Jascha Horenstein , London Symphony Orchestra , London Philharmonic Orchestra , Margaret Price , Lovro von Matacic , Philharmonia Orchestra - Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 "Pathetique", Mahler: Symphony No. 4, etc. - Japan 2 SACD Hybrid

Credits:

Jascha Horenstein , London Symphony Orchestra , London Philharmonic Orchestra , Margaret Price , Lovro von Matacic , Philharmonia Orchestra

Description:

Project for the 50th anniversary of Horenstein's death. Coupling two stereo recordings left on the old EMI label and three pieces conducted by Matacic. The world's first SACD release of the excellent recordings! Newly reissued from the original analog master tapes. The two albums Horenstein (1898-1973) recorded for the old EMI label in his later years are coupled with three early stereo recordings of Tchaikovsky and other Russian works by Matacic, and are now available on SACD for the first time in the world. The "Pathetique" is one of his best-known recordings. His performance of Mahler, one of his specialties, also strikes a chord with listeners with its extremely pure musicality and emphasis on the music. The recording is also excellent. The three pieces by Matacic's keen eye are also noteworthy. The master was digitized at 192kHz/24bit from the original analog master tapes in the original country for this release, and mastered separately for the SACD and CD layers. New commentary is included. This is a permanent edition. Horenstein also recorded for the old EMI label in the monaural era, but after the stereo era, he only recorded this 1967 "Pathetique" and Mahler No. 4 in 1970.Compared to his earlier recordings on VOX and DG, his later years were spent only on a few labels, including Unicorn, which is unfortunate in terms of recording history. However, the remaining recordings are all excellent, and they all showcase Horenstein's charm. These performances, which are rarely reissued nowadays, are not mere nostalgia, but rather, the listener may feel that only a conductor with such expressive power could have done these performances. I had the same feelings about the CD reissue of the "Pathetique" when I was with Toshiba-EMI (released in 2013 as QIAG50091 on the Tower project disc), and those feelings became even stronger as I listened to the much improved sound quality this time." I thought that the reason why the performance sounded "old" might be due to the sound quality (reissue). In that sense, I am convinced that the reissue on this occasion will definitely lead to a reevaluation. The scale of the "Pathetique" is large, and the interpretation is more focused on the earlier music than the sweet Tchaikovsky image in the West. Horenstein's expression, born in Kiev, is different from the penetrating feel of Russian conductors, but he makes us aware of the universal message of the music.Mahler also emphasized the musicality of the music, so the music here should not sound "old-fashioned" in the sense of being merely sweet. Also, although there may be some controversy, the inclusion of "Dances of the Dancing Men" as a coupling piece is intended to encourage the audience to continue with "Scheherazade," which will be released at the same time, and to match the music in the margins. Please forgive the somewhat forced nature of the song. The two tracks by Matacic in the margins of DISC 1 are valuable early stereo recordings made in 1956, even though there are some noise and separation limitations. However, this recording has not been reissued very often, so it is probably not well known. The recording is not well known because it has not been reissued very often. (1/2)