Post by John FowlerExcellent News, though like Hank I do feel somewhat abused by Sony.
I wonder if they will now finally get around to giving us the "Complete Leonard Bernstein Album Collection"
in new remasterings (or at least remaster everything not remastered in the past ten years by Andreas K. Meyer).
I've been predicting a Complete Leonard Bernstein Album Collection for at least 5 years now, although my prediction told of it arriving in time for the great man's centenary which has now passed. However, note that there _was_ a Bernstein CD box issued in time (October 2017) for his centenary celebration: Leonard Bernstein Remastered https://amzn.to/2W2PxGk a 100 CD set. Not all his recordings, just a sampling. All of its contents were remastered from original sources.
In his typically thorough review on Mackenzie Bezos's Ama zon, rmcr's own, the indefatigable John Fowler, reports that:
<< 75 of the 232 compositions in the new box are recycled from four earlier boxes:
—2009: Mahler: The Complete Symphonies: Symphonies 2, 3, 6 & 9 are recycled in the new box.
—2015: Bernstein Sibelius - Remastered: Symphony 5, Pohjola's Daughter & Violin Concerto + Grieg's Peer Gynt Suites are recycled in the new box.
—2017: Leonard Bernstein - The Composer: Eighteen Bernstein compositions are recycled in the new box (discs 1, 2, 17, 20, 24, 45, 50, 54, 90, 91, 98, 99, 100). Not carried over are "Mass", some piano works & songs, and the stereo recordings of Symphony 2 & the Serenade for Violin. The earlier box also included three Broadway original cast recordings not conducted by Bernstein. Surprisingly, all are carried over to the new box.
—2017: New York Philharmonic 175th Anniversary: 54 of 83 Bernstein-conducted selections from the 175th Anniversary collection are recycled in the new box. >>
And did you notice that Sony just issued last September the third and final volume of its LP-sized 12" x 12" Leonard Bernstein Edition: The Vocal Works? (Same format and graphic design as 2013 Bruno Walter Edition.) The first set, The Symphony Edition, was issued in November 2010 (time flies) and has sold over 18,000 copies. It was out-of-print for 4 years or so and was commanding impressive prices from second-hand sellers. It was reissued sometime in the past year. The second volume, Concertos and Orchestral Works, was issued in October 2014. It is OOP. All the recordings on these sets are _not_ remastered and have masterings that date to the Royal Edition (Prince Charles watercolor covers) or even older.
So what I'm trying to say is: the news of this new Bruno Walter Complete Columbia Collection almost certainly bodes well for my prediction. A massive Leonard Bernstein Complete Columbia Collection is a lock. When? Only Robert Russ knows for sure.