Ivan the Terrible sounds awesome! It isn’t in my collection but I'm going to keep an eye out for it.

Excellent even though Emily hardly got a word in lol. Can’t believe the portions size of the food and for lunch wow

bought a bit of a tear to my eye that beginning with the rubens and the britten

Many thanks for your guidance. I've bought quite a few of the Original Source DGs on your recommendations and haven't been disappointed yet. So, I've just ordered the Grieg Peer Gynt and Gulda/Abbado Mozart. Also, I must agree with you about the Ace of Diamond releases. I have a number of them as Canadian pressings (which, sadly, get a bad reputation) and they are spectacular. Special mention to Michael Johnson and Michael Fremer. All of you are remarkable in your expertise and a credit to the music-on-vinyl collective. Sorry to ramble but I must also thank you for the Hovis ad at the end. Brings back so many memories. I especially remember The Two Ronnies' spoof: "Grandad always said t'were a bloody long way to go for a loaf!"

Alfred Brendel? Oh no, you're kidding! The master of the boring kingdom?

Though I no longer qualify as a young person, I'm looking forward to watching (and listening) the both of you. I'm also enjoying Michael's (poetry on plastic) new project.

20:55 I'm a huge fan of Prokofiev's 'Peter and the Wolf' too and aside from a narrator-free version I bought several months ago on a used CD from a thrift store, I also have several different narrator versions on vinyl LP record and/or CD including: - Sir Alec Guinness - Sir Ralph Richardson - Sean Connery - David Bowie - Boris Karloff - Leonard Bernstein - Jack Lemmon - Sterling Holloway (for Disney's animated version of 'Peter and the Wolf')

Sir Ralph Richardson with the L.s.o for Peter and the Wolf here on a Decca vinyl "World of" reissue with his great diction and very much a fan of Previn's account of the Nutcracker having the lp (plus the big Previn cd box with it). Classical music with a story running through it was an early gateway for me hearing Scheherazade at boarding school around the age of nine. Looking forward to see the next part. Regards from Staffordshire, the West Midlands of England.

No Mahler 10?

Such fun, thanks! Don’t forget Sean Connery’s Peter and the Wolf.

I never knew the Tennant version of Peter & The Wolf existed. As a fan of Doctor Who, Jazz and David Tennant himself, I'll have to seek it out :)

My first Karajan concert 'live' was in 1969, I was working in Berlin, and had wanted to visit the 'new' Philharmonie concert hall...as luck would have it the one I went to was Bruckner - a composer unknown to me in my callow ignorance! So it was, 7th Symphony and Prokoviev PC 3 (with the young Lazar Berman, Edit, a friend has pointed out this is unlikely -perhaps I misremembered the soloist....surely not!). I remember the beauty of the slow movement of the Bruckner....it's still, perhaps, my favourite single movement in Bruckner. I collected the Karajan Bruckner as it came out (known in the record trade as the 'pigeon-wing-in-the-flour' Bruckner!) and then did what you did and bought the set you showed us. I spread my wings a bit later and have recordings by many others....mainly to get the different editions - including the ground breaking Inbal set on Telarc in the 'original' versions and the fmin 'Study' Sym. I much like the Barenboim set with the BPO for a different view, and of course Jochum. Funny thing, I watched the Ken Russell film of Bruckner the other night again, for which Ken made selections from the last three symphonies...most memorably the slow movt. of the 7th in the sequence where Bruckner is 'cured' of his number obsession (well, not totally!).

Crazy prices in Europe on those records. The Mozart Piano Concertos Nr 20 & 21 costs $100.

I agree that it's a shame that Mercury spent so much resources on digital vinyl. I tried one and didn't care for it at all. That catalog has enough clout with audiophiles and music lovers that an AAA reissue program would do well. Imagine those beautiful jackets and stunning recordings done with the best of today's resources! Even if a whole series isn't financially viable, a few select titles a year would be most welcome. That EMI hasn't done much in the arena is a crime. Testament was a step in the right direction, HiQ not so much.

Oh my, you had me running to my collection to retrieve many of these records to reclean, resleeve, and listen again before placing them in my permanent collection. You are so eloquent in describing why these are so special. Thank you so much for these videos.

This is an important topic and you've covered it very well. I will be pulling out the ones I have for a fresh listen! Thanks for this mini series!

Dear Mark your enthusiasm is contagious! I’m Italian and I had the opportunity to hear Pollini several times in public concerts. I might add that I grew up with his recordings of the late Beethoven’s piano Sonatas. As time goes by Pollini has moved further and further away from my top choices: I’m searching for something more “human” and less structuralistic , less Darmstad-oriented. In the meantime I suggest you to find the concerts programs he did as artistic director and chamber musician (the so called “Progetto Pollini” in Rome and “Pollini Project” in Salzburg). They were incredible concerts were Marenzio, Monteverdi, Gesualdo met Mozart and they all together met Stockhausen): they are still useful as listening paths. Another suggestion: the Gregory Sokolov’s recording of Chopin Prelude (my reference) and the incredible rendition of French Baroque Music he did. Thanks again!!!

Mark, the Gulda comparison to Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett really caught my attention-I’ll have to check this out! - Mike

Fully agree on the strings sound of the Abbado/Gulda release. I find it too bright. Thought I got it wrong but now I see it confirmed by your review. Love Gulda approach to Mozart. Thanks for your reviews. Plenty of information and details 💕

I love your videos! Greetings from Cologne/Germany

Galway's participation is for me a a major disadvantage. His nervous, non-germanic tone never blends well with the other woodwinds of the Berlin Phil...

Hi Mark, beginner question here: How do the budget DG Originals CD reissues compare sonically to these attractive, but pricey new vinyl reissues? Great channel btw, thank you for doing this.

Thanks for sharing, what a great video review.

I’ve been a huge fan of David Hurwitz since he began his videos during Covid, but am so happy that I’ve just discovered your channel as well…I’ll now go through your previous uploads, as well as checking out your jazz discussions…alas that seems to be a whopping-big blind spot in Dave’s interests…of course there’s all kinds of jazz, like all sorts of classical, so I’ll be interested to see if our tastes match (these days I’ve settled into post-war bop through it’s many permutations up through funk, jazz-rock and the avant-garde)

One of the most influencial critcs of the 20th century was the late Joachim Kaiser. He became so powerfull that some pianist avoided to play in Munich where Kaiser lived most of this life. He wrote a book about the greatest pianist of the century. Later, his list was called the "Titans of the piano". Gulda was one of these Titans. So if you don't know him, go for his Beethoven or Mozart (beside others). If you here the Arietta of Op. 111 it is hard to go to another interpretation therafter. He started as pure classical pianist of the Vienna school. Later he also became interested in Jazz which was a upset to the classical audiance. He combined classical and Jazz pieces in his later concerts. Btw. Pollini became also a member of the list.

Another painfully mouth watering video I think I will need to recover before watching part 1. I suspect the beautiful Ashkenazy Decca piano tone you mentioned is less likely to be due to Ken Wilkinson’s genius and more due to the Decca engineers wholesale use in the 1970’s of a piano technique called the Decca tail pair, situated 4-5 feet from the end of the Steinway. It’s the reason the recorded quality of piano tone on Ash, Lupu and Larrocha at Kingsway 1970’s share the same glorious qualities. I read about the tail pair in the John Dunkerley book Classical recording in the Decca tradition which is designed as a handbook for budding professionals but has some fascinating nuggets of historical info and anecdotes!

Lovely ! Would be so helpful if you can provide a cumulative list of DG OSS: MUST HAVE / Nice to have / Forget about it list ! :)

Informative and enjoyable talk, as always. Thanks. Own both of these releases (plus the Giulini and Karajan Bruckner issues), even though I wouldn't dare play them on my current record player. Knew Maestro Pollini travelled with his own piano technician. Didn't realise he was quite THAT obsessive about the sound of his piano. Said it elsewhere so I'll be brief: heard live his sound was ravishing. Surprised at DG's failure to notice that the Pollini release features the wrong recording notes. Great news about the Karajan/Mahler 6. It still sounds great. Puzzled about the inclusion of the Bohm/Mozart Requiem. Listen to Mozart most days. Never this work, though. Don't think I'm alone in that, either. BEST, D.

Thanks again for this informative video, Mark. Richter preferred Yamaha pianos, that's why you saw him playing one. If you're lobbying for ABM, have them consider the live recording of Mozart's PCs 13 and 15, originally recorded by dr. Cord Garben, so they'll have an excellent canvas to part from. ;-)

As someone who owns the Karajan "decade" CD box sets, the Sigurd Jorsalfar is a wonderful highlight of what is a great disc overall. The Peer Gynt is of course well played, but I think the sound quality on their digital remake in 1982 beats it. The B-side there is the Sibelius Pelleas et Melisande. You can't go wrong with either disc, really.

I picked up Pollini as soon as it arrived at AS. It sold out very quickly. I’m sure they’ll repress this one. Glad you talked about the piano sound. The weight of the lower register is definitely not there, but the clarity is brilliant and immediate. I am very satisfied with this one. Looking forward to the Tchaikovsky 4, 5 & 6 Mravinsky box.

What a delightful video. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you for these two videos. So informative. I’ll have to buy the Chopin :).

Wonderful review as always, with fascinating detail. I haven't many from this series. You may have convinced me to pick up the Pollini

Great video Thank you

Perahia is Mozart for princesses. It's way too clean and gentle for me. Gulda/Abbado is a great recording. Gulda's Mozart is one of the best, clarity, sharpness, straight to the point, without any trace of mannerisms, contrary to the infamous Brendel/Marriner set which I hate with a passion. Anda complete set is my favorite.

Again, a great review. It was very interesting to hear that Pollini, like Horowitz and Gould, paid extraordinary attention to how his instrument should sound, with the aim of bringing out the entire range of nuances of his piano playing. As usual, you presented this clearly with a lot of knowledge, just like your description of what the Pollini recordings actually sound like.

The whole Kubelik Dvorak cycle has horrible sound. It's all lacking in bass and the worst is No 7. For some strange reason this marred his Mahler cycle as well. You mentioned how Decca and EMI often recorded in Kingsway Hall and they were almost always excellent. So it is quite ironic that the last recording made there was Puccini's Manon Lescaut with Sinopoli for Deutsche Grammophon. A marvellous performance and recording.

​​I thank you for another great video! My wife and wallet do not.

It makes sense about Gulda coming from jazz roots. I never considered that before.

Spot on regarding tge Karajan Mahler No. 6. Going to reserve my copy now!!!

It is /ˈkɪʁçə/ not kirke.

Disappointing to hear your review of the 'New World' as I too was hoping for a better result. I'm awaiting my copy to arrive so hopefully I won't be disappointed...

Soon as you mentioned Fjeldstad and the Decca Sound my ears pricked up. When Fjeldstad met Clifford Curzon and recorded the Piano Concerto, everything went right. I still don't think that recording has ever been surpassed and every respected pianist has recorded it at least once.

Great review as usual. I'm buying every release of every batch and find this 6th batch the least successful one. Kubelik and Gulda/Abbado pressings are pretty disappointing sonically. Thanks for posting this.

Awesome video, subscribed.

Hi I have these records in original pressings and they sound ok but I will purchase the OSS reissues. The Dvorak raises the interesting question of how DG select records for reissue. In theory it should be audiophile quality records but I can understand if they want to reissue best sellers even if they are not audiophile in terms of the original tape.

Hi Mark, thanks for vids. `Can you do a vid on your playback system?

Nice review, Mark. 👍 Actually I skipped those two because I already have the Speakers Corner Versions and I'm very satisfied with them. So I took the oppotunity to save some money 😉 I love the work that Rainer and Sidney do with this series. And it's always fun to guess what the next batch will look like. However, I am also someone who hopes that we'll see more non-orchestral or less 'mainstream' recordings to be included in the series in the future. Me personally... I hope that the Karajan "Schönberg • Berg • Webern" Box Set will get the Original Source treatment. 🙏

Two real life musical journeys Mark and daughter most enjoyable