We break down the latest Original Source releases announced by Deutsche Grammophon, plus a Video Request from Emil Berliner Studios to send in your questions to Rainer Maillard and Sidney C. Meyer about all things Original Source. Send in your question(s) to oss@ebsberlin.com and you will get a chance to win a Test Pressing signed by Rainer and Sidney (Deadline is November 30th).

The music of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) has, for most of my musical career, more or less eluded me. It may be because of his lack of non-piano output, or perhaps because his two piano concertos, while containing inspiring piano writing, didn’t really pass on that inspiration to the orchestral parts. I remember many rehearsals of boredom counting rests while listening to the brilliant melodic lines that Chopin gifted to the piano, but not us!My... Read More

Four new ‘Original Source’ titles recently arrived on my door marking the start of fall, and the first new batch of releases following the company’s monumental Karajan/Bruckner box set reviewed here by my colleague Mark Ward. This batch fit nicely into two categories: symphonic orchestral works, and piano repertoire. This review will cover the just released two LPs of symphonic music. The first work needs very little introduction. If you are even peripherally aware of... Read More

Though progressive rock peaked in the 1970s, next gen prog bands continued exploring adventurous compositional directions. Dream Theater, and bands like Queensryche and Fates Warning, embraced the technicality of Yes and Rush while honing in, with a hint of technical prowess, on the harder edges of Iron Maiden and Metallica. Each Dream Theater member is a virtuoso of his craft as evidenced, for example, by drummer Mike Portnoy's double kick drum patterns and... Read More

Continuing my examination of the history and future of classical audiophile-quality vinyl reissues... you can read Part 1 here.

With the success of the Deutsche Grammophon Original Source Series, are we poised on the cusp of an exciting future for audiophile vinyl reissues of classical music? Or will the other classical labels opt for expediency over quality if and when they decide to embark on their own vinyl reissue programs? There are clues to be found in the history of this small but significant market for audiophile vinyl reissues...

Here's what happened and why the original review did not include comparisons to the DCC Compact Classics version, the Sax cut double 45 and the Plangent processed edition: just as I'd done the original vs UHQR comparison, it was time for a major loudspeaker install so I was down for two days. Rather than wait I chose to post what I already had. Now here's the rest.First, with the new speakers set up for review (Acora VRCs), I re-listened to tracks from... Read More

One-step vinyl pressings continue to fixate both self-described audiophiles and the uninitiated who are curious about the wonders of great sound. These pressings eliminate two of the three steps in traditional vinyl manufacturing (creating the father and mother), thus bringing out more detail from the source material and less surface noise. Audiophiles tend to agree that the results are sonically worth the added cost.Warner Records' Because Sound Matters label... Read More

In Part 3 of this extended analysis and review of the new Karajan cycle of Bruckner’s 9 Symphonies - remixed, remastered and cut directly from the original 8-track master tapes to vinyl by Emil Berliner Studios - I survey the remastered cycle as a whole, as well as examine how the digital recordings of Symphonies 1-3 were sonically refurbished. (You can read Part 1 here, and Part 2 here).

In Part 2 of this extended analysis and review of the new Karajan cycle of Bruckner’s 9 Symphonies - remixed, remastered and cut directly from the original 8-track master tapes to vinyl by Emil Berliner Studios - I focus in on the technical processes behind the original recordings, and the technology used to breathe new life into these classics of the gramophone. A huge thank-you to Rainer Maillard for the time he took to send me his additional thoughts pertaining to this project and much else (beyond his extensive essay in the set's booklet). (You can read Part 1 here, and Part 3 here).

Between 1975 and 1982, the renowned Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra recorded and released the nine numbered symphonies of the great Romantic composer Anton Bruckner for Deutsche Grammophon. For Karajan it was the culmination of a lifetime studying and performing these works. The cycle, coming at the beginning of the Bruckner revival, was one of the earliest complete recordings, and has remained a benchmark ever since.... Read More

Born 100 years ago this year, John Culshaw set new standards in the craft and art of classical recording, primarily during his tenure at Decca. His recordings of Wagner's complete Ring cycle and Britten's War Requiem were critical and commercial successes of an order that has rarely been equalled, and remain acknowledged classics of the gramophone. To mark his centenary, we talk about what made him such an important figure in the history of recording, and pick 10(+) essential records which fully display his exceptional gifts as a record producer, and which sound as fresh today as they did when they were first made.

Monk was born on October 10, 1917 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Four years later his family moved to New York City, settling at the Phipps Houses at 243 West 63rd St in Manhattan, known then as the San Juan Hill area, later referred to as the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts neighborhood. When he was five years old, a neighbor gave him piano lessons in the stride style of Fats Waller and James P Johnson. At ages 10-12 he had classical piano lessons from Simon... Read More

Countless pieces of music written by 20th-century (and later) composers are very accessible, listenable, and rewarding. Here are a few.