Album Reviews

“I have to admit that this (D2D) recording technique was completely unknown to me before. When I ultimately realized what it entailed, I had mixed feelings at first.” So admitted Jakub Hrusa, the Bamberg Symphony’s 39 year old Czech-born conductor who joined the orchestra in 2016. Based on the stunning musical and sonic results it was well worth whatever trepidation resulted from the decision to proceed with the recording of Czech-born Bedrich Smetana, which took place July 2th/26th, 2019 in Bamberg, Germany’s Joseph-Keilberth-Saal concert hall. (please forgive the lack of proper accents over the names).

Though the orchestra, which has historical roots in Prague, has performed often and recorded Smetana’s “Má Vlast” (“My Country”)—it was the first recording released by the orchestra under Mr. Hrusa’s direction— the Direct-to-Disc experience can be daunting for reasons understood by most AnalogPlanet readers. Ultimately, the conductor realized that “You don’t get the chance to try something so extraordinary every day.” Indeed!

I’ve not compared this D2D performance with the orchestra’s 2016 original CD, but in the notes the conductor notes that he prefers live recordings of his concerts to studio recordings, concluding, “This is precisely why I consider a recording project that resembles the concern situation to be an inspiring challenge. You’re working on a deeply honest document.”

Without a doubt this must sound better than the the 2016 CD. Without comparison to the earlier recording, this is a rousing, exciting performance filled with the reverential warmth and passion appropriate for a patriotic piece. If this is how the orchestra plays holding back due to direct-to-disc fears, I’d love to hear it full bore!

“Má Vlast” is in six parts, none longer than 15+ minutes so the producer chose to record each to a side of 3 45rpm records. It worked out perfectly.

The conductor notes in the annotation that “Outside the Czech Republic the whole cycle is rarely performed; one sticks to sections like the popular Vltava”. That’s the second of the six (side two) and is the familiar “The Moldau”, which everyone knows whether or not they know it.

So, unlike symphonic works, there’s no need to play the sides in order. You could start on side two, or if you want to hear some sonic and musical fireworks, you could begin with “Tábor” on side E (third record) and you’ll be treated early on to some major tympani whacks. All sides are enjoyable.

Rainer Maillard, who oversaw the D2D Brahms Symphonic Cycle and the more recent Haitink conducted Bruckner 7th, both with the BPO, engineered this box set.

Unlike the Berlin Philharmonie Hall, with its more open architecture, the Joseph-Keilberth-Saal concert hall is a rectangular “shoe box” configuration, and while it doesn’t have an old school proscenium arch, the sonics are warmer (as is the orchestra) and the reverberation more pronounced, though still mild compared to older “classic” concert halls. The result is a somewhat warm, inviting overall sound, yet the imaging and soundstage picture are both strongly presented and well-detailed. Overall, absolutely spectacular sounding.

For this production Mr. Maillard brought his VMS80 lathe/Neumann SX74 cutting system to Bamberg and used Sennheiser MKH800 Twin and MKH30 microphones with the first two picking up most of the orchestral sound. They fed a Sonosax SX-ST8 mixing console and a Neumann SP79 mastering console and that's it!

The sumptuous box packaging, the full sized booklet printed on heavy stock, filled with photos of the session and the Optimal-pressed vinyl all contribute to a memorable set. Accentus Music chose to press but 1111 copies. It’s not quite sold out from what I can see, but you’ll have to search to find a copy. It will be well worth the effort. Do not miss this!