ReviewI'd been meaning to get around to listening to this...
... but with some trepidation, with regards to how the quadraphonic would come through on a stereo set-up.
Having lightly rummaged through Quadraphonic album collectors sites, it seems the general opinion is that sometimes these can sound awful or "lacking" when played stereo... and I was wondering if I'd be losing some frequencies, notes, or even entire passages to the ether as they were picked up by the needle and sent out to speakers that don't exist in my system, and there would be awful, strange "gaps", like a redacted document.
And just looking at the vinyl you can see there's so much more going on in the grooves than with a standard stereo record.
But I needn't worried, as this comes through perfectly... open, expansive, detailed, and with the depth and weight I want from a cello recording (Oooh, I do love a bit of Cello Grommit!).
In fact, even played just as a stereo record, it could happily sit on the shelf alongside anything pressed in "The Golden Age" of classical recordings I've head so far, and not be one Iota out of place.
This rather stately concerto is quite sprightly and vigorous at times, and on the whole quite sparsely arranged... but very light listening.
It's a very technical piece for the cello, as there's passages played with the higher singing notes, where the violin can often be found, but also phrases and passages played down-stairs, where only the cello can go... and the recording and the vinyl allows it to reach with ease, deep into these pockets, before scaling fluidly back up to the heights...
...And Rostropovitch is the undisputed technical master of the instrument.
He's the kind of guy who makes this sound easy, with not a note out of place in his immaculate rendition... He's like the Zinedine Zidane of the Cello in that he gets around the thing with consummate grace and ease: Others may make more drama out of it, or have a more passionate sound like Jacqueline Du Pre...
(I actually like that about her though, as there's something like the audio equivalent of watching a highwire walker about her playing, where you feel she could fall at any moment, which adds real tension and feeling to what she does... and this generally lends itself to the Cello)
... but this piece requires a Rostropovitch, and he duly obliges with absolute precision and an almost liquid playing style.
There are occasional orchestral blooms that bring a little power to it, without losing detail and clarity.
What on earth was I worried about?
Nothing lost - everything gained... a great recording, on fantastic vinyl; Which, at least from a stereo perspective; delivers.
I think this would have been just Germany, seeing as the record company is EMI Electrola, and 1C was EMI's country code for Germany. Discogs shows separate editions from UK, France and Netherlands as well as this one.