[andolink]

Better than Suzuki even?  That's my benchmark right now for sound and performance.

Suzuki was my benchmark too for a long time.

The emerging cycle from Milnes' Montreal Baroque on Atma is outstanding in many ways too.  That and the Lutz are both OVPP which is the way I like my Bach done.

[Randy]

Better than Suzuki even?  That's my benchmark right now for sound and performance.

As I posted above you can check them out for yourself via YouTube. The audio on this isn't too great. Wondering if the DVDs and downloads are better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFlTRAhCav8

[LesterSleepsIn]

I've collected Herreweghe, Suzuki, Pierlot and Eric Milnes' Montreal Baroque and am familiar with Gardiner and Kuijken but not Koopman so much. 

I think Lutz's team scores over all of them primarily in two areas:

The first is the projection of the shear joy of music making.  These singers and instrumentalists seem to sound like they're having a blast.  The singers in particular (and they're all top notch)  really put emotion into their parts projecting the meaning of the words superbly.

The second is the immediacy and transparency of the recorded sound.  These are live events and the recording puts the listener in ideal perspective with amazing clarity and sound-stage depth and width.  But you get none of the drawbacks of live recording eg. audience noise, flubs, etc.  (not sure how they accomplished that!).

If you have any way of sampling these performances in hi-rez I encourage you to try them.   

Sorry about your wallet...

Wow, that's quite the recommendation, considering the competitive talent. Sigh, I guess I can sell the car. Walking wouldn't hurt me.

[andolink]

J. S. Bach:  'O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort' BWV 20



Listening to this pointed to an error I made in my previous post, namely that the Lutz cycle is one voice per part.  They actually use a modest sized choir (18 by my count in the youtube video).  It sounds a bit smaller than Suzuki's and their diction is clearer.

[andolink]

Johannes Brahms: String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36

[S Clark]

Like many, my collection has several Respighi Pines of Rome.  I was mounting a Sumiko Blackbird and was playing the much sought after Reiner Pines on RCA.  Then for grins I put on a 1960 Malcolm Sargent version on Everest 3051 that I can't remember the last time it got played.  It compared quite positively... a very clean pressing with excellent sonics.  And the Blackbird does different things well compared to my Dynavector 20x2.

[andolink]

Johannes Brahms:  Ein Deutsches Requiem
Katharine Fuge, soprano
Matthew Brook, baritone
The Monteverdi Choir
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique/John Eliot Gardiner

[steve in jersey]

Like many, my collection has several Respighi Pines of Rome.  I was mounting a Sumiko Blackbird and was playing the much sought after Reiner Pines on RCA.  Then for grins I put on a 1960 Malcolm Sargent version on Everest 3051 that I can't remember the last time it got played.  It compared quite positively... a very clean pressing with excellent sonics.  And the Blackbird does different things well compared to my Dynavector 20x2.

Hmmm... I don't believe , I would have developed much of an interest at all in Reiner/CSO recordings had it been on a Dynavector pressing as a tremendous amount of the "Living Stereo" sound engineering of Mohr/Layton became much less perceptable once RCA decided to use this process.

The "Living" part of "Living Stereo" became a shadow of their very Dynamically contrasted original recordings as the Dynavector pressings graphically equalized/lessened the contrasts (The recordings were ahead of their time & as such not completely compatible with the average listener's playback equipment; So RCA decided to "fix" what wasn't actually "broken")

The Everest recordings (as were the Decca & EMI recordings) of this Era were also quite respectable.

[andolink]

Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique/John Eliot Gardiner

[Tyson]

andolink - nice!  To continue with the Brahms theme, the Japanese SACD remaster of Jochum/Brahms symphonies with the London PO are what I just put on:

[LesterSleepsIn]

[S Clark]

Hmmm... I don't believe , I would have developed much of an interest at all in Reiner/CSO recordings had it been on a Dynavector pressing as a tremendous amount of the "Living Stereo" sound engineering of Mohr/Layton became much less perceptable once RCA decided to use this process.

The "Living" part of "Living Stereo" became a shadow of their very Dynamically contrasted original recordings as the Dynavector pressings graphically equalized/lessened the contrasts (The recordings were ahead of their time & as such not completely compatible with the average listener's playback equipment; So RCA decided to "fix" what wasn't actually "broken")

The Everest recordings (as were the Decca & EMI recordings) of this Era were also quite respectable.

Steve,
I think you may have confused my reference to my Dynavector 20X2 cartridge with the RCA Dynagroove recording process.  Dynagroove was an attempt by RCA to equalize frequencies based on limitation of a spherical stylus.  About the time it became popular, it also became obsolete, as elliptical styli became cheap and common.  Now the Dynagroove is an abnormally equalized recording different(inferior) to its white dog and shaded dog predecessors.... not to be confused with Dynavector cartridges. 
Scott

[S Clark]

By the way, my favorite classical source of LP's is an internet dealer called Irvington Music.  They are in the process of winding down their longstanding business and have all of the EPI stock (couple of thousand lps) on sale for half price.  If there is something that you are looking for, they have always had reasonable prices for NM records- not always cheap, but honest and knowledgeable.  At half off, take a look and stock up.  I've selfishly not mentioned them before, but now the owners are looking toward retirement.  http://www.irvmusic.com/

[andolink]

Pierre Boulez: Pli Selon Pli
Phyllis Bryn-Julson, soprano
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Boulez (rec. November 1981)

[LesterSleepsIn]

[andolink]

Michael Pelzel: ...Danses Oniriques...
Florian Müller & Marino Formenti, piano
Klanforum Wien/Enno Poppe

[andolink]

George Enescu: Chamber Symphony in E Major, Op. 33

[LesterSleepsIn]

[andolink]

Dmitry Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 68 (1944)

[LesterSleepsIn]