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Re: Gould Anniversary Edition
In a message dated 10/4/02 9:01:53 PM Pacific Daylight Time, LISTSERV@EMAIL.RUTGERS.EDU writes:
Does anyone know
if these are a fresh remastering of the recordings, or simply a repackaging
of the "GG edition?" I am just now coming to appreciate Gould, having for
years been a collector of Sviatoslav Richter. With the bargains available
on the GG edition, I want to know if I should instead spend the extra on
the "anniversary edition." (There are some things which differ - the
French Suites seem to be available on a single cd in the anniversary
edition instead of the 2 cd sets previously released).
I have the Anniversary Edition CD of the "Italian Concerto," etc., and there is no hint in the package about the music being "remastered" since it's last issue. I do know, however, that both versions of the Goldbergs were remastered for the "State of Wonder" release -- the big story is the analogue version of the '81 recording, but somewhere I stumbled across a Sony statement about the '55 version being remastered also. (Maybe it's on their web site, or in the discs' liner notes.) The '55 in "SoW" sounds much fuller/warmer than the GG Edition version, which sounds harsh & artificially compressed in comparison.
The low Anniversary Edition prices were exciting to me, too, until I saw that Sony was still issuing the French Suites on 2 CDs -- they're just packaged separately. This is just wasteful, since all 6 French Suites would fit comfortably on one CD, if the "French Overture" were left off. But the 2 Annv. Ed. CDs together cost less ($24) than the GG Ed. double-disc set ($32)... It's hard to determine what Sony's "master plan" might be, vis-a-vis the repackaging of Gould's catalog. They say these Anniversary Editions are, altogether, a "limited edition."
Howard Sauertieg
Rt 66
Albuquerque NM