Pristine Audio
Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana & Leoncavallo: I Pagliacci (Pristine Audio)
A pleasure to hear Björling in these excellent Pristine transfers, even if these two roles are not amongst his greatest [PT]
Erica Morini (violin) The Complete Victor Recordings (Pristine Audio)
Youthful Erica Morini’s earliest recordings from New Jersey show her scintillating in morceaux [JW]
Wagner: Götterdämmerung (Pristine Audio)
The culmination of a great Ring cycle has a place among the best: scintillating singing, playing and conducting [RMo]
Ponchielli: La Gioconda (Pristine Audio)
A good but not quite superlative recording in enhanced sound [MBu]
Toscanini: The 1939 Beethoven Cycle (Pristine Audio)
One of the finest Beethoven Symphony cycles in the best remasterings [DF]
Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana & Leoncavallo: I Pagliacci (Pristine Audio)
Remarkable sonic restoration, almost recreation, and a must for Verismo opera lovers [EJW]
Wagner: Siegfried (Pristine Audio)
Another majestic instalment of living theatre – the best so far – in Kna’s 1956 Bayreuth Ring, in superb sound but again afflicted by persistent coughing [RMo]
Wagner: Die Walküre (Pristine Audio)
Pristine’s stereo remastering reveals its glories yet more vividly – but unfortunately also highlights the constant hacking of the audience and Windgassen’s coordination problems. [RMo]
Ponchielli: La gioconda (Pristine Audio)
A great Callas recording is tidied up a bit, and her co-singers are brought into better focus [RMo]
Eugene Goossens (conductor) – Cincinnati Symphony, Vol 3 (Pristine Audio)
Goossens’ final Cincinnati recordings complete a worthwhile 3-CD series [JW]
Wagner: Das Rheingold (Pristine Audio)
A great performance revitalised in extraordinarily vivid sound – another Pristine remastering triumph [RMo]
Mahler: Symphonies 5, 7 & 8 (Pristine Audio)
A specialist issue, but Mahler devotees and admirers of Sir Adrian Boult will find it fascinating [JQ]
Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor (Pristine Audio)
Pristine refreshes Callas’s 1959 stereo recording and prompts a re-evaluation of its considerable merits [PT]
Ponchielli: La Gioconda (Pristine Audio)
No one who loves this opera can afford to be without this recording for Callas’ unique insight into the title role [GF]
Mahler: Symphonies Nos 5, 7 & 8 (Pristine Audio)
Revelatory Boult in Mahler from the archives [LD]
Cherubini: Medea (Pristine Audio)
Callas’ stereo studio Medea gets the Pristine XR treatment [PT]
Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor (Pristine Audio)
On balance, still the best of Callas’ recordings of Lucia di Lammermoor [RMo]
Beethoven: Symphonies 7 & 8 (Pristine Audio)
Great, essential performances, clearly recognisable even with less than ideal sound quality [PBW]
Cherubini: Medea (Pristine Audio)
Pristine’s revitalising of the sound here goes a long way towards countering any criticism of Callas’ sole studio recording of Medea [RMo]
Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor (Pristine Audio)
Callas’ stereo remake is a more mature and inward reading of the role – now in even fresher sound [GF]
Toscanini: The 1948 Brahms Cycle Vol. 1 (Pristine Audio)
Toscanini at his best in these great live concert recordings from 1948, lovingly remastered [GPJ]
Frederick Stock (conductor) Chicago Symphony, Vol 3 (Pristine Audio)
Further evidence that Stock was an exceptionally able conductor [JW]
Cherubini: Medea (Pristine Audio)
This recording is an established classic, and should be in every decent opera collection, especially in this newest incarnation [GF]