Search - Cornelis Brongeest, Cornelis Bronsgeest, Richard [Classical] Wagner :: Wagner: Parsifal

I think the other reviewer needed a "cooling down" period

Into | everywhereandnowhere | 02/27/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"...before writing that review. The sound on these discs might not be ideal, but it is not bad enough to warrant one star. I've heard worse transfers of "historical recordings," and still found them to be quite listenable. Yes, it's true that there is quite a bit of surface noise, but once the orchestral sound rises above that, it is quite firm and clear. Yeah, the Naxos set has less surface noise, but it seems to me that the sound also has a bit more "glare," and a bit less depth, and I hear more flutter in some places.



If you find the Pearl/Opal set cheap in a used CD bin, or on the Marketplace, go ahead and grab it: my personal feeling is that both it, and the Naxos, have their merits."

Great Performances -- If You Could Only Hear Them

Tom Moran | New York, NY United States | 01/17/2002

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I began listening to these CDs with great anticipation -- and tossed them out in disgust.Karl Muck was a great conductor of Wagner, but Pearl has put out a set with so much surface noise that I found them unlistenable.These performances are well worth acquiring. These CDs, unfortunately, are not. What I can suggest is that you find a better remastering (I can recommend either Naxos Historical 8.110049-50 or Centaur CRC 2142, both of which contain some of these performances), and avoid this set completely."