advertisement


Wagner Ring Solti Decca CD masterings

jackbarron said:
I've got the 1997 Solti Decca CD box set, which sounds fine.

Also have the original Decca Limited Edition 22 LP vinyl wooden, embossed box set, which includes libretti.

Got this from fleaBay a couple of years ago. Looks in great condition. Don't know what it sounds like though, because I don't have a turntable at the moment. This box set now goes for between £200 to £300 quid.

Like a bit of Wagner. Caught the Ring Cycle a few times at the Royal Albert Hall. Just need to get out to Bayreuth in Bavaria to see it properly. Wagner had the Festspielhaus specially designed to perform it.

Somebody told me they booked 10 years in advance to see the Ring Cycle there.

Jack
Click to expand...

I've got a WRC pressing of the 22lp boxset.

Its criminal that you aren't playing this @jackbarron. You need to buy a turntable ;)
 
Is it true that for both the 1997 and 2012 alternate takes had to be used for the sections of mastertape that were too badly damaged to be used? I wish I could remember where I saw this mentioned. If so doesn’t that make the 1984 edition the only way to get the original ‘conductor approved’ performance?

I’d love to get the Ring series but am on the fence between getting the 1984 or 2012 CD sets. Generally I prefer recordings unfutzed with (not at all fussed about tape hiss either), and it sounds like the 2012 has had quite a bit of tinkering, yet sounds pretty damn good from reviews?
 
I’d not heard that before. There’s not a lot wrong with the old 1984 fat-case issue IMHO. That’s still what I have.
 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
Barry. I generally have an aversion to any recording that’s been subjected to the CEDAR NR process. Not half as transparent as today’s NR technology. So it’s either the ‘84 or ‘12 version for me. Having said that just noticed one can buy the ‘84 opera sets individually. Das Rheingold is available second-hand for a fiver, so will likely get this and see what I think of the sound.
 
alanbeeb said:
I have that Blu-ray disc version too and I used Pavtube or MakeMV (can't remember which) to rip to flac files... but all I could get was one single big flac for each opera! - which is not terribly practical.
Click to expand...

windhoek said:
DVD-Audio Extractor can extract the audio from a huge MakeMKV file and produce individual tracks like you'd find on a CD.
Click to expand...

indeed it can - I re-did this a few weeks ago and now have all the individual tracks. The sound of the 2012 Blu-ray is very good - more detailed than I remember previous late 1980s CD set. Still a bit fierce at times, in line with Solti's interpretation.

Other Ring Cycles are available in good sound - Marek Janowski's Dresden set from early 1980s has always had very good reviews, and the ongoing set by Jap van Zweden and Hong Kong Philharmonic on Naxos is gathering very strong praise.
 
its the case that I like Soltis approach, but on vinyl the recording is execrable,
Im guessing you all know that- but newcomers may not appreciate how bad the problem was

i bought my Rheingold Box set pressing new in 1979
Once i got a linn in 1981 I couldnt listen to it anymore with any cartridge i had

its so bad I used it as my way of assessing cartridges in case any one could unveil the damm thing from the appalling hiss

I dont acess streaming but will put Solti Rheingold on the CD list
 
That surprises me, the vinyl has a decent reputation, though mostly it is the iriginal ‘60s issue that is discussed. By saying that even late ‘70s Decca pressing was good, if not to its past glories. It should certainly have been quiet.
 
ian r said:
its the case that I like Soltis approach, but on vinyl the recording is execrable,
Im guessing you all know that- but newcomers may not appreciate how bad the problem was

i bought my Rheingold Box set pressing new in 1979
Once i got a linn in 1981 I couldnt listen to it anymore with any cartridge i had

its so bad I used it as my way of assessing cartridges in case any one could unveil the damm thing from the appalling hiss

I dont acess streaming but will put Solti Rheingold on the CD list
Click to expand...

That’s interesting because the sound quality of the cycle has been praised since its original release.

I’d agree that Rheingold has more hiss than the other operas, but I’d never describe it as objectionable. For what it’s worth I have the original CD release and the big wooden box of all four operas released on LP by Decca.
 
Stunsworth said:
That’s interesting because the sound quality of the cycle has been praised since its original release.

I’d agree that Rheingold has more hiss than the other operas, but I’d never describe it as objectionable. For what it’s worth I have the original CD release and the big wooden box of all four operas released on LP by Decca.
Click to expand...

There was much 'industry spin' in the advertising when it was released...at a time when Dansettes were common and Garrard SP25 was hifi the appalling hiss wouldnt show through due to numerous s/n issues... being polite Decca got away with shoddy work

Id suggest the wooden box set received optimal attention, my copy has been played max 20 times with lightest Shure and Ortofons carts.i wonder what generation of pressing were being made in 79.
 
Its ok, I take your word for it. The late 70s-early-80s was right at the end of Decca’s vinyl heyday and I suspect they started subcontracting the pressing out as the actual profile of the vinyl looks different and actually looks like Philips pressed them. Philips were almost always superb, some of the nicest and quietest vinyl out there, but whether that meant using a copy master I’ve no idea. The Solti Wagner cycle is interesting in that it was spliced together out of various takes, a real cut and shut job, so chances are copy masters were often used as the original would have been fragile even back then.

Here’s an interesting old film showing some of the recording processes including some splicing:


Annoyingly the camera never pans round to show Decca’s lovely Tannoy monitors, but other than that it is well worth a watch!
 
I’m pretty sure that Philips produced the later Decca LPs. The pressing quality seemed to drop in the 80s with much noisier surfaces.

The producer of the Solti ring John Culshaw wrote a book about the project called Ring Resounding, well worth reading if you have an interest in recordings of the period, and how complex putting it all together was...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1845951948/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21
 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
Stunsworth said:
I’m pretty sure that Philips produced the later Decca LPs. The pressing quality seemed to drop in the 80s with much noisier surfaces.

The producer of the Solti ring John Culshaw wrote a book about the project called Ring Resounding, well worth reading if you have an interest in recordings of the period, and how complex putting it all together was...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1845951948/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21
Click to expand...

Sounds about right... i just checked the vinyl and it is post oil crisis thin but with the Decca ffss label
 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
windhoek said:
DVD-Audio Extractor can extract the audio from a huge MakeMKV file and produce individual tracks like you'd find on a CD.
Click to expand...

I caved and went straight for the 2012 Blu-ray edition, which seemed fair value for £55.

Intrigued by being able to rip the whole thing losslessly so I can add it to iTunes or Audirvana, as well as portable devices.

When ripping does DVD Audio-Extractor name the files for you, or does one have to go through every single flac file and do it manually? I imagine for the Ring this would take quite some time!
 
Bad news I'm afraid - I found the tracks resulting from DVD Audio-Extractor were not tagged. However, its fairly easy to use a tag editor like MP3TAG to add the common details, then from there I just added a title tag for the start of each act or major section in each of the operas so I can still find my way around reasonably well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top