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Beethoven - 9 Symphonies (LP)

Label: Deutsche Grammophon

Cat No: 4798721

Barcode: 0028947987215

Format: LP

Number of Discs: 9

Genre: Orchestral

Release Date: 29th March 2018

This product has now been deleted. Information is for reference only.

Works

Beethoven, Ludwig van

Symphonies 1-9 (complete)

Artists

Gwyneth Jones (soprano)
Hanna Schwarz (mezzo-soprano)
Rene Kollo (tenor)
Kurt Moll (bass)
Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor
Wiener Philharmoniker

Conductor

Leinard Bernstein

Works

Beethoven, Ludwig van

Symphonies 1-9 (complete)

Artists

Gwyneth Jones (soprano)
Hanna Schwarz (mezzo-soprano)
Rene Kollo (tenor)
Kurt Moll (bass)
Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor
Wiener Philharmoniker

Conductor

Leinard Bernstein

About

This spectacular Beethoven Symphony cycle marks the centenary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth. The 9-LP limited, numbered edition utilizes the half-speed vinyl mastering technique with adapted original covers from the 1980 release, making this a must-have in Bernstein’s centenary year.

Half-Speed Vinyl Mastering

The principle
When cutting a master lacquer to serve as a stamper for pressing LPs, it is possible to employ what is known as Half-Speed Vinyl Mastering. In this process, both the source (tape or computer) and cutting apparatus are run at half speed. In such transfers, the frequencies are reduced by half, with the transfer time correspondingly doubled. The finished pressing of the long-playing record reproduces the music at normal pitch. These LPs look like conventional records, but the mastering process yields a marked improvement in the sound quality.

What is the thinking behind this principle?
The human ear is capable of perceiving frequencies between 20 and ca. 20,000 Hz. A modern cutting stylus will cover this entire range, but, as with us humans, problems begin to arise as the pitch goes higher. The mechanical demands placed on the cutting mechanism in dealing with high frequencies are enormous, and this can lead to constrictions. But if the pitch level is reduced by half during the cutting of the master lacquer, the frequency range is now converted to 10 to ca. 10,000 Hz, with a beneficial impact on the mechanical forces. One could compare the effect with a car hurrying along a winding mountain road. Driving at half the speed would spare both the material and the driver. The dangers from screeching tires or scratching against the rockface are drastically reduced. Analogously, the cutting stylus’s navigation of a “winding” groove in the disc becomes cleaner and less prone to loss at half speed.

Sound-quality advantages of Half-Speed
Half-Speed Vinyl Mastering makes possible a clear improvement in the reproduction of high frequencies on an LP. The frequency range is extended, while distortions are reduced.

The technique is not new. It has been utilized occasionally either to protect the cutting stylus from undue wear or because extremely high frequencies needed to be cut for quadrophonic playback. Neither of these reasons remain relevant, but the process still makes sense because of its indisputable improvement of sound quality, especially for important and audiophile records. By this means, the limits on what can be achieved with analogue recording can be pushed still further.

– Rainer Maillard, Emil Berliner Studios, January 2018