Me Wantee!
The most coveted of all opera recordings–for me anyway–is currently up for auction on eBay. It’s a three disc set of the complete Mathis der Maler by Hindemith with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in the title role. This has been listed on eBay many times before, and I have repeatedly bid, but the price always soars beyond reason in the final moments. It will this time, too. I wrote to EMI a couple years ago to point this out to them, and request a reissue, but I have yet to see one. They replied something to the effect that the initial release failed to sell even 100 units per year. I am afraid that should a reissue come along, unless it were part of the Great Recordings of the Century series, it would lack the text and translations that this original CD issue includes. Meanwhile, I might try to bid again this time, but the odds of my winning are remote. Alas.
[UPDATE: EMI did reissue Kubelik's Mathis der Maler, but not in their "Great Recordings of the 20th Century" series. Instead, they issued it as part of their "Home of Opera" series, which does not include a printed libretto, but instead offers one on CD-ROM. That is not nearly as valuable, I am afraid. The good news is that in January 2011 I finally obtained the original full-price issue in pristine condition from Academy Records and CDs in New York city.]
Filed under: Music on August 14th, 2007
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