The first Gerhard I ever heard was the Prausnitz recording of this symphony on an Angel lp. If you’ve only heard this on the currently available cds, you haven’t really heard it, although Matthias Bamert’s recording is close. What neither of the cds do is play the tape part loud enough, so it sounds, even in the Bamert, a trifle apologetic. It’s as if the engineers for Chandos and Valois lost their nerve at all those horrible electronic sounds. Or perhaps it was the engineers’ employers. I’ve known a few employers, and they had all lost their nerve. Only on the Angel lp does the tape part sound as if it belongs in the mix. This is a splendid symphony, and the most successful blend of ensemble and tape until Dumitrescu and Avram came along.
(I found a reference to this online, in the HMV pressing: ASD2427, but no picture. http://www.qualityrecords.lavalink.com.au/classcat.htm#angel. It’s only seven (Australian) dollars!!)

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