Rudolf Kempe, Staatskapelle Dresden, Herbert Kegel, Julie Fuchs, Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra - Stravinsky: Firebird Suite, Britten: Sinfonia da Requiem, Penderecki: Lament for the Victims of Hiroshima, Stravinsky: Pulcinella Suite - Import SACD Hybrid

Credits:

Rudolf Kempe, Staatskapelle Dresden, Herbert Kegel, Julie Fuchs, Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra

Description:

A project commemorating the 110th anniversary of Kempe's birth. Coupling two superb pieces, including the "Firebird" suite recorded about 4 months before his death, and two vivid pieces by Kegel. Newly reissued from the original ETERNA analog tapes in Japan. Excellent recording. World's first SACD release! Mastered only in the analog domain and converted directly to DSD! The 9th SACD hybridization of the latest reissue project of ETERNA's original analog tapes in Japan. The latest reissue is a coupling of two recordings by Herbert Koegel (1929.7.29-1990.11.20), whose 100th birthday and 30th anniversary of his death are this year. These recordings by Kempe were made less than four months before his death, and the only other stereo recordings released by ETERNA alone are a rehearsal recording of Beethoven's 7th Symphony and Wagner's Götterdämmerung Highlights (now released simultaneously on 0301707BC) (there are many other recordings in joint production). (There are many other co-productions). Kempe, who has made many German recordings, also had an aptitude for Russian music such as Tchaikovsky, but recordings of Stravinsky are rare. The performance is brilliantly composed with Kempe's typical rigidity, and the orchestra's power is excellent as well as its solid sound. In particular, Peter Dam's horn solo gave me goose bumps. Although it is unclear why Kempe chose Britten as the coupling piece, the performance is still very moving, and along with Britten's own recording, this is one of the most representative recordings of this piece today. The performance is highly regarded as a sincere exploration of the nature of the piece. The recording was made by the famous engineer Streuben, and the sound quality is one of the best ETEARNA recordings of the time, so the reissue of the recording itself is also very impressive. Although the two Kegel pieces have separate orchestras, the quality of the performances themselves is high, and the performances are as masterful as Kempe's ability. The Britten and Penderecki pieces are recorded in the order in which they are related to Japan, which is often the case with other recordings of coupling pieces.The performance that followed was amazing, and in the former East Germany there was no conductor who could match Kegel in terms of his understanding of contemporary music and the frequency with which he performed it. The deep insight and high tension in this performance still amazes me even now. Both pieces are small in size, but the music is eloquent. The recording is excellent, and this reissue conveys more of the details and atmosphere of the performance. (1/2)