Customer Reviews

Rampal: The Art of the Flute

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I've been listening to various selections from this album over Internet radio, and finally had to comment to prospective buyers. I have great respect for Rampal, who plays well on this album, but the recording is just, in a word, poor. Specific problems: Poor audio quality (did the engineer not know how to place microphones?) and the orchestra sounds like it didn't even tune up before the recording session began. Frankly, the recording is offensive to the ear. I won't be rushing out to buy this any time soon...

It is true that the recording quality is not perfect, but it really is not enough to even distract you, especially if you are listening on a speaker system. It basically sounds like an old record in very good condition without all of the clicks.

There is no information about the recordings, but I am date them at c. 1953. The Mozart Concerti are with the Lamoureaux Orchestra conducted by Arthur Goldschmidt. The Bach Suite in b-minor, Brandenburg concerto no. 4, and the Corrette concerto in e-minor are played by the Baroque Chamber Ensemble. I am assuming that this is the Ensemble Baroque de Paris, with which Rampal made many recordings.

The playing in the baroque cd is exquisite. If you like the performance style of the early 1950s---somewhat heavy and with a stress on precision and elegance---then this is a cd for you. The playing is just exquisite and with just enough of the Romantic style leftover to make for a very enjoyable experience. The instrumentalists themselves are top-notch and play with great virtuosity. So, if you can see behind the recording quality issue, you will really enjoy these recordings.

I picked this up in the bargain bin- why not right? Well, even with the equalizers and stereo volume adjusted, it still became very frustrating to listen to a poor recording.