Gershwin - An American In Paris & Rhapsody In Blue - Arthur Fiedler
George Gershwin - An American In Paris & Rhapsody In Blue
Earl Wild, piano (on "Rhapsody In Blue")
Boston Pops Orchestra (on "An American In Paris")
Arthur Fiedler, conductor (on "An American In Paris")
1 LP, Gatefold jacket
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Quality Record Pressings
Label : Analogue Productions
Original Label : RCA
Recorded at Symphony Hall, Boston
Engineered by Lewis Layton
Remastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound
Originally released in 1960
Reissued in 2014
Tracks :
Side B: An American In Paris
Awards :
"This reissue cut by Ryan K. Smith from the original 3 track beats every original I have (four) in every way. It peels back layers of murk without adding brightness or spotlighting or anything bad. Instead, it's as if layers of dust and dirt have been expertly cleaned away revealing a fresh, clear window onto the live musical event. ... (Earl) Wild's piano has never sounded as cleanly rendered or as well-focused. You'll see it as clearly as the skyscrapers. The finale has never packed such a ferocious wallop either. ... With records like this coming out, audiophiles who declare flatly that reissues never sound as good as originals skate further and further onto the thin ice. If you intend to own but a single classical record in your collection, make it this one." Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet.com.
"Grade A++. This is a disc that I have never been wild about (though it was always one of HP's favorites). My complaint was the cavernous hole in the stage center, which made Earl Wild's piano sound tiny, distant and swamped with reverberation. Here mastering magic has been done by Kassem and his crew. The piano track, apparently not properly mixed back in '59, has been given the prominence it should always have had. Don't worry: The "stage" ambience (usually a bit of a misnomer, given that the BPO was seldom recorded on the stage of Symphony Hall, more often in the "orchestra section" of the hall, after the first-floor seats had been removed) has not been lost: it's just no longer overcooked, making a scintillating performance that much more immediate and exciting. (Thus the extra "+.") — Jonathan Valin, The Absolute Sound.com, June 11, 2013.
Discogs : 4.56 / 5 , Michael Fremer : Music = 9/11; Sound = 9/11