Dvorak Violincello Concerto - Bruch - Kol Nidrei - Janos Starker

Dvorak Violoncello Concerto by Janos Starker, Dorati, and the LSO on 200g 45RPM 2LP: Cut Directly from the Original 3-Track, First-Gen Master Tapes and Mastered by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound

Antal Dorati conducts master cellist Janos Starker and the London Symphony Orchestra in a breathtaking performance recorded in July of 1962 at Wembley Town Hall, London of Antonín Dvorak's famous Cello Concerto and Max Bruch's composition for cello and orchestra, Kol Nidrei.

Starker tackles this cello concerto with amazing confidence; technical difficulties encountered by others in its performance appear unknown to him. Tonal purity, even in the dreaded upper register and the cadenzas, remains unscathed, so that one can concentrate wholly on the meditative magic of the music. Starker certainly found worthy fellow musicians in Dorati and the LSO. The conductor and soloist set a benchmark in how to work together as a team in concert in that it is less the often-lamented emulation than the interpretation, which stands in the foreground in this performance. Rather, the two protagonists commit themselves to a chamber-music-like reading, which is distinguished by the dynamically moderate intonation of the orchestra and the slender tone of the soloist throughout.

An ever-welcome encore is found on side two with Bruch's Kol Nidrei, performed with verve and a good portion of romantic, melting sweetness, which allows this evergreen to truly flourish.

Led by remastering supervisor Thomas Fine, son of high-fidelity recording pioneers C. Robert Fine and Wilma Cozart Fine of Fine Recording Inc. in New York City, this reissue was cut at 45 RPM directly from first-generation 3-track master tapes. A 3-2 channel mix was made directly to the cutting lathe, no "cutting master" tape stage, digital source or digital delay was used.

Thomas Fine made the 3-2 mixes with mastering engineer Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound. Smith manually controlled groove margin and depth on his Neumann VMS-80 lathe, working with no preview signal and bypassing the lathe's margin-control computer. In doing so, he cut these sides the same way the original LP was cut by George Piros, who was Fine Recording Inc's VP and head of mastering. As with the original LP, no "sweetening" equalization or dynamic range control was used.

The Dvorak Cello Concerto and Bruch's Kol Nidrei were recorded July 6, 7 and 10, 1962 at Watford Town Hall outside London. Three Schoeps M210 microphones, set in omnidirectional pattern, were hung across the front of the orchestra, with the players positioned on the floor of the hall in order to best utilize its acoustics.

The microphones direct fed 3-track recorders: a 1/2" tape machine and a 35mm magnetic film recorder. Both first-generation tapes and first-generation films were edited into production masters. At the original session, Wilma Cozart Fine was the Recording Director, Harold Lawrence was the Musical Supervisor, C. Robert Fine was the Chief Engineer and Technical Supervisor, and Robert Eberenz was the Associate Engineer.

The original LP was cut from the 35mm film, and the Mercury Living Presence logo on the front cover included the 35mm designation. Over time, the 35mm mag-film material deteriorated and the master is now not in good playable condition. Meanwhile, the 1/2" magnetic tape has held up well and still sounds as good as the day it was recorded.

This 2LP set, pressed at QRP, allows for the full dynamics present on the master tapes to shine through, as the wider-spaced grooves let your stereo cartridge track more accurately. Stoughton Printing handled old-style tip-on gatefold jacket.

Musicians:
Antonín Dvorak, composer
Max Bruch, composer
Antal Dorati, conductor
Janos Starker, cello
London Symphony Orchestra