Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Aboslutely stunning!!, 11 Jan 2005
I bought this recording when it first appeared on vinyl. At the time, provided that you had a decent quality turntable, cartridge and tone arm, connected to a decent amplifier and speakers, it was utterly enthralling. The recording is incredibly rich and the full detail of the orchestra can be clearly discerned.What was, for me, uncanny, was the reverbaration and echo in the recording hall that was clear on the disc. The dynamic range was huge, yet the detail was amazing. The transfer to CD is a masterpiece. It has lost none of the presence and immediacy of the vinyl recording and there is reduced 'background noise'. This is the 'Also sprach' to buy. You owe it to your neighbours to play it loudly and let them enjoy this stunning recording.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
SUPERB and IMPOSING !, 12 Aug 2008
SUPERB PERFORMANCE and BRILLIANT RECORDING ! This CD is not a Karajan Gold... but a KARAJAN PLATINUM. VERY STRONGLY RECOMMENDED !
Despite the encomiastic excellence, authority and clearness of "Gramophone", I don't agree, at times, with theirs reviews. But I entirely agree with the "Gramophone"'s Reviewer - alluding, "in brief", to the Tone Poem "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (1973 version: 'DG, The Originals') - when he writes ["The Gramophone Classical Music Guide" - 2008, p. 1029]: "Arguably the most imposing of Karajan's three recordings. An interpretation of tremendous stature and aplomb; fabulous playing from the Berliners who have a uniquely dense sound when they play the music of Richard Strauss under Karajan".
And, when compares the 1973 and the 1983 ('DG, Karajan Gold') versions,
the "Gramophone"'s Reviewer writes ("Op. cit.", page 1030): "The playing of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra on the both sets is as glourious as
ever (...) and in Strauss Karajan have no peer. As a recording 1983 disc
is very good indeed. The famous opening as greater intensity in the 1973
version, and you may prefer its marginaly greater warmth and glow of the
strings". [...].
"To sum up, Karajan's classic 1973 account holds sway".
I fully subscribe these reviews.
But the CD also embrace the astonishing and marvellous Tone Poems "Don Juan" and "Till Eulenspiegel Lustige Streiche", a clear first choice in both works, extremely well played, and the bonus of the splendid, stimulant and exciting "Salome"'s "Dance of Seven Veils" ("Tanz der Sieben
Schleier").
In a word: A disc generously full (79' of running time) and of greater quality.
And, to conclude, for the ones who enjoy the good appearance of a disc (or a box set), I emphasize the beautiful (and appropriate) NASA's Cover Photo
of the CD's booklet.
ONOFRE MOREIRA (PORTUGAL)
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Music of the spheres, 15 Nov 2007
Thirty years later, there still hasn't been a better sounding "Zarathustra". There have been more analytical recordings (including Karajan 1984), and higher-fidelity, but the beauty of the sounds that emerge from the speakers transcends any technical considerations. (It is earphone-safe too, with no peaking or distortion.) More importantly, the music ebbs and flows naturally, like the thoughts of a great mind: Karajan was a Strauss master, and so, it seems, was every member of the Berlin Philharmonic. (Special praise to the concert master, Michel Schwalbé, who delivers the Tanzlied with admirable purity of tone and Viennese Schwung and yes, a sense of ecstasy.) This is exhilarating stuff, whether you want to commune with the spirit of Nietzsche, or revel in orchestral virtuosity, or watch galaxies form.
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