James Kearney wrote:

>While I agree with Roger's assessment of London and DG VPO recordings, I
>encourage him to hear Telarc's 1980s discs of Strauss showpieces, with the
>VPO conducted by Andre Previn.  I first heard this partnership's "Alpine
>Symphony" on the CD-player of an ex-lister's luxurious Lexus, and the
>sound's splendour made me seek the companion releases.

In fact, I've heard one of these briefly a while ago and was impressed.  I
hadn't thought of this when I wrote earlier.  I didn't spend anywhere near
enough time to compare anything, but I did like the sound of what I heard.
It was a *very* romantic performance, as I recall.  Now that you mention
it, maybe I'll look around for used copies of a couple and listen more
carefully.

>I wasn't disappointed - Telarc's naturalistic soundstage did more justice
>to the VPO's refulgent blend than DG's spotlighting and London/Decca's
>hi-fi glitz.

I never thought of the London sound as hi-fi glitz because they were able
to get the timbres and textures so well.  But they did mike close most of
the time, or so it sounded, I'll give you that.  It was hi-fi, but for me,
it was good hi fi.

Roger Hecht