Amazon pricing is always messed up. The day of the release I bet it drops by 40%.
And I don't care about price, just quality. Take the Varese 1985 set for example, there's one disc of original material and a $249 price tag. I want that disc but the dollar ratio on that is like $4 per minute of music I want.
I saw that live then chatted to EG afterwords, SUPER cool guy. The piece was really interesting as they had percussion people out in the sides of the auditorium, very unique way to get a different sound. I'll be getting this for sure!
Ack--pricey indeed. I have all the other Zarathustra CD releases, including the Jabberwocky EP, so I'll likely get this too (been dying to hear this symphony); but it is definitely a very steep price point for only 25 minutes of music :/
Oh definitely, I think Gokdenthal acknowledges that his point of departure was allusions to his own music which he never had time to develop. I heard Sphere and Final Fantasy but it's not what you think. And the surround sound percussion was amazing live.
Nice to see this get an official release. I already have a high-quality recording of the radio broadcast last year, so I'm pretty much set. Unless this is a NEW recording with the same performers.
CD arrived today. Movement I is reworked material from Sphere, Movement II is a re-orchestration of "Toccata and Dreamscapes" from Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Naturally, in the second movement, the Pacific Symphony can't hope to match the rage and awesome power that was conjured up by the mighty LSO for this music, but they do a decent job.
Worth $15 or so with shipping, considering it's really only 25 minutes of previously composed and recorded material with no extras or filler? Very much a stretch, but I'm a Goldenthal loyalist, and it's still great music--just not a lot of it.
I hear the chord progression from Sphere but that's maybe 90 seconds of a 17 minute movement. As for FF, it is the toccata with additional material. But then I catch myself and look at the titles of Goldenthal's film cues: when they aren't funny (obligatory car chase, my big black assault weapon, Reno Ho') they are classical: adagio, lento, pavane, terror adagio etc. the guy named a 9 minute cue Toccata & Dreamscapes...maybe he had his own agenda when he composed it. I'd say 20 of the 25 minutes of the symphony is original or expansion on existing thoughts...all of which are classic Goldenthal gestures, just finally given the time to be fully elaborated. I love the piece.
