BBC Symphony Orchestra, Horenstein - Strauss: Metamorphosen, Sinfonia Domestica (2014) [Hi-Res]

Jascha Horenstein made three records for EMI and its affiliates; his 1953 Metamorphosen, coupled with Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms (PASC 418) was one. This is its first reissue in any format - despite it winning a prestigious Grand Prix du Disque in 1954. That original recording was reasonably well-made but a lack of depth meant the lower instruments tended to get somewhat lost amidst the denser textures of the piece. XR remastering has helped here in clarifying the multiple voices of the 23 strings, adding body to the recording as well as a sense of dimension.

The 1961 BBC broadcast of Sinfonia Domestica originated in an off-air tape recording of a BBC Home Service broadcast. It is the first time a recording of Horenstein conducting this work has been made available, and once more we are grateful to the conductor's cousin, Misha Horenstein, for access to his extensive archives. The fidelity of the recording is lower than that of the earlier EMI LP, and in addition there was a degree of tape dropout to battle against during the first ten minutes or so of this 45-minute performance.

The sound quality throughout is, in this remastered version, a significant step up from the original source, as Mr. Horenstein acknowledged on first hearing it: "I agree that the first section is sonically more subdued than the later parts, but taken as a whole what you've managed to do with it is pretty impressive, bravo!"