RCA Living Stereo series

[ejp626]

So there was a bit of a discussion on the box set bargain thread about the 60 CD Living Stereo series: box at Amazon

I believe I found it slightly less through a different seller, but even $150 is an excellent price for this set.

We were trying to track down what was not in the box and still in print, and I have some further notes on this, which I will share shortly.

But then I came across this discography, which put my efforts to shame:Discography

I don't think the author of this is actively maintaining this website, but this is a very neat resource.

My general finding is that nearly all the LS Reiner and Munch made it into the box, but they were very stingy on the poppier conductors like Fiedler and Morton Gould. They also included many of the 2-CD operas and vocal works, but drew the line at the 3-CD sets, like Beecham's Messiah and Leinsdorf's Barber of Seville.

Here is a good resource on the Living Presence series: Discography

I guess I would have to say being a completist is within the realm of possibility for the Living Stereo series, but it probably so far out of my range for Living Presence that I don't want to start. I did pick up some of the Dorati and Hanson CD sets and some individual Janos Starker CDs.

[Teasing the Korean]

Has the correct version of the Munch/BSO "Daphnis et Chloe" made it to CD yet? The existing CDs have used the experimental stereo recording of the earlier mono album - the one with the Warhol-illustrated book - as opposed to the late 50s stereo recording that was issued on a Living Stereo LP.

[ejp626]

Has the correct version of the Munch/BSO "Daphnis et Chloe" made it to CD yet? The existing CDs have used the experimental stereo recording of the earlier mono album - the one with the Warhol-illustrated book - as opposed to the late 50s stereo recording that was issued on a Living Stereo LP.

Well, the one in the box is a remastered version of this one Daphnis. I will listen again to see how it sounds. Some reviewers have commented that there is a better, later stereo recording, but I am not sure this is out on CD. To recap, this does seem to be the Living Stereo version, but it was recorded in 1955 and there may have been another stereo version from 1960-61.

Interestingly, one of the harder things to track down is Munch's 2nd version of Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet. The one on CD is the earlier version and apparently not nearly as good as the later version. Again, the earlier one was the version on the 8 CD Conducts Berlioz set from 1996. It is only in the 10 CD Berlioz set from 2004 that you get both versions. There is so much duplication with what I already have with this 10 CD set, so I am not entirely sure what to do. (Maybe it will be offered as a stand-alone CD but I'm not holding my breath and because there are so many short tracks it would cost $25 for all the downloads - and of course you don't have any physical product.) Most of the stereo LP versions of the later Romeo go for $20+, though in Dec. (slightly before I started searching for it) one went on eBay.uk for 1 pound. Oh well.

Edited February 27, 2011 by ejp626

[Chuck Nessa]

As someone with both (Ravel and Berlioz) versions for 40+ years, I prefer the earlier versions of both. YMMV.

[ejp626]

As someone with both (Ravel and Berlioz) versions for 40+ years, I prefer the earlier versions of both. YMMV.

Well, that's very interesting. The classical reviewers were fairly adamant about the later version of Romeo being better. Maybe I will pick up the earlier Romeo (which is fairly cheap on CD and comes paired with a very good version of Nuits d'Ete) and keep my eyes peeled for the later version on LP.

Anyway, it has been a very interesting march through the Living Stereo box, as well as some of the individual CDs I picked up to complement the box. There's no question I sort of pooh-poohed Fiedler, mostly because I don't like what contemporary pops orchestras do, but he recorded some excellent material, including Rimsky-Korsakov's Le Coq d'or, Offenbach's Gaite parisienne and Tales of Hoffman and Prokofiev's Love of Three Oranges (who knew?). Now I skipped some of the marches and the Christmas Party CD, but I might even get them some day.

[ejp626]

As a follow-up, the Daphnis and Chloe in the box (and presumably the same version as the single CD on Amazon) is in stereo, though much of the music sounds about the same on both channels. Stereo is most apparent in the winds and brass parts. How this compares to the LP, I can't say. According to the reviews, this was recorded on only two tracks to begin with, but they've done a pretty good job in remastering it. I'm satisfied with it.

[Teasing the Korean]

The '55 Daphnis is the experimental stereo recording of session that was released on the mono LP. I know only the mono LP version.

[ejp626]

The '55 Daphnis is the experimental stereo recording of session that was released on the mono LP. I know only the mono LP version.

Well, the answer is there is some stereo - they aren't using a fold-down or anything as on the LP -- but it's pretty narrow compared to the later recordings in the series. If you are looking for the later Munch recording there appears to be a Japanese CD of that, but I don't know anything more about that.

[Teasing the Korean]

The '55 Daphnis is the experimental stereo recording of session that was released on the mono LP. I know only the mono LP version.

Well, the answer is there is some stereo - they aren't using a fold-down or anything as on the LP -- but it's pretty narrow compared to the later recordings in the series. If you are looking for the later Munch recording there appears to be a Japanese CD of that, but I don't know anything more about that.

The mono LP wasn't a fold down - it was a dedicated mono recording, and a very good one. The experimental stereo recording was done at the same session with a different microphone placments and engineers. It wasn't deemed a good enough stereo recording for release, which is why they re-recorded it a few years later. That is why it has always puzzled me that the earlier stereo recording came out on CD.

[Bigshot]

Fiedler is totally underrated. Gaite Parisienne is one of the best in the box. I've been going through the set myself, and I'm struck by the consistency of quality. There are an awful lot of excellent performances in here. I've got the Brilliant Classics Russian live box and the Hyperion complete Liszt on deck, so my evenings are booked for a long time!

[Stefan Wood]

The Liszt Hyperion box alone should take up the rest of the year.

[Jim Alfredson]

I just bought this off eBay for a really good price. I'm looking forward to it. The impetus was finding the Korsakov Scheherazade CD in my wife's car. I asked her where she got it and she had no idea. I loved the sound and performance so I figured I'd try to get some of the series.

[king ubu]

just in case, there's also this site, with tons of covers (substantially more than when I last looked):

http://www.shadeddog.com/