Pristine Audio
Britten: Albert Herring (Pristine Audio)
An enjoyable trip back in time to the American premiere [MP]
Gounod: Faust (Pristine Audio)
A notable document preserving the epitome of French style in sound remarkable for a recording nearly a century old [RMo]
Maria Callas Arias Vol 2 (Pristine Audio)
A stunning anthology of Callas at her very best, enhanced by being rendered into Ambient Stereo [RMo]
Wagner: Die Walküre (Pristine Audio)
While far from perfect, this is a strangely compelling version with much that is worth hearing [MP]
Chopin & Stravinsky: Piano Concertos (Pristine Audio)
(Déjà Review) Mewton-Wood is a pianist who demands investigation, especially for one of the finest performances on disc of the Chopin [CH]
Victor de Sabata: New York Broadcasts 1951 (Pristine Audio)
A rare souvenir of a hugely under-recorded conductor in the company of two legendary artists, rendered into acceptable sound [RMo]
Schubert: Symphony 9 (Pristine Audio)
Fascinating listening [JW]
Wagner: Die Walküre (Pristine Audio)
This reissue may still have sound issues, but Amy Shuard’s performance alone makes it a worthy addition to anyone’s collection [SGa]
Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia (Pristine Audio)
A classic Barber returns to the catalogue in better sound than ever [ST]
Frederick Stock (conductor): Chicago Symphony Volume 6 (Pristine Audio)
The final volume in this series reprises Frederick Stock’s strengths as a recording artist [JW]
Sibelius & Paganini: Violin concertos (Pristine Audio)
The fervour is unceasing and the music is charted with feverish intensity [JW]
Bruckner: Symphony 8 (Pristine Audio)
Not the best we could have expected from Szell [SV]
Elgar: His first electric recordings (Pristine Audio)
Superb transfers of performances of the greatest importance and interest [PSt]
Leopold Stokowski (conductor) Chicago Debut Concerts (Pristine Audio)
A little slice of Stokowskian debut history in these two discs [JW]
Grieg: Violin Sonatas (Pristine Audio)
Classic Menuhin in these delightful sonatas [SB]
Albert Coates conducts 20th Century music (Pristine Audio)
Dynamic, dramatic, speedy but unexpectedly noble Albert Coates in action [JW]
Strauss: Salome & Elektra (Pristine Audio)
Straussian excellence from seven decades ago silences any of the more recent competition [MP]
Wagner: Das Rheingold (Pristine Audio)
A fine performance in excellent sound for the provenance, well enhanced, but with attendant flaws and failings [RMo]
Vaughan Williams, Debussy & Dvorak (Pristine Audio)
Godfrey, the precisian, refreshes in these spick and span transfers [RB]
Bruckner: Symphony No 7 (Pristine Audio)
Despite its improved sound, except as a historic document this remains superfluous in the light of competitive recordings from Karajan himself [RMo]
Brahms: Symphonies 3 & 4 (Pristine Audio)
Across the passage of time these recordings retain their pleasures and satisfactions [RB]
Brahms: Symphonies No.3-4 (Pristine Audio)
Romantic, free-flowing accounts somewhat compromised by indifferent sound and playing [RMo]
Gustav Mahler: Symphony 1, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Pristine Audio)
A highly satisfying and logical pairing, well-remastered and showcasing both Boult’s and Thebom’s eminence in Mahler [RMo]
Thomas Beecham (conductor): The Complete Acoustics (Pristine Audio)
An important set – for the academic rather than the general audience [PSt]
