I wonder how deep into the Vox/Candide library these re-issues are going to go? Maybe remasterings of the Martinon Prokofieff cycle or the romantic piano concertos that Michael Ponti played.
Many of these Vox/Candide recordings were issued on CD from 1987 onward on various budget CDs. Given that most early CD releases were quite expensive for the time, those Vox/Candide disks sold well. They are pretty common and cheap on the second-hand market, making it odd that these Naxos reissues of 5-decade-old back catalog recordings are at full retail price.
As soon as I saw the name Semkow, it was that dreary EMI all-Mussorgsky Boris that came to mind. A shame as it was the first recording. You nailed it. On Vox, maybe Sheherezade was trying to lulll the sultan to sleep...
Back in the 70s, I bought Semkow’s Wagner disc. I was not impressed. Competently played, but drab. I’ve never heard his Schumann cycle, but I remember that High Fidelity magazine panned it along the same lines.
When I saw Jerzy Semkow's name on your header I flashed back to my incredible expectations for his first-ever recording of "Boris Godunov" in Mussorgsky's own orchestration - and my deep disappointment at the dull, leaden results. I wondered if he could pull the same thing with "Scheherazade" - and, according to you, he did. Why Naxos, which established its reputation as a budget label, is re-releasing all the originally budget Vox material at full price is beyond me.
Thanks for the mention of Bamberg/Perlea. His Schubert Symphony #9 was my introduction to the work and I still treasure the L.P.
I had his Liadov/Balakirev LP growing up, and I still have a soft spot for that one.
I wonder how deep into the Vox/Candide library these re-issues are going to go? Maybe remasterings of the Martinon Prokofieff cycle or the romantic piano concertos that Michael Ponti played.
Many of these Vox/Candide recordings were issued on CD from 1987 onward on various budget CDs. Given that most early CD releases were quite expensive for the time, those Vox/Candide disks sold well. They are pretty common and cheap on the second-hand market, making it odd that these Naxos reissues of 5-decade-old back catalog recordings are at full retail price.
As soon as I saw the name Semkow, it was that dreary EMI all-Mussorgsky Boris that came to mind. A shame as it was the first recording. You nailed it. On Vox, maybe Sheherezade was trying to lulll the sultan to sleep...
Waiting for the Mozart and Schubert cycles played by Walter Klein - fear I'll be waiting a long, long time.....
I'm curious about Semkow's Wagner and Schumann recordings for Vox. I hope they're more worthwhile.
Back in the 70s, I bought Semkow’s Wagner disc. I was not impressed. Competently played, but drab. I’ve never heard his Schumann cycle, but I remember that High Fidelity magazine panned it along the same lines.
When I saw Jerzy Semkow's name on your header I flashed back to my incredible expectations for his first-ever recording of "Boris Godunov" in Mussorgsky's own orchestration - and my deep disappointment at the dull, leaden results. I wondered if he could pull the same thing with "Scheherazade" - and, according to you, he did. Why Naxos, which established its reputation as a budget label, is re-releasing all the originally budget Vox material at full price is beyond me.