Here's the very affable David Hurwitz of classicstoday.com raving about and showing off the Phase 4 release.
He's really irritating - constantly irritating - and a dolt for not actually even mentioning remastering or the previous releases of all this music. He thinks he's taken over YouTube - it is to laugh. He's been doing one of these every day since the pandemic began, sometimes two - probably because his online magazine has little readership anymore and is behind a paywall.
Here's the very affable David Hurwitz of classicstoday.com raving about and showing off the Phase 4 release.
He's really irritating - constantly irritating - and a dolt for not actually even mentioning remastering or the previous releases of all this music. He thinks he's taken over YouTube - it is to laugh. He's been doing one of these every day since the pandemic began, sometimes two - probably because his online magazine has little readership anymore and is behind a paywall.
Yes, I couldn’t sit through this and I don’t understand what his appeal is to others.
Here's the very affable David Hurwitz of classicstoday.com raving about and showing off the Phase 4 release.
He's really irritating - constantly irritating - and a dolt for not actually even mentioning remastering or the previous releases of all this music. He thinks he's taken over YouTube - it is to laugh. He's been doing one of these every day since the pandemic began, sometimes two - probably because his online magazine has little readership anymore and is behind a paywall.
Yes, I couldn’t sit through this and I don’t understand what his appeal is to others.
They believe him, they adore him, and they live by him because, well, some classical folks have no minds of their own.
I have each of these titles from when they were originally released on vinyl. But yet I couldn't resist purchasing this set. It's like a vindication of what I knew was gold when it first came out.
Here's the very affable David Hurwitz of classicstoday.com raving about and showing off the Phase 4 release.
He's really irritating - constantly irritating - and a dolt for not actually even mentioning remastering or the previous releases of all this music. He thinks he's taken over YouTube - it is to laugh. He's been doing one of these every day since the pandemic began, sometimes two - probably because his online magazine has little readership anymore and is behind a paywall.
Yes, I couldn’t sit through this and I don’t understand what his appeal is to others.
They believe him, they adore him, and they live by him because, well, some classical folks have no minds of their own.
I don't know him from Adam. Never heard of him until Spinmeister posted the video a couple days ago.
Not familiar with the Phase 4 releases either. My first exposure to a lot of this material was via the various re-recoridngs as well as your Kritzerland editions (which I understood to be mostly singular re-releases of the material which was originally produced for a major box set for another label) .
Apologies if I have that wrong. Unlike many here, I came to this stuff pretty late. Which is why I found the video helpful to sell me on material I mostly already own in other forms.
When it's something I'm interested in, but generally unfamiliar with (in this case, the recording/production quality of the Phase 4 material), I respond to other's enthusiasm. I find the positivity infectious.
Here's the very affable David Hurwitz of classicstoday.com raving about and showing off the Phase 4 release.
He's really irritating - constantly irritating - and a dolt for not actually even mentioning remastering or the previous releases of all this music. He thinks he's taken over YouTube - it is to laugh. He's been doing one of these every day since the pandemic began, sometimes two - probably because his online magazine has little readership anymore and is behind a paywall.
Hurwitz is the classical music world's answer to The Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons.
To quote what a cast member once said to Skeet Ulrich: "There is nothing good about you, or anything you do."
As someone else mentioned above, Amazon is out of stock, so I must wait to get this
Info for US Amazon Customers. I ordered the set back in May and several weeks ago I got an e-mail that it was going to be delayed. Out of the blue in the middle of the last night I got an e-mail from Amazon that it was shipped and this afternoon it arrived safely at my doorstep. Hopefully everyone else from far and wide will be getting their sets soon!
Mine arrived earlier today. Yes, everything in this set is newly mastered. The older releases were fine, however - this has a bit more clarity and is certainly louder. Louder does exacerbate the distortion in the loud passages of Jane Eyre, something the Phase 4 engineers were notorious for and perhaps even took some perverse delight in. So far, only that and to a lesser extent the loudest bits in Journey to the Center of the Earth are the only things that have the distortion, so that's good. The Stokowski Phase 4 albums are riddled with distortion, almost every single one of 'em and he did a LOT.
Of course, classical purists hate the Phase 4 recordings because they're not "concert hall" style -I like them because the close miking and spot miking give us all of Herrmann's marvelous orchestral detail in all its glorious glory. It's nice having the original cover art, even though The Mysterious Film World is the UK cover, which differs from the US and is boring compared to it. And Obsession in the US was, of course, a yellow cover. As I type this, Fahrenheit 451 is coming to its end with one of the most beautiful tracks ever recorded - still achingly beautiful today and one of the greatest cues written for anything ever.
Next up is the Shakespeare album, which is very nice but not as nice as the English film music album, which is fantastic.
Yeah, I have to agree about Fahrenheit 451. The Prelude is just magical, it certainly gives Saint-Saens Aquarium (from Carnival Of The Animals) a run for its money, I'm surprised it hasn't been used in productions. And the last track, The Road & Final, just, wow!
Another standout moment is Mountain Top & Sunrise from Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, that really blows me away, much better & more powerful than the original soundtrack, which, I dunno, seems to have a clumsy edit in the middle of it.
Of course, classical purists hate the Phase 4 recordings because they're not "concert hall" style -I like them because the close miking and spot miking give us all of Herrmann's marvelous orchestral detail in all its glorious glory.
Completely agree with this. It's particularly effective with Herrmann's musical details which were designed to be recorded on a soundstage rather than to be be heard in a public setting. I don't think the Herrmann Phase 4 recordings were ever bettered despite many excellent recordings over the years.
Yeah, I have to agree about Fahrenheit 451. The Prelude is just magical, it certainly gives Saint-Saens Aquarium (from Carnival Of The Animals) a run for its money, I'm surprised it hasn't been used in productions. And the last track, The Road & Final, just, wow!
Louder does exacerbate the distortion in the loud passages of Jane Eyre, something the Phase 4 engineers were notorious for and perhaps even took some perverse delight in. So far, only that and to a lesser extent the loudest bits in Journey to the Center of the Earth are the only things that have the distortion, so that's good.
I was hoping some miracle remastering cure would be found for those bits of distortion that marred a couple of the original releases. Apparently my hopes were in vain. I got an email from Amazon today saying mine will be delivered tomorrow. I already have older CD editions, so I'll be able to do some side-by-side comparisons soon.
Mine arrived earlier today. Yes, everything in this set is newly mastered. The older releases were fine, however - this has a bit more clarity and is certainly louder. Louder does exacerbate the distortion in the loud passages of Jane Eyre, something the Phase 4 engineers were notorious for and perhaps even took some perverse delight in. So far, only that and to a lesser extent the loudest bits in Journey to the Center of the Earth are the only things that have the distortion, so that's good. The Stokowski Phase 4 albums are riddled with distortion, almost every single one of 'em and he did a LOT.
Of course, classical purists hate the Phase 4 recordings because they're not "concert hall" style -I like them because the close miking and spot miking give us all of Herrmann's marvelous orchestral detail in all its glorious glory. It's nice having the original cover art, even though The Mysterious Film World is the UK cover, which differs from the US and is boring compared to it. And Obsession in the US was, of course, a yellow cover. As I type this, Fahrenheit 451 is coming to its end with one of the most beautiful tracks ever recorded - still achingly beautiful today and one of the greatest cues written for anything ever.
Next up is the Shakespeare album, which is very nice but not as nice as the English film music album, which is fantastic.
Thanks for the update. I'm feverishly waiting for my order to ship. After the Gerhardt redo as well as the SACD editions this revised set is certainly comes full circle. But maybe a multi channel SACD would be wonderful too. Someday..
So, now we have Gerhardt box now, and this Herrmann Decca box... so now is time for another legendary recordings release....
Rozsa Polydor albums. But im affraid we will never get this
Oh I dunno, Quartet managed to release The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes from that set, & apparently it sounds okay (I didn't buy it), so you never know...
