Even more Raff on its way from Sterling

[Mark Thomas]

I'm sorry that you have noises off, Gareth. I didn't hear them on my copy, but I'll listen again. Where, specifically?

[Mark Thomas]

Thanks for the info by PM and 'phone call, Gareth.

I've now listened to my copy on headphones and confirm that the noises on CD1 are all present, and there are also some of the "bumps" at the beginning of track 2 on the second CD, but otherwise it seems clear of the faults besetting the first disc.  I was in touch several times yesterday with Bo Hyttner who, having listened to the CDs, also now confirms the presence of the artefacts. He tells me that, due to continued distribution problems, as far as he is aware the only copies of the set on sale should be through Records International (which obtained them through a direct channel from Sterling), and he has contacted Jeff Joneikis to alert him about the issue. The problem appears to be the recording masters, not the manufacturing process, so he has also contacted the recording engineers to rectify the problems and prepare replacement masters. He assures me that he will not release the set for full distribution until these issues have been dealt with. So, it is clear that there will be further delay before this important set is generally available.

Needless to say, as I have been closely involved in the recording from its inception, personally I find this situation galling and frustrating in the extreme. It really is not good enough, to say the least, that this release should be delayed for so long, and then be issued with multiple faults of which the label seems to have been unaware until yesterday. I can only apologise to those of you who eagerly awaited this release for several years, only to receive defective copies. I suggest that if you bought your copy from Records International you should contact Jeff in the first instance - he should be aware of the issue by now. The one or two people who received a copy direct from me will get replacements as soon as they are available.

[Alan Howe]

I'm very sorry that you have had to put up with this, Mark. All I can say is that the wait will be worth it because the music is so magnificent. We are all immensely in your debt.

[Mark Thomas]

That's kind of you Alan. I do appreciate it.

[adriano]

Mark, I am confronted with similar problems regarding my lastest Fritz Brun CD (Symphony Nr. 2 and Symphonic Prologue). As soon as I listetend to a copy, I couldn't recognize the sound anymore - it was different from the master I had approved; now it has additional reverberation and the strings sound more far away. This is not Guild's fault, but comes from the Moscow studio responsibles - who, of course, cannot explain this. It is really frustrating to have to deal with such kind of surprises, especially after one has carefully set up the balance with the sound engineer and producer. I am a perfectionist, I know, and this may perhaps not disturb most music lovers, but, still...
I think, the times of real serious work in the music business have gone by for ever...

[TerraEpon]

So this still appears to be MIA on Amazon and  ArkivMusic (not to mention where I often buy CDs, ImportCDs)....

Really hoping this gets a US distribution as the price is pretty high in the very few places I can see to buy it...

[adriano]

Do you mean the Guild CD, TerraEpon?
This label is distributend in the USA by Albany Music. I agree with you, the prices are rather high...

[TerraEpon]

No, I mean the Sterling CD. I'm wondering if they simply don't have a US distributor anymore as Arkiv's latest release from them is about two years old.

[sdtom]

I like this board because without it I'd not have known it even existed.

[Sharkkb8]

I've been interested in acquiring this recording for the entire 2 ½ years since it was first mentioned here - but due to the reported noises on the eventual recording when issued, I have held off.  Not much commentary lately, does anyone have news as to the recording being re-engineered?  I also cannot find it in the usual places (Amazon, etc) - I see it only at Records International (for $32  29€), but that was the location which evidently had the imperfect recordings in the first place, so...hmmm.
Anyone have any current news or recent first-hand experience with this recording, good, bad, or indifferent?!
Gregory

[TerraEpon]

.....what the above post said.

[Mark Thomas]

I understand that the recording has been withdrawn from sale by Sterling pending the re-engineering of the master to remove the audio artefacts. I have no idea how long that is going to take, and neither does Sterling it seems. Maybe someone else could try contacting Bo Hyttner?

[FBerwald]

This has got to be the saddest case of delayed music release due to one setback after another...

[Mark Thomas]

Tell me about it... 

[TerraEpon]

And two months later I remember this recording was a thing, tried to look for it on Amazon, but forgot about the audio issue. So it's still in purgatory it seems.
Waystone seems to be distributing Sterling now and it's listed there:
http://www.wyastone.co.uk/swiss-romantics-joachim-raff-orchestral-works-1847.html

But no sound samples or 'links to external sites'.