26 October 2011

A tale of two concurrent issues of Keilberth's 1960 BPO Bruckner Ninth -- Part 2

Testament's release has revealed the sonic decapitation and overzealous noise reduction of Orfeo's corresponding release.


SBT2 1472

In Part 1, the inferior sound of Orfeo's Keilberth 1960 Salzburg Festival concert live recording has been noted. After comparison with Testament's release which I just got, it is clear what Orfeo's has missed sonically. It is also evident that the original master does not have the state-of-the-art sound of that period; not least it is in mono only. However comparison is always cruel. The Orfeo's release has truncated upper frequencies and applied overenthusiastic noise reduction, resulting in the poor sound it (re)produces. It also robs the vitality of sound as shown in the Testament release. The timbre of the woodwinds is particularly affected, and so the delectable Lother Koch's solo oboe, Karlheinz Zöller's solo flute and Karl Leister's solo clarinet in the middle part of the Scherzo, which can hardly be appreciated in Orfeo's release, have been captured nicely in Testament's transfer.  Even Karlheinz Duse-Utesch's trombone becomes more vividly portrayed. This is the Berlin Philharmonic in the early 1960s we are familiar with, in sound and in character. The frisson of the concert can now be felt in Testament's transfer.

Compared to his 1956 studio recording, Keilberth had more agogic accents in the live performance with the Berlin Philharmonic. The gesangperiode is so beautifully played as can be heard in the Testament disc. The same subject group in Orfeo's transfer is marred by a sound picture turning dim inexplicably and it becomes quite difficult to enjoy the beautiful dialogue between the strings and the woodwinds. However, at the beginning of the third subject group, there was a sag in tempo and Keilberth had to give the orchestra a push, resulting in a rather abrupt accelerando. The distinguished woodwind soloists whom Karajan brought in did not disappoint. 

The magic of Keilberth is that he could make the Scherzo sound so musical instead of the militant feel that permeates so many other performances or recordings. It is so in both his 1956 studio and the present 1960 live recordings, but the latter is more animated and exciting, fully exhibiting the thrill of a live performance.

The Adagio is affecting, more so in the Abschied vom leben (starting 2'50") and it is where the present live recording becomes more loved than the 1956 studio one. Pauses are shorter in the live performance and the reading on the whole is more urgent. The brass plays a major role in this great Adagio and it is exactly where another reason to prefer the Testament transfer comes in: the Orfeo brass sound is just not up to par. After the climax, Keilberth gently eases the music into silence, but then not long after, starts a build up on the dominant of F major as if another climax of dissonance is coming. But it is not to be, because the resigning coda sets in at this moment. Keilberth fully enthralls the listener here. In the dying moments of this movement, Karlheinz Zöller's flute is truly riveting.

A live recording not to be missed. The music in the companion disc is no less attractive. 
 

2 comments:

  1. The quality of the Orfeo CDs was very good until about 2004 when they started using noise reduction for analog recordings, very often with the side effects you describe. For example, their album of Celibidache WDR recordings is really bad.

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  2. I tend to agree with you. I recently took out Orfeo's Keilberth Mozart 40th and Brahms 2nd disc released in 2001. The sound and the performance are both very good.

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