Post by ramesh June 12, 2006 (41 of 48)
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andrewb said:
The stickers are really annoying, especially when they fail to come off cleanly: just like my copy of this disc. I have found that removing the paper and then rubbing the remaining glue with a tissue dipped in paint brush cleaner tidies the cover up satisfactorily.
If these stickers have to be put on, please put them outside the cellophane.
I also agree about the lack of contrast on CD labelling. It is sometimes extremely difficult to read the print on the back of the case. Record companies seem to put readibility of text very low on the list of priorities.
One good thing, apart from the excellent performance on this disc, is that this SACD is in a CD type jewel case. The only fault, to me, with SACDs is the decision to move to another type of jewel case for many releases, it is much inferior to the standard CD jewel case, especially the double disc cases: the only advantage, of the new SACD style, is that it easier to find an SACD on a shelf amongst a load of CDs.
I find the SACD stickers very useful, but like you wish they were on the cellophane, to make it easier to reuse, in this case. I store SACDs separately from CDs, and it is very easy to misfile an SACD in a standard jewel case with CDs. Many, such as Channel, PentaTone and most Japanese SACDs don't even have 'SACD' printed on the spine. I remove the grey stickers from the front, and restick it on the spine, with the 'plays on SACD players' visible, and the rest folded onto either onto the front or the back. The best stickers are the bright red ones on the RCA LS series, which can be bisected and used on two separate cases. Since doing this, the only SACD I've misfiled was one which didn't have the spine sticker.
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Post by aoqd22 June 12, 2006 (42 of 48)
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The best I have come across as far as the spine is concerned are Hyperion & MDG who give us a spine which has black text on a white backgroud and the SACD logo printed at the top
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Post by odiwan July 1, 2006 (43 of 48)
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Hi
the sound is great, but..... please use Super Jewel Box in your SACDs LSO Live
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Post by akiralx July 23, 2006 (44 of 48)
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Anyone who owns this care to comment on International Record Review's review which says there is an excess of timpani in #2 which renders it unlistenable for him?
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Post by claypool July 23, 2006 (45 of 48)
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akiralx said:
Anyone who owns this care to comment on International Record Review's review which says there is an excess of timpani in #2 which renders it unlistenable for him?
And any other additional comments on the performances (and sound quality) would be welcome too. I've so many SACDs and CDs of these symphonies I wouldn't want to buy them once again unless these are really something special...
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Post by zeus July 23, 2006 (46 of 48)
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Post by andrewb July 23, 2006 (47 of 48)
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akiralx said:
Anyone who owns this care to comment on International Record Review's review which says there is an excess of timpani in #2 which renders it unlistenable for him?
and
Claypool said:
And any other additional comments on the performances (and sound quality) would be welcome too. I've so many SACDs and CDs of these symphonies I wouldn't want to buy them once again unless these are really something special...
I had listened to Symphony No 2 a couple of times before reading this review in IRR and was surprised by these comments about the timpani being so dominant that they were offensive.
It is true that the timpani are very present, more so than any other account I have, especially in the first movement but I felt they were still in good balance with the rest of the orchestra - in fact more like being present at the performance in my view than any of the other recordings I have heard. The timpani are strong in all of these Beethoven LSO Live recordings released so far (Numbers 2, 3, 6 and 7) but they are more obvious in the 2nd simply because the music is written that way. The timpani are also to the fore in the 3rd.
The 2nd is throughout a lively and gripping performance as is the 6th. Of course there is more than one way to play the pastoral and some might prefer a more leisurely reading.
As has been said before by others the playing is in the period style and I find it has similarities to the LCP / Norrington performances on CD but I find Haitink's account much better.
The sound in multi-channel is quite close but very good - some might prefer more distance. My other versions of these symphonies, as well as LCP / Norrington, are from BPO / Karajan and COE / Harnoncourt. These LSO / Haitink accounts are now easily my preferred choice,
Basically I would concur with both of Edvin's reviews - it is now a series that I am purchasing immediately on release of each disc, no need to wait for reviews.
Note, by the way, that the IRR review gives high praise to the 6th symphony despite not being happy with the balance in the 2nd.
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Post by Peter July 23, 2006 (48 of 48)
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andrewb said:
....The 2nd is throughout a lively and gripping performance as is the 6th. Of course there is more than one way to play the pastoral and some might prefer a more leisurely reading.....Basically I would concur with both of Edvin's reviews - it is now a series that I am purchasing immediately on release of each disc, no need to wait for reviews.
Seconded. This is an extraordinarily good cycle.
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