Sinfonieorchester des Südwestrundfunks, Jascha Horenstein - Brahms: Symphony No.3 / Haydn Variations / Tragic Ouverture (2015) [Hi-Res]

As I suggested in the notes to Horenstein's 1957 Vox recordings of music by Berg and Schoenberg (PASC 445), these earliest of Vox's stereo recordings indicate a degree of experimentation with the new concept of soundstage and twin-channel recording. Both the Symphony and the Variations demonstrated an exceptionally wide image with a distinct "hole in the middle" as a result. A combination of digital phase alignment and a slight stereo narrowing (to about 85% of the original width) has done much to produce a far more satisfying and coherent sound picture in the two German recordings.

XR remastering has, once again, done wonders for the tonal balance of the orchestras in all three of these recordings, though at times it proved tricky to find an acceptable balance between full clarity in the upper woodwinds and a tendency in the violins to a somewhat wiry tone, almost certainly as a result of microphone placement during recording the Vox sessions. The Paris orchestra was considerably more "forward" in tone and this has been somewhat ameliorated. This mono broadcast recording has been presented here in Ambient Stereo, preserving the mono image whilst allowing a degree of ambient "air" around it. Once again I'm grateful to Misha Horenstein for source recordings and help and advice on repertoire and background information.