TCHAIKOVSKY: Capriccio Italien
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Capriccio Espagnol
Boston Pops conducted by Arthur Fiedler.
Crystal Clear CCS-7003 (Direct-cut LP). Ed Wodenjak, prod.; Bert Whyte, eng.; George Piros, Richard Simpson, Stan Ricker, mastering; John Meyer, special equipment; John Curl, console design. One of Crystal Clear's earlier releases (1978), this has very distant, directionally vague sound, but the sound (stupendous by standards of only a few years ago) cannot stand in the way of two of the most exciting performances of these potboilers that have ever been committed to disc. This is a landmark recording. It has the best sound Fiedler and his Bumptious Bostonians have been accorded, ever. And since today's conductors seem to have no empathy for this kind of music—tending either to over-intellectualize it or' to play it as high-camp schmalz—there is a more-than-even chance that these are the best performances of the Capriccios that will be recorded within our lifetime.
I was happy to learn recently that Crystal Clear did a parallel recording of this release on digital tape. Regardless of how you may feel about digital audio, it is reassuring to know that these rousing renditions won't go out of circulation when the direct-to-disc stampers are worn out.—J. Gordon Holt
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Capriccio Espagnol
Boston Pops conducted by Arthur Fiedler.
Crystal Clear CCS-7003 (Direct-cut LP). Ed Wodenjak, prod.; Bert Whyte, eng.; George Piros, Richard Simpson, Stan Ricker, mastering; John Meyer, special equipment; John Curl, console design. One of Crystal Clear's earlier releases (1978), this has very distant, directionally vague sound, but the sound (stupendous by standards of only a few years ago) cannot stand in the way of two of the most exciting performances of these potboilers that have ever been committed to disc. This is a landmark recording. It has the best sound Fiedler and his Bumptious Bostonians have been accorded, ever. And since today's conductors seem to have no empathy for this kind of music—tending either to over-intellectualize it or' to play it as high-camp schmalz—there is a more-than-even chance that these are the best performances of the Capriccios that will be recorded within our lifetime.
