ESOTERIC Borodin: Symphony No. 2, In the Steppes of Central Asia SACD New Japan
■A super-dreaded stereo recording made by Decca in the early days of stereo.
Borodin: Symphony No. 2, On the Steppes of Central Asia
Glinka: Fantastic Waltz / Glazunov: Four Seasons
Ernest Ansermet (conductor)
Swiss Romande Orchestra
ESSD-90246 [SACD Hybrid]
DSD MASTERING
Super Audio CD layer: 2 channel stereo [no multi]
Beautiful and luxurious paper digipak packaging used
Ansermet, a famous conductor who built an era with his elaborate and colorful performances.
The famous Swiss conductor Ernest Ansel (November 11, 1883 - February 20, 1969)
As the conductor of the Russian Ballet led by Diaghilev,
Stravinsky's "The Soldier's Tale", "The Warbler", "Pulcinella", Falla's "Three-cornered Hat", Prokofiev's "The Clown",
He premiered important works from the first half of the 20th century, such as Satie's "Parade", one after another.
He was also, above all, the founder (1919) and music director of the Orchester de la Suisse Romande.
He is known for developing this orchestra into a worldwide presence.
He made a huge amount of recordings for the Decca label, with which he had an exclusive contract from 1946.
He covers French music, Russian music, 20th century music, and even German and Austrian music.
Among them, excellent recording technology (in the monaural era, FFRR full frequency range recording wideband recording ⇒
In the stereo era, combined with FFSS full frequency stereo sound),
There are many recordings from his LP era that have received high praise as excellent recordings.
In our series, in 2008, we introduced Falla “tricorn hat”,
In 2015, Rimsky-Korsakov's ``Scheherazade'' and other songs were released.
All of our products have been well received.
■Marks his ability as a leading expert on Russian music
The recordings that Ansermet left on Decca are huge.
It covers an extremely diverse repertoire in terms of period, organization, and attributes, from Bach to Martin.
Among them, the classics of the analog era were French and Russian music from the 19th to the 20th century.
All of them are characterized by unique orchestration that takes advantage of the diverse sounds of the orchestra.
Accurate and precise, by Ansermet and Suisse Romande.
Moreover, it was an area where performance interpretation that directly emphasized the appeal of orchestration could be most utilized.
Regarding Russian music in particular, thanks to Diaghilev's success as a conductor of the Russian Ballet Company,
In particular, he could be said to have established himself as an authority on ballet music.
Also, in the 1950s and 1960s, it was difficult to obtain authentic Russian recordings, and even if they were available,
Recording techniques often did not reach Western standards;
In that sense, Anserme's many Russian music albums, recorded using Decca's clear recording technology, are
They were loved as masterpieces and classics that represented their respective repertoires.
■Borodin and Glazunov can be heard with a cool sound full of precision and transparency.
This album includes songs recorded in October 1954.
Borodin's Symphony No. 2, also known as Decca's earliest stereo recording.
As Anselmet, his last recordings were two major pieces, Glazunov's ``Four Seasons'' in 1966.
Borodin's ``On the Plains of Central Asia'' recorded in 1961, which was also loved in the analog era,
Coupled with Glinka's "Fantastic Waltz" recorded in 1964,
It is literally a showcase of Russian music, filled with brilliant masterpieces like a jewel box.
Borodin's Symphony No. 2, which now tends to have a more rustic interpretation.
To begin with, his ability to make somewhat exaggerated music sound extremely cool is amazing.
Tempo manipulation is also kept within a very natural range.
"Four Seasons" is a song filled with a variety of dances, and is included in four parts from "Winter" to "Autumn".
Creating music that clearly depicts the character of the short piece and is full of dynamism.
It doesn't make you feel that you are 80 years old at the time of recording.
■Famous recordings at Victoria Hall, the legendary hall used by Decca.
The Decca recording by Ansermet and the Orchester Suisse Romande is
It was basically held at the Victoria Hall in Geneva, which was the home of the orchestra.
This hall was built by the British Consul General stationed in Geneva in the 19th century.
Not only did it boast excellent acoustics as a performance venue, but it was also the perfect venue for recordings.
He had a strong interest in recording technology and was very cooperative with engineers during recording sessions.
Anselmet's recordings have been known for their high standards from the beginning, and in May 1954,
by Decca at Victoria Hall
It was a natural progression that I was selected for his first stereo recording session.
Since Rimsky-Korsakov's symphonic suite "Antar", which was recorded at that time,
Many great recordings were created at this legendary hall.
Along with Vienna's Sophiensaal and London's Kingsway Hall,
It was an ideal venue for Decca's recording policy of recording clearly down to the smallest details.
The recordings I made there focused on the details of the orchestration and spatiality.
It has become synonymous with the vivid Decca sound.
Borodin's Symphony No. 2, the earliest recording on this album.
The freshness and transparency of each part and the realism of the instruments have already been achieved,
This shows the high level of Decca's recording technology.
As time passed, the basic sound remained the same,
The overall sound has more room, and the spatiality and the clarity of the localization of the instruments are improved.
Sounds that connect on a higher level are being created,
It is also possible to trace its transition with a fresher remaster.
This can be said to be the charm of this Super Audio CD.
■Super Audio CD hybridization at its best
Most of Anselme's Russian music has been released on CD since the early digital King Records era.
Furthermore, Glazunov's "Four Seasons" was remastered in 24bit/96kHz at DECCA ORIGINALS in 2000.
This SuperAudio CD hybridization is the first time in 21 years that "Shiki" has been released.
Other than that, this is probably the first new remaster since the initial CD,
Moreover, DSD technology was introduced for the first time.
As before, from the selection of the master tape to be used,
No compromises are made until the final DSD mastering process.
Especially for DSD mastering, the D/A converter and rubidium clock generator are
By using his carefully tuned top-of-the-line ESOTERIC equipment and generously using MEXCEL cables,
We were able to create a disc with all the information contained in the original master.
■``Russian ethnic characteristics are well shown and the colors are vivid.''
Borodin: Symphony No. 2 “Although Anselmet has a reputation for his outstanding skill in so-called Russian music,
The vibrant performance of Borodin's symphony also supports this point.
He shows a very intelligent way of playing music, but
The ethnic characteristics of Russia are well expressed in this work, and the colors are vivid. ”
“Record Geijutsu Separate Volume Classical Record Book VOL.2 Orchestral Music Edition” 1985
``There was a time when Borodin's symphonies were all about Anselmet.
Above all, the sound quality was good, and at the time recordings by Russian musicians were difficult to obtain.
He also served as the exclusive conductor of Diaghilev's Russian Ballet Company, and was considered the leading authority on Russian music.
It is certainly not a Russian performance in the Svetlanov sense, but
Even if you don't approach it that way, you can still get the best of this song. ”
“ONTOMO MOOK Classic Masterpiece Encyclopedia” 2015
Glazunov: Shiki ``Anselmet, who has a reputation for creating music that is natural and full of color,
This work is a unique song. Career as a ballet music specialist
This fluid music, where stillness and movement intertwine, brings out its freshness even more and reveals its skill.
It is more intelligent than Glazunov's original song, and has a complete beauty of form. ”
“Record Geijutsu Separate Volume Classical Record Book VOL.2 Orchestral Music Edition” 1985
In the steppes of Central Asia, ``A performance of Russian music conducted by Anselmet...
The overall sound is bright, delicate, and the expression is plain,
It may not be suitable for people who like sticky performances of Russian music, but
When it comes to rhythmic pieces, there is no other conductor like him. ”
“Record Geijutsu Separate Volume Classical Record Book VOL.2 Orchestral Music Edition” 1985
■Recorded songs
Alexander Borodin (1833-1887)
Symphony No. 2 On the Steppes of Central Asia
Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857)
fantastic waltz
Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936)
Ballet music “The Four Seasons” Op. 67
track list
Alexander Borodin
1: Symphonic Poem “In the Steppes of Central Asia”
Symphony No. 2 in B flat minor
2: 1st movement: Allegro
3: 2nd movement: Scherzo Prestissimo Allegretto
4: 3rd movement: Andante
5: 4th movement: Finale Allegro
Mikhail Glinka
6: Fantastic Waltz Alexander Glazunov
Ballet music “Four Seasons” work 67
7:Winter
8:Spring
9:Summer
10: Autumn
Swiss Romande Orchestra
Conductor: Ernest Ansermet
[Recording]
In the steppes of Central Asia: February 1961, Victoria Hall, Geneva
Symphony No. 2: October 1954, Victoria Hall, Geneva
Fantastic Waltz: April 1964, Victoria Hall, Geneva
Four Seasons: April 1964, Geneva Victoria Hall
[First appearance]
In the steppes of Central Asia: SXL 2292 (July 1962)
Symphony No. 2: SLC1347 (September 1964)
Fantastic Waltz, Four Seasons: SXL 6269 (1967)
[First appearance on Japanese edition]
In the grasslands of Central Asia: SLC1168 (July 1962)
Symphony No. 2: LXT 5022 (monaural 1955), CS 6126 (stereo 1961)
Fantastic Waltz: SLC1390 (January 1965)
Four seasons: SLC1684 (July 10, 1968)
[Production]
In the steppes of Central Asia: James Walker
Symphony No. 2: Victor Olof
Fantastic Waltz: Michael Bremner
Seasons: John Maudler
[Balance Engineer]
On the Steppes of Central Asia, Symphony No. 2: Roy Wallace
Fantastic Waltz, Four Seasons: James Locke
[Super Audio CD Producer] Tomoaki Oma (Esoteric Co., Ltd.)
[Super Audio CD Remastering Engineer] Shinya Higashino (JVC Mastering Center (Daikanyama Studio))
[Super Audio CD authoring] Atsuo Fujita (F Ltd.)
[Commentary] Yukio Moroishi, Ryuichi Shibata
[Planning/Sales] Esoteric Co., Ltd.
[Planning/Cooperation] Tokyo Denka Co., Ltd.