This day is very special, because I just received the digitally-remastered release of Saint-saens Symphony No. 3, the one made in 1959 (which I've had the RCA half-speed mastered vinyl recording of since then), and with the great Berj Zamkochian playing the organ, recorded at Symphony Hall, Boston. It was the first of the great, new "hi-fi spectacular" recordings in stereo from RCA, recorded on the Ampex 300-3, three-channel 1/2" recorder at 15 IPS.
Now it's been transferred to digital, from a restored Ampex 300-3, directly.
I'm previewing on headphones due to the hour and the fact that my wife is still pissed off about the playback levels of the explosions in last night's movie, but I anticipate this should be a nice improvement over the vinyl, especially in bass extention. Berj's unique interpretation of this symphony, using the 32' pedal Contra Violone is very unusual, as it is not done in any reading of this work performed since. I have many versions, ranging from Marie Claire Alaine's performance in Denmark, to Eugene Ormandy's interpretation for Telarc in the 80s, but none have the emotional impact of Charles Munch's interpretation, a proper French conductor, reading a French composition, artfully, passionately, with perfection that transcends the sum of the parts.
I so long to get everyone out of the house this weekend so I can listen to this recording at a proper and spirited level.
