A remastered version of Sir Georg Solti’s Ring Cycle will be released

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To commemorate 25 years since the death of Sir Georg Solti, a remastered version of his Ring Cycle is scheduled for release in four installments.

The Hungarian-British composer, who died on September 5, 1997 at the age of 84, won 31 Grammy Awards during his career, making him the artist with the most Grammy Awards in any genre.

Music label Decca Classics has announced a new remastered version of The Ring Cycle (Der Ring des Nibelungen), composed by Richard Wagner, which was made possible through a complex restoration project to preserve the master tapes of the recording.

Sir Georg Solti with radio presenter Eamonn Andrews at a party to celebrate the conductor’s 75th birthday in Covent Garden (PA)PA Archives/PA Pictures – PA

Sir Georg’s Ring Cycle was recorded between 1958 and 1965, comprises four operas and lasts 15 hours.

The disc sold millions of copies and was the famous soundtrack to the tense helicopter scene in the 1979 film Apocalypse Now.

The four operas of the remastered version will be released in several installments between November 2022 and May 2023, with L’Anneau d’Or, a selection of the cycle’s greatest scenes, released on September 30, 2022.

The master tape recordings, which have been stored in Universal Music’s vaults since the recording sessions took place in Vienna in the 1950s and 1960s, have been expertly processed into high-definition digital audio using state-of-the-art audio technology.

When sections of tape had deteriorated, they were baked in a specialized oven for 10 hours at 55°C to restore their integrity.

These new high-definition transfers of the original 38 master tapes were made at 24-bit/192kHz resolution, allowing for more detailed detail and dynamic range than ever before.

Sharing their enthusiasm for the remastered version, Decca Label Group co-presidents Tom Lewis and Laura Monks said: “It’s the Citizen Kane of classic recording and this new version is stunning, especially when you listen to it live. surround sound.

“What makes it even more tempting is the idea that engineers were able to go back to the original tapes just before they disintegrated beyond use.

“One last chance to get back to an original masterpiece before losing it forever.”

The release is also Wagner’s first and only full ringtone cycle available in Dolby Atmos, a state-of-the-art surround sound technology, creating a more immersive listening experience, as was the late classic record producer’s intention. for Decca Records, John Culshaw.

Dominic Fyfe, Decca Classics label manager and audio producer of the Ring Cycle reissue, said: “In 1966 producer John Culshaw expressed the hope that this Ring would set a benchmark for years to come.

“Half a century later, it is still the artistic and technical reference.

“Culshaw was above all an iconoclast and a visionary who welcomed new technologies.

“I have no doubt he would approve of our efforts to use Dolby Atmos and the latest suite of remastering tools to make this new HD transfer the most immersive and vivid yet.”

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