Sony Classical asked me if I was interested in reviewing a comprehensive set of Glenn Gould's seminal recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations. There have been quite a few 'collections' over the years as Sony cash in on one of its most valuable classical assets. As recording technology improves, especially digital restoration, out come the reissues. Being a huge fan of Gould, 'sure', I said, expecting the typical chubby box of remastered (yet again) CDs.  

What I received at the office was a large package from Sony Classical with a very heavy box inside. I was surprised and thrilled at the same time. Next time, I'll read the email requests more carefully. The box was so heavy, I thought it was a set of LPs. It's actually 7 CDs, a large poster, the original LP in a new, 180g pressing, and a book (280 page, hard cover, coffee table book with 45 newly discovered photos). The major weight comes from the very comprehensive book discussing the recording legacy of this 1955 mono release in great detail. Seemingly, no information is left out. We even see how much Gould (and Steinway) were paid for each side of the LP. Charming. 

This record is famous for its superlative Berliner Philharmoniker performances and Karajan’s sophisticated interpretations more than its DG house sound sonics. It’s earned its reputation well over the years, but sadly for audiophiles, the sound doesn’t improve on this DG 180g vinyl reissue. 

Unlike the four Kleiber DG reissues reviewed recently in Audiophilia, where the DG remastering managed to salvage slightly better instrumental timbre and a smidgen of the glorious acoustic of Vienna’s Musikverein, we get no such luck here in Berlin. 

The sound is unflattering throughout with compression at the loudest dynamics and a general lack of sparkle. Otto Gerdes (producer) and Günter Hermanns (engineer), the legendary team that recorded lots of 60s DGs, missed the mark, here. Maybe it was Karajan’s influence? He had an odd sense of ‘natural’ recorded sound considering he produced a uniformly beautiful one live with his orchestra.

I love quality vinyl reissues. Many of the DGs, though, are handcuffed from the start because of the original sound. This one doesn’t escape the murk. What a shame, as you will not find better performances anywhere.

Is there a better opening in music than the mighty Feierlich, Misterioso of Bruckner’s final symphony? Like the start of most of his symphonies, a quiet tremolando in the strings makes way for the drama to follow, here in the superb key of D minor. Just to remind your ear, Bruckner plonks down a unison D in the oboes and bassoons' lowest registers, before the horn section commences its glorious climb toward heaven. It’s nobility personified. 

Italian maestro Riccardo Muti is a master Bruckner conductor. Interestingly, he stays away from Mahler -- the two usually go hand in hand for many conductors. Before they became mainstream, writers would often pair the two as the subjects of essays and books. I've had lots of arguments with my friends, family and colleagues why I think Bruckner the superior composer (in so many ways), though I do love Mahler, especially his very late masterpieces. This argument is almost as heated amongst musicians as the vinyl/digital debate is with audiophiles. 

Anyway, enough of that. You're here because you're a Bruckner or Muti fan. Let me tell you why you can buy this Chicago Symphony Orchestra self release (its ReSound label) with the utmost confidence.

This is the big daddy. The Citizen Kane of classical recordings. The greatest classical recording ever made! 

Silly, yes, considering the pantheon of superlative classical recordings, but there is some truth to the imprimatur. 

The magician of conductors, Carlos Kleiber became legendary at an early age for his ability to take the great classics, all with very famous interpretations attached to them, and make them singular, fresh, brilliant, invigorating.  

Deutsche Grammophon selected four of Kleiber’s gems, remastered them and released them on 180 gram vinyl. All have now been reviewed in these pages. 

From the prophetic rhythm of the most famous four bars in music, Kleiber sets out his stall. I’ve never heard the notes so beautifully balanced with so much propulsion. This high octane energy is maintained throughout the opening movement, interrupted magically by the quietest transition chords. Mesmerizing stuff. The Wiener Philharmoniker is peerless here. Personally, I’ve never heard it played better. 

Blues master Doug MacLeod and audiophiles have had a love affair for several decades. A damn good one. Blues, for musical and/or acoustic reasons, lends itself to quality recordings. Muddy Waters, Philadelphia Jerry Ricks, and a host of others, are blessed both sides of the microphone. We audiophiles and blues fans are the richer for it. And we expect a lot from our ‘own’ Doug MacLeod.  

MacLeod was producing legendary audiophile blues records before receiving the fairly recent Reference Recordings benediction. Come To Find on AudioQuest (my copy is on the magnificent LP) and You Can't Take My Blues also on AudioQuest  (mine is on a superb JVC XRCD Reissue) are but two recorded in the 90s that will stand the test of time. Both, like this fabulous new Reference Recording, highlight MacLeod’s ‘storytelling’ singing style, with his penchant for toe tapping, up tempo rhythms interspersed with soulful songs. 

Break the Chain does not do musically what the title implies. We have brilliant consistency. Here, you’ll find eleven songs and a ‘holler’ (story). Audiophiles will especially like the spoken voice track as they are so difficult to get right on recordings.

Brahms’ glorious Fourth Symphony is the crowning achievement of a well nigh perfect collection that set the standard for the symphony as a form since those of Beethoven. 

In the four movements, Brahms moves from a flawlessly executed Sonata Form opening movement, to a gloriously elegiac Andante to a rollicking third movement, culminating in the famous, granitic Passacaglia serving as the finale. 

As befits one of the great masterpieces of Western Music, recordings are legion, many of them very good. And to be honest, you can never have enough great Brahms recordings in your library.

We will focus on my two favourites, the great Chesky/Reiner/RPO and this incredible performance by the magician of conductors, Carlos Kleiber.  

More magic music making from this team. You’ll find my first DG reissue review of Brahms Fourth Symphony above. This superb Schubert release from Carlos Kleiber and the Wiener Philharmoniker is the second, and I’m scheduled to review the other two DG released of the great conductor on vinyl, Beethoven 5 & 7. 

This is the tale of two worlds, one the bright, happy Schubert of the coffee houses and Saturday morning gossip. The other, the dour, brooding Schubert, musically ominous, yet featuring incredible imagination producing an unfinished masterpiece.  

Whether sunny or cloudy, Kleiber brings great energy and imagination to both performances. You won’t hear better playing anywhere — even the vaunted Sinopoli DG Philharmonia can’t compete. The balance of the sections, the articulation of the unique Puchner oboes and Viennese Horns (single F horns with piston valves), and the sound of the wonderful clarinets and trombones (Kleiber’s direction of them in the Unfinished’s syncopations is marvellous) is echt Vienna/Schubert. Hard to replicate echt anything on rainy winter morning session in a London studio! 

Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic continue to be top of the classical music pile. They boast a full complement of recordings that sell extremely well and the orchestra’s own benchmark digital delivery system, the Digital Concert Hall. The ‘Hall’ is sponsored big time by Deustche Bank and is state of the art in HD, production and direction. That it has the world’s greatest orchestra and finest conductors doesn’t hurt, either.

Rattle can (and does) conduct and record whatever he likes — a testament to his incredible musicianship, the love the players have for him and the esteem in which he is held by recording companies. Everyone wants Rattle.

The striking women on the cover is the London Philharmonic's new star principal flute, Juliette Bausor.

London and Paris trained, Bausor is but one of a long list of wonderful young players filling important posts worldwide. Bausor follows in the footsteps of some wonderful long retired LPO principals like Richard Adeney and Jonathan Snowden, both of whom recorded superb Mozart Concertos, much like the fabulous Mozart heard here on Bausor's new Signum Records release.

Coupled with the Mozart G Major Concerto (and his lesser known works for flute, the Andante in C and Rondo in D), is the problematic child of 'modern' flute concertos, the eccentric and enigmatic Flute Concerto (1926) of Carl Nielsen.