The Bernstein Legacy: Some Americans in Paris

Looking back at a flawed but interesting 1988 La bohème.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The catalogue of any large record company is filled with interesting failures: pricey boxed sets that get re-issued at a bargain price or in some cases quietly and suddenly dropped from the catalog, only to reappear in complete compilations of a composers or conductors works. One of those rarities is the 1988 Deutsche Grammophon recording of La bohème, made in Rome with the Orchestra of the National Academy of St. Cecilia under the baton of Leonard Bernstein.

Recording Review: The Luxury Grail Package

The Herbert von Karajan Parsifal.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

King of the Grail: Peter Hofmann (center) takes over in the Herbert von Karajan recording
of Parsifal. Art © 1980 Deutsche Grammophon/UMG. 

The first notes of the Prelude seem to float out of the speakers: a rising figure for cellos and bassoons, later ornamented with shimmering strings and the lilt of harps. There are no coughs, no rustles of cloth, and when the orchestra stops, the silence is absolute. This is the opening of Herbert von Karajan's 1979-80  recording of Parsifal, Wagner's last opera. It could be argued that this Deutsche Grammophon release, which has enjoyed 35 years in the catalogue, is the finest of the Austrian conductor's nine studio recordings of the major Wagner operas.

Recordings Review: Dance 'Til He Drops

Claudio Abbado's classic Un Ballo in Maschera.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The third in this survey of the La Scala Verdi recordings (and yes, it's wilfully out of order) is this excellent and mostly forgotten Un Ballo in Maschera, conducted with flair by the late Claudio Abbado.
Like Abbado's Aida (which was made around the same time with a lot of the same players) this Ballo was made at the very end of the analogue recording era, made in 1981 on the eve of the launch of the compact disc. And the warm, glowing sound of the violins and voices makes one regret all the problems that hit the recording industry because of that transition.