Quad LP/Tape Poll CLASSICAL: Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 (Ormandy) [CD-4/Q8]

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Rate RCA's Ormandy Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5

  • 10: Great In Every Way

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 9

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 8

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  • 7

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  • 6

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  • 2

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  • 1: A disaster

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    1

EMB

2K Club - QQ Super Nova
Since 2002/2003
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RCA Red Seal ARD1-0664, from 1974. One of several Ormandy/Philadelphia Orchestra quad versions of the Russian composers' key works.

Side/Program 1:

Symphony No. 5 in E Minor Op. 64
Mason Jones, Horn Solo


Side/Program 2:

Symphony No. 5 in E Minor Op. 64



ED :)
 
Ormandy, being the "Romantic" conductor he was (even his classical period performances leaned on the romantic side) one would expect great Tschaikovsky (the correct spelling according to the LOC). But, all three of the late symphonies miss.

Quad or not, their not worth the inflated cost these discs and tapes are given.
 
Then perhaps this is not the time to tell you that I found a sealed vinyl copy of this title for a dollar earlier this year? :D In fact, classical titles tend to be easy to find and at more than reasonable prices (except for reel editions, but these are much more uncommon than vinyl or 8-track)...and anyway, the classical titles, regardless of label (with a few exceptions) are really for classical buffs more than anyone else, and the mixes are generally good but ambient to some extent, so for orchestral works, one usually hears very sensible but unadventurous mixes.

As for Ormandy, he did some great work, mostly for Columbia. He did record quite a bit of Tchaikovsky relative to other composers, IIRC, and his Masterworks Nutcracker has always been a great listen.


ED :)
 
Good for you. Personally, I would have passed it by. I have only recently been interested in hearing my classical Quad collection in actual 4-channel. In the past, my listening has been through stereo speakers. Now, some may think that is terrible. But, it really isn't. The Quad tracks provide an exceptionally wide soundstage with the greatest clarity of the orchestral timbres. One of my favorites is the Bernstein/Holst/The Planets. The whole sounds so open and clear with the ability to hear things not present or covered-up in the stereo mix (the organ is one example). SQ is the best in these situations. The QSs sound like regular stereo and are a waste of time. Finally, the Quadradiscs like Ormandy's Sibelius 2 (see I like Ormandy:)) seem to fall inbetween (wide soundstage but not as clear as SQ). I had real hopes of hearing these things on the SACD disc, but regarding the Holst, the mix sounds like it is based on the inferior stereo version.

Now, what would be really interesting is to hear classical works that incorporate antiphonal effects. One example is, again, The Planets. I was present for a performance where instead of the female chorus being placed backstage, they were situated around the "horseshoe" of the upper gallery behind the audience. The affect was beautiful and rather eerie. Another example would be the antiphonal brass choir in the Pines of Rome. I could go on, but I will save you.

I am in the process of trying to decode and save my discs on multi-channel DVD. But, trying to figure-out Adobe Audition 3 is proving to be a real pain. I am hoping it will be straight-forward with the Q8 8-tracks and my Quad reels that are all discreet.
 
It would probably be too much of a generalization to state that most quad classical titles probably sound pretty good folded down to stereo (something not necessarily true of more mainstream genres), and that, often, you may not be losing much of a listening experience by doing so. And granted (and let's face it) some labels didn't really do a lot of creative mixing when it came to classical titles, although undoubtedly there are some interesting exceptions to the rule.

As for some albums sounding *clearer* than others, probably not the fact that they're CD-4 (as opposed to SQ) has much to do with that. The mixing and mastering probably played a bigger part in that, not to mention the pressing itself (one reason why reels are expensive isn't just their scarcity, but also for sound quality).

Speaking of Holst, THE PLANETS is a great piece of work. My regret in that regard is that my favorite recording of it--Steinberg's 1970 BSO performance released on DGG--was never mixed to quad. What the import vinyl hints at I'd like to hear from the actual master. It has just the right cadence and intensity that most other versions lack. Bernstein's version is very good, but there's a smoothness to Steinberg's that's always impressed me more. But I agree, a fine quad mix (for a classical title) and one I wish would again see light of day.

ED :)
 
Regarding the Steinberg/Holst, I am very familiar with it and have a copy of it including an "AMbient Surround Imaging" (AMSI) version issued by DGG/Universal that I found on a trip to London some years back. It is a process developed by the EMIL-BERLINER-HAUS,HANOVER. The series, if you are not aware of it is called "eloquence" and appeared on the market in Europe shortly after Universal Classics took over and includes recordings from the DGG, Philips, and Decca/London catalogs. I don't know if they are available here in the US.

Now, the Steinberg might be too early, but DGG did do some Quad sessions. They were never released in Quad (similar to the series of Quad recordings that Philips did but never issued in Quad that are now being issued in 4.0 SACD hybrids by Pentatone called "RQR"). But, if interested, the famous Kleiber/VPO/Beethoven 5 was recorded in 4-channel. There is suppose to be a release in DVD-A which preserves the original. I have recently read there is also an SACD (not a hybrid) that also preserves the original; in case you are interested.
 
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