Thanks to an alert by Lance a while back, I acquired this fine box of Steinberg's Beethoven cycle, finally given its due in a superb restoration of the 35mm magnetic film stereo recordings made for Command Classics in the 1960's with the Pittsburgh Symphony. That technology was introduced by Mercury records in the 1950's, and also was used by the long-defunct Everest label (including in Copland's 1959 recording of his own Third Symphony with the London Symphony). 35mm magnetic film technology offered many improvements in sound quality (lower noise floor, superior wow and flutter, etc.) when it was introduced in studios in 1959, but it was superseded when Dolby A professional noise reduction for standard 30ips magnetic tape was marketed for professional recording studios in 1965.*
When Enoch Light founded his audiophile label in 1959 using 35mm magnetic film technology, he made some outstanding records with Steinberg's Pittsburgh Symphony, including the outstanding Beethoven cycle finally made available here by DGG. The cover of the Ninth Symphony indicates that the original tapes for the last movement had deteriorated to the point that they were unplayable, but the restoration from a pristine LP pressing has literally zero distortion or any other discernable flaws. As well, Steinberg uses Mahler's re-orchestration of the Ninth Symphony, and doubles some instruments in some of the others in an attempt to restore proper balance with the modern strings.
Incidentally, this was Metropolitan Opera tenor Richard Kness's debut on records, a recording I have long wished to add to my collection, as Richard was an enthusiastic member of my vocal competition board and a judge in Carnegie Hall during the 1990's. He sings his heart out here, and should have made more recordings, as the voice works very well in the studio. Also, the mezzo-soprano who sings in the Ninth Symphony was Joanna Simon (sister to Carly and daughter of the founder of the publishing house Simon & Schuster): she studied with my voice teacher, Dan Merriman, during the 1980's. Thus I have a double personal connection to this recording.
Be that as it may, this is an impressive cycle and beautifully restored from the original 35mm magnetic films (no mean feat) by DGG. Steinberg was a first-rank conductor, which was why he was invited to be the Music director of the Boston Symphony where he ended his all-to-brief career. His Beethoven is, naturally, modeled after Toscanini's approach and, while the Pittsburgh strings are not quite as sweet-sounding as Berlin's for Von Karajan, the rest of the orchestra plays with great energy and passion, clearly articulating each passage with deep insight and some beautiful playing from the winds and brass in the more lyrical moments. Steinberg has an excellent sense of balance and tempo, keeping things well under control throughout. His Seventh Symphony is one of the finest I've heard, and his Ninth rivals the best on the market with modern forces. There is not a single bar in the entire set that undermines Beethoven's keen sense of architecture.
This is an historic release that was long overdue. Kudos to DGG for undertaking the project, and for offering this important cycle at such a bargain price. Five stars.
*35mm film with a magnetic coating was used as early as 1947 in double-system recording for motion picture production, where the sound for a film is recorded separately from the picture. This process used 35mm film with a magnetic coating across the full width of the tape (‘fullcoat’ film).
Its first use purely for audio production was in 1959 by by Everest records.
Because 35mm film was much wider than the ½ or ¼-inch magnetic tape normally used for audio recording at the time, it had a much better signal to noise ratio. It was also much thicker than tape and so reduced the chance of ‘print-through’ and the possibility of tape stretch. Being sprocket driven also meant less chance of ‘wow and flutter’.
Three tracks were used, each one only slightly smaller than the entire width of ¼-inch tape.
Everest closed in 1960, but several companies continued to use 35mm magnetic film for the audiophile market, including Mercury, Command, Cameo/Parkway and Project 3. LP records using 35mm film proudly proclaimed this on their covers.
https://obsoletemedia.org/35mm-magnetic ... 20picture.
. I concede the excellence of the 1963 alternative but again, the first movement of the 1977 Eroica is a once off. The Penguin Guide was right to highlight its peculiar nature but errant in their choice of words. Far from being edgy, it's akin to the young Napoleon scaling the Alps like Hannibal in search of destiny. To my mind it has no peer - and the other three movements are comparable.5. Unlike the 'Gold' performance of the Fourth from 1984, Karajan observes the second half repeat in the Scherzo: how delightful it is. The later performance is also marred by tension (Herbie and the Berliners were warring at the time). Here, the playing of the orchestra is ferocious in its joie de vivre.6. The other symphonies - 1, 2, 5, and 8 - to my ears do not differ greatly from their '63 predecessors with one exception: the Berlin Philharmonic itself. The orchestra evolved over time (and under Herbie's tutelage)to become a near-infallible ensemble by the mid-1970s when these recordings were made (infallible in terms of its core repertoire, not, say, Bach or Stravinsky). Most of its recordings from the '70s radiate self-confidence if not wagger, married to virtuosity of the highest order. To use a cliche, they play as if their lives depend upon it - such could be the epithet of these leonine performances.Make no mistake: this cycle is Beethoven writ large - a Colossus who bestrides the earth - whereas at his feet lie the puny creations of Norrington, Jeggy, Abbado ( x 3), Harnoncourt, Rattle, Zinman, all of whom are infected by Hogwood-itis to varying degrees. Longevity is not theirs; the ignoble grave beckons.As demonstrated by a once-off release of 5, 6 & 9, the entire 1976/77 cycle could benefit from a remastering ( Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5, 6 & 9 ). And indeed, this has actually occurred:Beethoven: the 9 Symphonies OverturesGood as they are, you no longer have to endure the remasterings from the mid-'80s. I've lived with those "Gallerias" for over twenty years - and this new set is like chalk and cheese, even on standard equipment. Consider the Eroica disc with its timpani throughout the Funeral March; the brass at the apotheosis of its finale and the Overture "Leonore No.3", Op.72b per se: there's greater warmth and detail. Indeed, the sound is sumptuous. This was worth the wait.Do not look past this cycle in its refurbished state. Rejoice in dissent.
