I just received the wonderfully reconstructed and restored original 1975 DGG QUAD SACD of Scott Joplin's 'Ragtime' Opera "Tremonisha."
Joplin, widely known for his series of rags extensively used in "The Sting" which brought his wonderful music to worldwide prominence, wrote Tremonisha, an opera in three acts, in 1911 and never lived to see it fully realized. Thankfully, due to the loss of the original manuscript, damaged in a flood, conductor Gunther Schuller reconstructed Joplin's brisk score and together with the Houston Grand Opera, recorded this fascinating 2~disc set commissioned by Germany's DGG which was recorded in DISCRETE Quadraphonic sound by recording engineer Thomas Mowrey.
Pentatone's exquisite hardbound Digibook which houses the two discs and complete libretto has been instrumental in releasing what I consider to be the cream of the crop of Philips and now DGG original Quad recordings of the 70's which have been painfully neglected and some of which have never been released Quadraphonically until now.
