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rpvee

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I don't know where else to ask this and it seems silly to open a whole thread:

 

Other than the Gerhardt series of Classic Film Scores in the 70's, there was also Bernard Herrmann's series on Decca Phase 4 and Elmer Bernstein's Film Music Collection at around the same time. Do we know of any others?

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There's the three Kojian albums on Varese.

 

And the two Roy Budd conducted albums with the LSO.

 

Although all these were released in the 80s.

 

Rozsa did a few re-recordings in the 70s on Decca Phase Four.

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1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

There's the three Kojian albums on Varese.

 

And the two Roy Budd conducted albums with the LSO.

 

Although all these were released in the 80s.

 

Rozsa did a few re-recordings in the 70s on Decca Phase Four.

 

Star Wars, Robin Hood, what's the third Kojian?

 

What are the Roy Budd recordings called? Do you know how many Rozsa did?

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42 minutes ago, blondheim said:

 

Star Wars, Robin Hood, what's the third Kojian?

 

The Sea Hawk.

 

42 minutes ago, blondheim said:

What are the Roy Budd recordings called?

 

It's two albums, and they exist in different releases with different names. My copies are issued on Hermes and called Fantasy Movie Themes and Space Movie Themes.

 

42 minutes ago, blondheim said:

Do you know how many Rozsa did?

 

I know about substantial suites from Ben Hur and Quo Vadis, possibly nothing else. Herrmann recorded a suite of Julius Ceasar.

 

If you don't mind older recordings, there's "Max Steiner Conducts Gone with the Wind & Other Themes" which was recorded in the mid-50s.

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@May the Force be with You

There used to be at least two good stores for soundtracks in Berlin, one actually specialized on soundtracks, the other a second hand store with a great selection of bootlegs. I am afraid, they don't exist anymore.

Best choice currently is Dussmann Kulturkaufhaus in Friedrichstrasse, I would say. They have mainly books, but they also used to have a good soundtrack selection. And in the classical music department you could find the one or the other Film composer's work for the concert hall. 

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54 minutes ago, bollemanneke said:

How does Williams indicate tempo in his published sheet music? Does he use metronmoe marks, Italian indications like allegro or something else?

He uses an exact tempo and word description, like "Maestoso (quarter note =100)"

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  • 3 weeks later...
10 minutes ago, karelm said:

What is the best/favorite Toy Story movie

Probably the second, but I love all of them (even though I like 4 a little less than the first three).

 

10 minutes ago, karelm said:

which one of them has the best score?

Also the second.

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11 minutes ago, karelm said:

What is the best/favorite Toy Story movie and which one of them has the best score?

 

I don't know about which I'd say is best, but I've always liked this set piece of the score from Toy Story 2:

 

 

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Bruckner, Symphony No. 8, Scherzo - 2nd or 3rd movement depending on the performed version (Bruckner flipped them at some point).

 

DG released two CDs of it by Karajan, a 1976 Berliner Philharmoniker and a 1988 Wiener Philharmoniker recording. Both are the Haas version where the Scherzo is the 2nd movement. The 1988 was recorded at the Musikverein; the snippet in the video is at the Musikverein as well, but must be from an earlier performance. According to this database, both the concert and the recording took place on 8 Nov 1988, although I'm not sure if the CD is a live recording. It was Karajan's penultimate concert there (his last was Bruckner's 7th in April 1989 less than two months before his death), but he looks a bit younger still in the video. I'd guess the video is from the 13 May 1979 concert of the Wiener Philharmoniker (I didn't find any performances of the 8th between those two dates at the Musikverein in that database).

 

If I had to pick one favourite recording of 8th, it would probably be Wand's Berliner Philharmoniker version from 2001.

 

Karajan is generally a solid choice for Bruckner, though, and his complete Berliner cycle (now available on Blu-ray, although a few of the symphonies were early digital recordings that have merely been upsampled) is worth having. His 4th was my introduction to Bruckner, the 5th is first rate, and I have yet to find a 6th to rival his.

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Are we talking about these vs these?

 

91xKn0PIecL._SL1500_.jpg A1X0-3AxhvS._SL1500_.jpg

 

I have the EMI/Warner set, and I was surprised how very different Karajan's interpretations are from all others that I have/am familiar with. Certainly worth comparing to others at least. The DG recordings are partly from the 80s, where I think Karajan was mostly past his peak, and the recording quality of the early digital recordings is inferior to the analogue ones from the 60s and 70s (which also have a higher resolution on Blu-ray than the simply upsampled DDD recordings). I remember hearing Karajan's 84 tone poems album and not being a big fan (but I'm interested in his 1964 takes now).

 

Side question: Most of DG's newer Blu-ray remasters offer 5.1 sound. Does anyone know where the surround data comes from? Is it taken directly from the original recordings (e.g. separate mixes from certain microphones), has it been digitally extrapolated from the recordings, or is it entirely artificial reverb that has been added digitally (possibly based on profiles built from the real recording venue's properties)?

 

For most of what's on it, Rosbaud's album still has my favourite versions of the Sibelius tone poems:

4170P2ZXJSL.jpg

Yes, it's mono, but the sound is good, and the interpretations are excellent.

 

On 09/11/2021 at 10:30 AM, Jurassic Shark said:

Inexpensive-but-great recordings of Bruckner's symphonies include Jochum's (two cycles on DG and Warner), and Tintner's on Naxos.

 

I haven't really heard many of Jochum's symphony recordings, but those I know I didn't like too much (although his Te Deum is still my go to version). Tintner is very good, but (at least partially because of the merely really good orchestras) not first rate. Because of his choice of versions, I wouldn't recommend his set to Bruckner novices, although it makes a good 2nd or 3rd cycle. He certainly deserves much praise for recording versions that until then had rarely (or not at all) been recorded. For the early symphonies, the earlier versions are very good - in the case of the 3rd, the original version is the only one I listen to (deliberate Wagner quotes and all), and Tintner's was I think only the 2nd recording of it (and one of the best). But from the 4th symphony onwards, I find the original versions inferior, often grotesque in parts. Even when they're not so different, they have strange quirks, as in the case of (it's been a while) the 7th or 8th, which in Tintner's version has a really annoying series of cymbal clashes (when in the "official" final versions, the one single cymbal hit is in the 7th, and even there people have been debating for decades whether it was Bruckner himself who wanted it or if he was persuaded to insert it against his better judgement - some recordings have it, some don't, and in my experience the quality of the performance is far more important than whether the cymbal crash is there or not - but the repeated cymbals in the Tintner version are really, really odd).

 

My advice: If you want a cheap first-rate cycle, get Wand's Cologne recordings from the early 80s. If you like them, get the Tintner box for alternates and the original versions of the earlier symphonies (plus the study symphony and the lovely "#0"). And/or get the Karajan box for the best 6th, some of the most sublime lyrical bits in the 4th, and outstanding 5th and a fine 9th. And whatever you do, get Celibidache's 7th (which stands head and shoulders above all other recordings of that symphony - you have to appreciate its slowness, but I'm of the firm conviction that if you don't, you simply don't deserve the 7th) and 4th (for the coda, which in Celibidache's version surpassed any other piece of music). And I recommend some version of the completed 9th (Bruckner died before he could finish the final movement) - e.g. Harnoncourt's Wiener Philharmoniker recording (which presents the surviving original fragments of the finale in a sort of workshop concert) or Rattle's rather recent recording of a reconstructed/completed version (avoid the Schaller recording, which gets high praise but is bonkers).

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2 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

Are we talking about these vs these?

 

91xKn0PIecL._SL1500_.jpg A1X0-3AxhvS._SL1500_.jpg

 

I have the EMI/Warner set, and I was surprised how very different Karajan's interpretations are from all others that I have/am familiar with. Certainly worth comparing to others at least. The DG recordings are partly from the 80s, where I think Karajan was mostly past his peak, and the recording quality of the early digital recordings is inferior to the analogue ones from the 60s and 70s (which also have a higher resolution on Blu-ray than the simply upsampled DDD recordings). I remember hearing Karajan's 84 tone poems album and not being a big fan (but I'm interested in his 1964 takes now).

 

Side question: Most of DG's newer Blu-ray remasters offer 5.1 sound. Does anyone know where the surround data comes from? Is it taken directly from the original recordings (e.g. separate mixes from certain microphones), has it been digitally extrapolated from the recordings, or is it entirely artificial reverb that has been added digitally (possibly based on profiles built from the real recording venue's properties)?

 

For most of what's on it, Rosbaud's album still has my favourite versions of the Sibelius tone poems:

4170P2ZXJSL.jpg

Yes, it's mono, but the sound is good, and the interpretations are excellent.

 

 

I haven't really heard many of Jochum's symphony recordings, but those I know I didn't like too much (although his Te Deum is still my go to version). Tintner is very good, but (at least partially because of the merely really good orchestras) not first rate. Because of his choice of versions, I wouldn't recommend his set to Bruckner novices, although it makes a good 2nd or 3rd cycle. He certainly deserves much praise for recording versions that until then had rarely (or not at all) been recorded. For the early symphonies, the earlier versions are very good - in the case of the 3rd, the original version is the only one I listen to (deliberate Wagner quotes and all), and Tintner's was I think only the 2nd recording of it (and one of the best). But from the 4th symphony onwards, I find the original versions inferior, often grotesque in parts. Even when they're not so different, they have strange quirks, as in the case of (it's been a while) the 7th or 8th, which in Tintner's version has a really annoying series of cymbal clashes (when in the "official" final versions, the one single cymbal hit is in the 7th, and even there people have been debating for decades whether it was Bruckner himself who wanted it or if he was persuaded to insert it against his better judgement - some recordings have it, some don't, and in my experience the quality of the performance is far more important than whether the cymbal crash is there or not - but the repeated cymbals in the Tintner version are really, really odd).

 

My advice: If you want a cheap first-rate cycle, get Wand's Cologne recordings from the early 80s. If you like them, get the Tintner box for alternates and the original versions of the earlier symphonies (plus the study symphony and the lovely "#0"). And/or get the Karajan box for the best 6th, some of the most sublime lyrical bits in the 4th, and outstanding 5th and a fine 9th. And whatever you do, get Celibidache's 7th (which stands head and shoulders above all other recordings of that symphony - you have to appreciate its slowness, but I'm of the firm conviction that if you don't, you simply don't deserve the 7th) and 4th (for the coda, which in Celibidache's version surpassed any other piece of music). And I recommend some version of the completed 9th (Bruckner died before he could finish the final movement) - e.g. Harnoncourt's Wiener Philharmoniker recording (which presents the surviving original fragments of the finale in a sort of workshop concert) or Rattle's rather recent recording of a reconstructed/completed version (avoid the Schaller recording, which gets high praise but is bonkers).

The EMI Karajan Sibelius is so great.  But I haven't heard the DG other than the Violin Concerto and No. 7 which I think are also fantastic.  HVK was a great conductor like Bernstein and Stokowski.  Anything they did is unique and wonderful.  Might not be authentic are true to the score.  For example, NEVE pre-amps are fantastic, but they color the music.  There is a "NEVE" sound.  That is big part of what people call the Abbey Road sound.  It's the vintage pre-amp used for those classic recordings.  They don't really exist any more because those vintage tube amplifiers are now digital copies.  I've used vintage NEVE pre-amps and they sound fantastic and nothing like their contemporaries but they do color the sound.  In my opinion, in a a positive way.  For example, it adds depth and presence.   It's very hard to explain to modern listeners because most of these frequencies are removed through compression so you never notice it in the first place.  95% of people don't hear any differences with compressed audio so this topic is only for the 5% who do notice.  That's the same as 95% can't tell the difference between $10 wine and $10,000 wine.  A very small group of audiophiles do notice and do care but almost no one else does.  

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8 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

Are we talking about these vs these?

 

91xKn0PIecL._SL1500_.jpg A1X0-3AxhvS._SL1500_.jpg

 

I have the EMI/Warner set, and I was surprised how very different Karajan's interpretations are from all others that I have/am familiar with. Certainly worth comparing to others at least. The DG recordings are partly from the 80s, where I think Karajan was mostly past his peak, and the recording quality of the early digital recordings is inferior to the analogue ones from the 60s and 70s (which also have a higher resolution on Blu-ray than the simply upsampled DDD recordings). I remember hearing Karajan's 84 tone poems album and not being a big fan (but I'm interested in his 1964 takes now).

 

Side question: Most of DG's newer Blu-ray remasters offer 5.1 sound. Does anyone know where the surround data comes from? Is it taken directly from the original recordings (e.g. separate mixes from certain microphones), has it been digitally extrapolated from the recordings, or is it entirely artificial reverb that has been added digitally (possibly based on profiles built from the real recording venue's properties)?

 

For most of what's on it, Rosbaud's album still has my favourite versions of the Sibelius tone poems:

4170P2ZXJSL.jpg

Yes, it's mono, but the sound is good, and the interpretations are excellent.

 

 

I haven't really heard many of Jochum's symphony recordings, but those I know I didn't like too much (although his Te Deum is still my go to version). Tintner is very good, but (at least partially because of the merely really good orchestras) not first rate. Because of his choice of versions, I wouldn't recommend his set to Bruckner novices, although it makes a good 2nd or 3rd cycle. He certainly deserves much praise for recording versions that until then had rarely (or not at all) been recorded. For the early symphonies, the earlier versions are very good - in the case of the 3rd, the original version is the only one I listen to (deliberate Wagner quotes and all), and Tintner's was I think only the 2nd recording of it (and one of the best). But from the 4th symphony onwards, I find the original versions inferior, often grotesque in parts. Even when they're not so different, they have strange quirks, as in the case of (it's been a while) the 7th or 8th, which in Tintner's version has a really annoying series of cymbal clashes (when in the "official" final versions, the one single cymbal hit is in the 7th, and even there people have been debating for decades whether it was Bruckner himself who wanted it or if he was persuaded to insert it against his better judgement - some recordings have it, some don't, and in my experience the quality of the performance is far more important than whether the cymbal crash is there or not - but the repeated cymbals in the Tintner version are really, really odd).

 

My advice: If you want a cheap first-rate cycle, get Wand's Cologne recordings from the early 80s. If you like them, get the Tintner box for alternates and the original versions of the earlier symphonies (plus the study symphony and the lovely "#0"). And/or get the Karajan box for the best 6th, some of the most sublime lyrical bits in the 4th, and outstanding 5th and a fine 9th. And whatever you do, get Celibidache's 7th (which stands head and shoulders above all other recordings of that symphony - you have to appreciate its slowness, but I'm of the firm conviction that if you don't, you simply don't deserve the 7th) and 4th (for the coda, which in Celibidache's version surpassed any other piece of music). And I recommend some version of the completed 9th (Bruckner died before he could finish the final movement) - e.g. Harnoncourt's Wiener Philharmoniker recording (which presents the surviving original fragments of the finale in a sort of workshop concert) or Rattle's rather recent recording of a reconstructed/completed version (avoid the Schaller recording, which gets high praise but is bonkers).

 

Yes, that's the boxes we're talking about. Quality post, btw!

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@Marian Schedenig,

Knowing D.G., they probably kept the original multi-track tapes, unless it was recorded direct to two-track.

Many "5.1" releases are, as you rightly point out, just a little bit of bleeding, into the rear speakers. Thankfully, thanks to current upmix technology, a lot home cinema systems can approximate 5.1 very well, so one can still have that immersive experience.

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2 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

@Marian Schedenig,

Knowing D.G., they probably kept the original multi-track tapes, unless it was recorded direct to two-track.

Many "5.1" releases are, as you rightly point out, just a little bit of bleeding, into the rear speakers. Thankfully, thanks to current upmix technology, a lot home cinema systems can approximate 5.1 very well, so one can still have that immersive experience.

 

So they would have only moderate, but "authentic" surround effects. I like that.

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Do we know what music from Return of the Jedi was supposedly composed by Fred Steiner?  Was he just another orchestrator or was he actually composing?  The best evidence I found was just John Morgan saying he was an assistant to Steiner at that time and peaked over his shoulder to see Return of the Jedi sheets.  This doesn't mean he composed it, just that he was involved in some way and wondering if we have better evidence.  

 

 

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6 hours ago, Edmilson said:

Is it enough to make their relationship creepy?

His rapey behaviour and cornering her and forcing it is enough to make it creepy either way.

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I'm having a package sent to Germany from a CD store in the USA. I need to know how low the content value has to be in order to avoid triggering import tax, and I also need to know whether this threshold includes the shipping charge or not.

 

Paging @Marian Schedenig.

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In spain, the shipping is included i think. And the post office charges you a fixxed ammount for the troubles of managing the imported packet.

 

i bought an used book, price in the label 6.40€. 
 

i had to pay to the post office 6.08€. No douane additional charges there but still….

 

the awful thing is that i ordered 3 books and they are going to be delivered in two packets. So thats twice post office fees for me.

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45 minutes ago, Luke Skywalker said:

s twice post office fees for me.

May be that's because of your books dispatch from different place or date, eight it's not possible I think

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I bought them from a second hand online store. Instead of sending the lone book in nevada to the warehouse that had the other two in texas, they sent them separate. In the end both packages are going the same route, via usps, to california and then to spain. 
 

 

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4 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I'm having a package sent to Germany from a CD store in the USA. I need to know how low the content value has to be in order to avoid triggering import tax, and I also need to know whether this threshold includes the shipping charge or not.

 

For import VAT, there is no limit anymore. You always have to pay them, plus probably a handling fee by your postal service. There is still a limit for customs duty - €150 (I believe that includes the shipping fees).

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19 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

For import VAT, there is no limit anymore. You always have to pay them, plus probably a handling fee by your postal service. There is still a limit for customs duty - €150 (I believe that includes the shipping fees).

 

Thanks. Anybody knows how much the German import VAT for CDs is?

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Should be the same VAT you pay for a CD within germany.

 

 

I figured out what happened with my packets. It was automatically dispatched by the post office-customs branch. So when the packet arrive home i already have to pay their handling fee (5€) plus the VAT (taken from the price of the items put on the shipping label). The second package arrived to day and since it was two books i had to pay a little more VAT.

 

It seems that with the tracking number i can beforehand inform this post office branch that i do not want them to handle the situation, so i have to pay the VAT in the tributary national agency online (with data from the online store receipt), and then the package clears customs and is delivered to my home. (but im not sure if i still have to pay something to the post office... i have seen contradicting reports...)

 

I did this order because i wanted the american editions of some paperbacks, which were OOP and were very cheap, so in the end i paid for them as if they were new, which is not that awful, and i wanted to see if how the new customs laws applied.

 

In other words. Music box records for me :). If only Quartet decided to do the same and sell Intrada's, LLL's, Varese's releases....

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55 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

Thanks. Anybody knows how much the German import VAT for CDs is?

 

Used to be 19% (as opposed to 20% in Austria). Should still be, unless there are COVID exceptions in place. Book VAT was reduced to 0% last year because of the pandemic, but I'm not sure if that's still ongoing (the exemption, not the pandemic).

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I hope someone knows about this, because it has bothered me since i started to collect mass market paperbacks from USA.

 

what is the explanation of sometimes the same book has embossed titles with usually metallict colours while there are versions with plain cover with no emboss and metallic colors? 
 

I assumed it was first printings that had the fancy covers… and subsequent reprints didnt, but i have encountered several 1st printings without emboss.

 

is it different printing plants? Canada printing? 
 

If you have star wars, or indiana jones bantam books you know what i mean. Some old delrey also. And from fantasy series too. For dragonlance…i think it was more a 80-90s thing as newer cover designs have more simple titles fonts.

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  • 2 weeks later...

People in Europe who ordered from Amazon UK recently and it was shipped with DHL or DPD or something like that, not the local mail: how are the import fees handled? Are they added to the shipping fee, are they known or do they make the package sit for days in the local country package center while they figure it out and sort it, do you have to pay them on delivery?

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