Andante Pre-Release: Toscanini Meistersinger

The Andante newsletter and website now has made it official that the Toscanini 1937 Salzburg Meistersinger is being officially issued on August 5th, remastered from the selenophone tapes by Ward Marston.

Andante members get a 10% discount off all Boutique list prices (as long as you don't forget to login first). I have no financial or other interest in Andante, but I do strongly recommend membership to anyone with a good broadband connection. I've made many good CD-Rs from recording stuff out of their music room - lots of new and old performances from their various partners, including the Concertgebouw (a recent 1949 live performance of Hindemith's Symphony in E flat conducted by the composer was a lot of fun), the VPO, the Salzburg Festival, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the LSO, and Wigmore Hall.

Not to add fuel to the fire for another 'anti-Fluffy' thread, but the other August 5th pre-release they're advertising is a very interesting looking 4 CD set of Karajan live performances (from 1964-1979) with the VPO from the Salzburg Festival.

That *is* what Andante's website says, but I'd bet that as with the Walter Figaro, Marston's source is Seth Winner's Selenophone-to-DAT

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Didn't one of those gents do the transfer from the original tapes, while the other did the noise reduction and re-equalizing?

Something like that. According to the booklet in the Adante Figaro,:

Ward Marston - Producer

Ward Marston, George Blood - Remastering

Seth B. Winner (for The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts) - Sound Engineer (Selenophone film to digital tape transfer)

John Taddei (for The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts) - Technical Consultant

<< That *is* what Andante's website says, but I'd bet that as with the Walter Figaro, Marston's source is Seth Winner's Selenophone-to-DAT transfer. >>

Based on the recording of the Overture I sampled from Andante's web site, this remastering of the Toscanini Meistersinger, is going to be an incredible improvement over previous issues. Bring on the Falstaff! Best,

And then _Zauberflöte_!

I am *right now* listening to the Andante Salzburg Figaro, which arrived in my office mail from Berkshire today. If the Toscanini source material is equally well handled, it will be a revelation. Hopefully, we'll not only get the Falstaff but also the Magic Flute and also Walter's Don Giovanni.

(I'd have a great time burning my wretched Fourties [sic] Label Toscanini Meistersinger but for the fact that it also contains a substantial excerpt from the 1936 Act III.)

Don't forget about AT's _Falstaff_ from Salzburg! And let's all hope that somewhere, somehow, AT's Salzburg _Fidelio_ will turn up

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That would be nice, but do you think it is likely? At least we have the shortwave broadcast of Act I through 'Abscheulicher! ... Komm, Hoffnung.'

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There was also an Eddie Smith 'Scratchofunken' LP issue of the shortwave broadcast (in even worse sound than previous releases of the Selenophon material), from the previous year ... when Lotte Lehmann and Charles Kullman were still in the cast!