[78-L] Toscanini reissues

[DAVID BURNHAM]

Do any of you who are cozy with the archive situations in NYC know conductor/producer Ed Houser, producer Nat Johnson or engineer Michael Sobol?  These people were involved in a project to reissue once again in 1999 the recordings of Toscanini.  Their aim was to issue greatly improved recordings, basing the improvement on 20 bit remastering and the fact that they've gone back to first generation masters.  The last CD in the set contains a narrated comparison between previous CD issues and the new format.

My understanding was that John Pfeiffer and Seth Winner had used first generation masters when making the "Toscanini Collection"  around 1990, and I would be surprised if they weren't also using 20 bit technology then as well.  In each comparison on the sampler CD, the remastered version is much louder than the "CD" version, but a 16 bit recording doesn't sound any quieter than a 20 bit recording and, in fact, (of course), the new mastered CDs, like every other CD, are 16 bit anyway.  Mainly, it sounds like they have added some eq and, perhaps, some reverberation as well.  Some of the results are impressive, but others are harsh and unpleasant to listen to.

I don't know if this project went anywhere, I've never seen any other releases except the Beethoven Symphonies and Missa Solemnis.  Actually, there is nothing on the package which indicates there was any intention to issue any more recordings so perhaps this set was all they intended to work on.

db