More Decca Originals: Adam: Giselle.(Sound recording review)

More Decca Originals: Adam: Giselle. Karajan, VPO (Decca 475 7507). Dvorak: Symphonies 8 & 9. Kertesz, LSO (Decca 475 7517). Mahler: Symphony No. 8. Solti, CSO (Decca 475 7521).

Decca are continuing to reissue some of their best old material in fresh, new editions. In some cases, the 96k Hz, 24-bit remasterings remain the same as in previous releases, and in some cases they appear brand new. Here are three more.

Adolphe Adam (1803-1856) wrote his ballet Giselle in 1841, but it slipped out of public consciousness until the 1920s, when the Parisians revived it. While the Russians probably did the most from that point on to keep it in the repertoire, they substantially altered the score over the years, too, mostly shortening it. Karajan's 1961 recording with the Vienna Philharmonic presents the work pretty much as Adam wrote it. Personally, I would rather have seen Decca remaster Jean Martinon's even older (1959) Paris Conservatoire rendering, but I suppose Karajan is still the name that pays the bills. As ever, Karajan is super suave with the music, sometimes appearing to take more pleasure in the sounds he's creating than in the story he's telling or the music he's conducting. Nevertheless, the piece comes off quite romantically (for a story about spirits of the dead and such), and the remastered sonics are pleasingly refined; not always the utmost in transparency or dynamic impact, but easy on the ear.

Istvan Kertesz produced a magical cycle of Dvorak symphony recordings in the 1960s, and Decca have issued them in any number of combinations on LP and CD ...