Lovro von Matacic , Philharmonia Orchestra - Rimsky=Korsakov: Scheherazade, Overture to "Easter in Russia", Mussorgsky: "A Night on Bald Mountain - Japan SACD Hybrid

Credits:

Lovro von Matacic , Philharmonia Orchestra

Description:

The latest reissue of Matacic's hidden masterpieces, "Scheherazade" and others from his early stereo days, which have a strong Slavic soul and bold but also delicate expression! The world's first SACD release. Stereo recording made in 1958. Newly reissued from the original analog master tapes. New commentary is included. The "hot" performance that spurred the Philharmonia Orchestra of the time is a rare performance that has achieved a level of excellence never attainable today. The "Scheherazade" and all the other pieces are masterpieces that reveal Matacic's fundamental strength. The sound quality of the performance has been enhanced to a high quality appropriate for the performance, and this latest reissue is the world's first SACD recording of this work. The master was digitized at 192kHz/24bit from the original analog master tapes in the country of origin and mastered separately for this release. New commentary is included. This is a permanent preservation disc. Scheherazade" was recorded in 1958 and first released only in monaural (original number is 33CX1636).In fact, it is a phantom disc that was given the number SAX2374 in stereo but never issued, and the stereo version will wait until 1965 for reissue in its home country. This stereo version was first released on the U.S. Angel disc, and the jacket design for this issue is based on this disc, which some of you may know because it was reissued late in the CD era and was released on TESTAMENT, but it was never widely distributed. Although Matacich had the acquaintance of Walter Legg, and at that time he left behind some great operetta and opera recordings, including the famous "The Merry Widow," it was not smooth sailing for him, as he was assigned mainly to Russian recordings of pure orchestral works (see also the early stereo When his recordings for EMI were almost finished, he began to scale back his conducting activities, and it is said that he sought out various activities in different regions. The "Scheherazade" recording was not so well received not only at the time of its initial release but also at the time of its reissue, but the performance is too good to be left buried.The sheer scale and dynamic yet subtle expression of the music exceeds that of any other recording. The dynamic quality of the recording has been further enhanced by the high sound quality of this release. The approach may differ from the tight expression by the Russian conductor and from many western masterpieces, but this is a fine performance that shows why this piece has been so popular in both the old and new worlds. This performance strongly conveys the expectations that Legg had for Matacic at the time. This must be a masterpiece performance that shows the enthusiasm of the conductor and performers who, in the midst of performing a masterpiece, genuinely and with a sense of mission, draw out the power of the music itself, which is at the root of the art of recordings. I hope that this reissue will bring about a re-evaluation, including the reproduction of the sound quality. (1/2)