Search - Anton Bruckner, Gustav Mahler, Richard Wagner :: Famous Mahler & Bruckner Symphonies: The Original Jacket Collection

Over-priced, under-powered, and incomplete

Bruce Eder | New York, NY | 11/26/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Sony Music USA must be dedicated to the notion that in a crisis -- and classical CD sales are in a crisis, as their numbers (and the available retail outlets in which to sell them) spiral downward -- one shouldn't just stand there, but DO something. In this instance, with The Original Jackets Collection: Bruno Walter/Famous Mahler and Bruckner Symphonies, they've tried to do something, sort of. But as is usually the case with Sony Music in America, they've done it half-assed. The whole "original jackets" concept seems to be an effort to emulate what several Japanese labels have done with considerable success, reselling long-established classic recordings by artists ranging from Erroll Garner to Elvis Presley in miniature LP sleeve packaging, usually with state-of-the-art digital sound (20 bit/K2 and 24-bit mastering are the twin standards in Japan); Sony-Japan has done it with considerable success on artists such as Miles Davis and Al Kooper. So the US "original jackets" series was co-opting a Japanese success, but not really -- the series is totally inconsistent when it comes to upgrading sound, which is a major part of the allure of the Japanese mini-LPs; the Szell Beethoven entry was upgraded from the previously existing CD issues in the US, for example, but the Bernstein entry uses the same masters that one can get on the existing US CDs; and the same goes for the Walter set. To top it off, Sony-Japan includes a mini-inner sleeve to protect its discs with each mini-LP, whereas Sony's US division apparently likes the idea of discs rolling out of the double-LP mini-jackets and otherwise getting scratched and damaged -- but they still charge a premium price per disc on these releases.

And the Walter box, in addition to simply re-packaging the same masters that have been available for a lot less money since 1996, isn't even complete when it comes to the conductor's Mahler recordings for the label -- where is his 1955 mono Mahler Symphony No. 1 with the New York Philharmonic? There are other mono and stereo recordings in here with the Philharmonic as well as the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, and a perfectly good master of the "missing" performance exists, as it was used in the Masterworks Heritage CD release (which also used the mini-LP concept, a little differently) about eight years ago. Additionally, at least one of the performances here, of the Bruckner 9th, has been upgraded in a separate release, using Sony's DSD technology -- why not at least include that, and why not upgrade the entire body of music, if they expect us to buy it anew? That's how it's done in Japan, whence this whole idea originated. In fact, since Sony is bent on trying to sell Super-Audio CD technology, why not bump these up to that technology as hybrid discs? The answer is that they did it on the cheap. It's a handsome looking box, to be sure, and some of the old cover art was worth reviving (and others, such as for the Mahler 5th, much less so), but it's not worth the $150 list price by a long shot, which was why this listener traded for a used copy."

Great Presentation for Great Performances

J P Falcon | Fords, New Jersey United States | 08/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First off, avid collectors may already have many of these Bruno Walter recordings in their possession so take note of what you have and see if you want to duplicate your collection....I for one had no problem doing so because I felt that the early Sony transfers of many of these great performances were not up to par as the sound quality is greatly improved in these performances to make it a worthwhile investment for me....mind you, these recordings are mono and early stereo, so we are not talking about high fidelity here, but the older performances are not hampered by the sound quality... Bruno Walter, who knew Gustav Mahler personally, provides some of the finest accounts of Mahler's symphonies...Walter concentrated his conducting on the symphonies presented here, as he was not one to perform the 3rd, 6th, 7th and 8th, frequently, if at all...but what you are getting will demonstrate the clean lines, and sensible tempi that many later day conductors ignored...Das Lied Von Der Erde is an excellent account, and it is a treat to have Walter as an accompianist at the piano for a selction of Mahler' songs....Walter's granatic Bruckner is also included and it was a clever move by the producers of this set to include the Te Deum on the same disc as the Symphony #9... Bruckner was never able to complete the fourth movement of his 9th Symphony and so he had authorized the use of his Te Deum to serve as a final movement to the work...Now most people will agree that the 3 movement unfinished symphony is excellent in it's own right, and there was really no need to go beyond the fantastic and heavenly Adagio that closes the work, but having the Te Deum follow, allows you to experience what Bruckner consented to as an alternative...hey, you can always exclude the track if you so desire....the addition of the Te Deum to this collection shows that record producers do listen to criticism....when the first releases of the ORIGINAL JACKET series came out, they adhered to the concept to the letter, which resulted in most of the CD's being very short in playing time..this was roundly booed by some circles who felt that the editions were too expensive, for reissues, to begin with, and the short playing times made the matter worse...afterall, an LP can only hold about an hour of music, so the duplicate CD's were lacking at least 25-30 minutes of music...this reissue of Bruno Walter's Mahler and Bruckner recordings therefore provides a number of bonus tracks of Richard Wagner's music, including a 45 minute rehearsal of Bruno Walter performing the Siegfried Idyll (he speaks in English)....Of course the Original LP Jackets are great to see again and re-reading the liner notes (though not easy with the small print) was informative....one forgets how a single symphony could take 2 lps to house when we are so used to having everything on 1 cd... A note of caution!...the CD's stored in the 2 album sets are very loosely held within the cardboard case..if you are not careful, the cd's can roll out of the album case and find themselves landing in the kitty litter, boiling soup, or toilet, so keep this in mind when you handle the albums... So, should you buy this set?...If you have these performances in your collection then the obvious answer is no, unless you are like me, someone who likes to renew the packaging and sound quality of what I have, and sell off any dupes...If you are new to the Walter experience regarding Mahler, Bruckner, and Wagner, and you are not concerned about the price, then by all means you will not be disappointed by this set, as it will sit comfortably, as an alternate, next to the ultra passionate Bernstein's Mahler and other worldly experience of Giulini's Bruckner....if you are concerned about the price, you can avoid what some may call the "bells and whistles" of an overpriced set, and seek out these same performances separately for less money....Recommended as a specialty item but higly recommended none the less!"

Old cow, good milk

pclaudel | New York City | 02/02/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Consider these remarks a footnote to the reviews of Messrs. Eder, Falcon, and Modée, who have accurately and admirably detailed the pluses and minuses of this release. In and of itself, the set is a fine one: a compendium containing either the only or the last recording made for Columbia of every work by Wagner, Bruckner, and Mahler that Bruno Walter committed to audiotape. The packaging is handsome albeit a bit wasteful of space, and the annotation is excellent--apart from the absence of most sung texts (not a minor matter, of course). The transfers are not new; they are the same ones used in Sony's sadly defunct Bruno Walter Edition. Without exception, the performances are among the greatest ever recorded. The quality of the sound captured on disc is often remarkably true to life; only in the oldest recordings (Mahler's fourth and fifth symphonies) and the ones of the most demanding scale (the Mahler Second and Bruckner's Te Deum) is the want of modern-day technology keenly felt.



From the packaging and marketing perspective, Sony clearly decided that this particular old cow still had milk left in it. That the recordings in the present thirteen-CD set were not remastered before their release demonstrates, as others have rightly said, the thoughtlessness of Sony's corporate rulers or their disdain for collectors of truly classic recordings--or both. The one notable improvement of a technical nature is the fitting of the Mahler Second onto a single disc; the fact that it took Sony almost twenty years to do so, when the technology was there all along, is yet another mark against the company.



Those familiar with Bruno Walter's sterling personal qualities know that, unlike many of his contemporaries, he refused to conceal his contempt for the deplorable pop music of his day. His integrity stands as a rebuke to the peddlers for whom his legacy is little else but a lure to snare a few bucks from those, young and old, who are drawn to his re-creative art.



A postscript: Mr. Modée notes the absence of the Lied von der Erde recording from the now hard-to-find budget box he recommends in the present set's stead and suggests alternatives. One not available at the time he wrote is available now: a superbly remastered reissue in the Great Performances series (Mahler: Das Lied Von Der Erde; note that it is cheaper at the UK Amazon site).



One hesitates to describe this new transfer of Lied von der Erde as "state of the art"--not least because, as good as it is, it could probably have been a tiny bit better--but fastidious collectors will immediately spot the improvement in sound over the mastering included in the thirteen-CD set at hand. For the true devotee any incremental improvement is reason enough for a duplicative purchase, but given the nature of the sound engineer's art and craft, today's satisfaction seldom endures indefinitely."