutes. Clearly the audience at large was impressed with and delighted by the mastery of this performance of a difficult to play work.

Below are a few pictures pre-concert:

 

[Kjetil]

Excellent, @Al M.! Thank you.
I played the Karajan TOS M6 the other day. Very nice, apart from a couple of badly placed ticks at the dying phrases of the finale. I may be able to remove them with another go in the Humminguru though. Worth at try.

Mumin cup for comfort.

 

[No Regrets]

Excellent, @Al M.! Thank you.
I played the Karajan TOS M6 the other day. Very nice, apart from a couple of badly placed ticks at the dying phrases of the finale. I may be able to remove them with another go in the Humminguru though. Worth at try.

Mumin cup for comfort.

Loving the pic!
Bummer about the ticks. Other than that... how did you enjoy the sound and the performance???
Best wishes,
Don

 

[Kjetil]

I like it so much that I really hope they’ll give the analog (studio) Karajan M9 the TOS treatment too.

 

[No Regrets]

I like it so much that I really hope they’ll give the analog (studio) Karajan M9 the TOS treatment too.

That's great news!!!
Please let us know if the Ultrasonic cleaner removes the ticks.
I just turned 60 today (and my Golden Retriever turned 11 today ), so for a birthday present to myself, I'm placing my pre-order today for the M6 as it's not currently available in the USA as of yet.

Best wishes to you!!!
Don

 

[adrianywu]

I like it so much that I really hope they’ll give the analog (studio) Karajan M9 the TOS treatment too.

I agree. The earlier Karajan Mahler 9th is excellent. Another Karajan recording they should reissue is the Shostakovich 10th. It is very special indeed. I have the four-track tape and am absolutely blown away whenever I play it. In fact, the four-track tapes of DGG recordings from the 1960s are pretty uniformly amazing. Much better than the LPs of the same era. My favourites include the Abbado Scriabin Poem of Ecstasy, the Amadeus Quartet playing Beethoven string quartets and Kubelik's Ma Vlast.

 

[Kjetil]

Happy 60, @No Regrets! (I’ll have to wait ‘til June.)

 

[No Regrets]

Happy 60, @No Regrets! (I’ll have to wait ‘til June.)

Thank you, Kjetil... Well, if that is your picture in the Avatar, I can't hardly believe you've hit your 40's yet alone nearly 60 yet
Maybe we should say that 60 is the new 40???

Wishing you also a beautiful and very happy birthday filled with much love, joy and happiness!
Don

 

[Kjetil]

I should haste to say that I’m not my avatar Juliette Binoche!

 

[No Regrets]

I should haste to say that I’m not my avatar Juliette Binoche!

Oops, my bad.... I guess I kinda live under a rock

Well, you're still a star in our eyes!

 

[oldvinyl]

The Mahler 6 is really really good in all regards. Sonics and performance are great. Side 2 and 4 had some ticks that skipped for a few revolutions, then moved past them. They were cleaned before first play.

The MTT Tchaikovsky Symphony 1 is lush. Beautifully interpreted and performed. The sound is just wonderful. What a disc.

Ravel set en route, waiting for flight to transport to the US.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

Received my DG TOS Ravel - The Orchestral Works Box Set today

 

[Michael S.]

Deutsche Grammophon Announces a Treasure Trove of Releases in Batch #8 of the Original Source Vinyl Reissue Series

Brilliance, Virtuosity and Eclecticism Rule the Day in This Outstanding Selection of Titles, all mastered and cut AAA directly from 4 and 8-track masters

trackingangle.com

 

[tony22]

Deutsche Grammophon Announces a Treasure Trove of Releases in Batch #8 of the Original Source Vinyl Reissue Series

Brilliance, Virtuosity and Eclecticism Rule the Day in This Outstanding Selection of Titles, all mastered and cut AAA directly from 4 and 8-track masters

trackingangle.com

Sigh. More record to buy…