Has anyone heard the Japanese pressing of Abbado/BPO/DG M9th?

[John Kim]

As usual, I suspect the Japanese pressing will sound better than the US or European version.

I have had some serious reservation about the sound quality of this recording, especially in the first movt. Here, whenever the orchestra plays in unison the dynamic range is compromised as if the recording equipment could not afford the loud sound.

You know, the thing I hate most is to listen to a recording with compressed dynamic range. I simply cannot tolerate it.

Strangely, the sound improves quite a lot from the second movt. on.

Has anyone had a chance to hear the Japanese CD?

How is it different?

Thanks.

John,

[John Kim]

I finally acquired the CD.

I gave two careful listens so far and found that the Japanese pressing indeed sounds better in all aspects. My biggest concern was the 1st movt. where the dynamic range seems to be compressed rather severely. Although this impression is still valid, the Japanese disc sounds superior to my ears, i.e. the dynamic compression doesn't seem as profound as in the European pressing thanks to the extra care they took in remastering this recording. Overall, the highs and lows are better realized as well, e.g., the screaming high woodwinds in the first climax of the 1st movt are quite prominent.

If you don't own this recording, order it from Japan (make sure you get the Japanese edition though as they carry both the European and Japanese CDs).

John,

[Leo K]

John, thanks for the report...this is good news indeed, and I bet this holds true for the other recordings in that cycle, perhaps even the M3 is improved as well.

--Todd

[John Kim]

John, thanks for the report...this is good news indeed, and I bet this holds true for the other recordings in that cycle, perhaps even the M3 is improved as well.

--Todd

Funny you mentioned Abbado's BPO M3rd as I've just finished listening to the entire recording just now.

It's been quite some time since I visited it last time but, What a performance!

The playing and conducting were so convincing I was totally immersed for its 96 min. duration.

Can't recall it was this good .

In this case, I have very little complaint about the sound quality except I need to turn the volume way up.

But even here I bet Japanese pressing might help a great deal.

Anyway, a jewel of Mahler Third!

John,

[barry guerrero]

Yes, but be sure to check out the Luzern DVD of Mahler 3 with Abbado. You like the earlier Vienna one, and so the Lucerne one is like a cross - in terms of tempi - between that earlier VPO one, and the Berlin one you're discussing. It's also very well recorded.

[Amphissa]

 
The Japanese pressings of everything are always superior. I discovered many years ago that the art books printed in Japan werre always superior to the same books printed in the U.S. The colors, the registration, the quality of paper -- in every regard, the Japanese books were far better. Then I began listening to LPs pressed in Japan, and realized that these were also much better than the same recordings pressed in the U.S. and often much better than the same records pressed in Europe. And that was particularly true with remastered LPs. Wow! They were so much better than the original American releases of the same recordings.

This trend has continued with CDs and SACDs. The Japanese take such great care in remastering the originals. I love Russian music, and I buy Melodiya LPs when I can find them. But Melodiya was erratic. Any time I see a remastered version pressed in Japan, I know it will be better. The same is true of popular music. The Japanese pressings of "classic rock" are usually far better than the versions released in the U.S. and often in Europe as well.

So, your review does not surprise me. We are all aware how good the Exton recordings are of Mahler performances.

The only difficulty is (1) availability and (2) cost. The Japanese pressings are often difficult to locate in the U.S., and as a result, the cost of obtaining them is usually quite high due to shipping from Japan. This is too bad, because if the price were about the same, the Japanese versions would be purchased more often, and it might force companies in the U.S. and Europe to upgrade the quality of their releases.
 

[John Kim]

I have Japanese editions of,

Sinopoli/PO/DG M2, M3
Bernstein/NYPO/DG M2, RCO/DG M9
Klemperer/PO/EMI DLVDE
Barbirolli/BPO/EMI M9
Karajan/BPO/DG M9 (analogue)

I can testify that all of these CDs sound better than American and European versions. They have deeper sound stages, wider dynamic ranges, and sound warmer with more ambiance.

John,

[alpsman]

I agree with you John.

I am waiting for Japanese pressings of Kubelik's Mahler and i'm going to order Giulini/M9, althought i have it in LP.

[John Kim]

I agree with you John.

I am waiting for Japanese pressings of Kubelik's Mahler and i'm going to order Giulini/M9, althought i have it in LP.

Oh Yes, their Giulini M9th should sound far better, no doubt.

John,