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Post by MartinT on Jul 22, 2014 11:16:23 GMT
Jules, I must congratulate you on an epic work. This is a fantastic reference for the classical newbie and also for those of us who've been listening for years!
I'm still absorbing it all, but from my notes: - Spartacus - I want that recording ever since you brought it round!
- I have that Previn Planets and agree that it is a very good all-rounder. In fact I would go further and suggest that Previn and EMI were an excellent partnership, especially when it came to Shostakovich. His recording of the 13th is exceptional.
- I have the famous Four Seasons with Loveday/Marriner/ASMF on Argo and it is a prized possession. I have a few more Argos that I shall dig out.
- Some of the Russian Melodiya recordings are quite good, although the pressing are generally poor. Getting past that, though, I have some Mravinsky and Kondrashin recordings that are superb. The Mravinsky Tchaikovsky 6th is quite an experience. I also have a JVC remaster of the Melodiya Shostakovich 15th with Rohzdestvensky and that is wonderful, if a little weird in the mix.
More later.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2014 17:31:40 GMT
As Jules has said, there are some great recordings on Argo. This is one of my favorites.  Just about everything is right on this record with both exceptional musicianship and recording  |
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Post by Andrei on Jul 24, 2014 21:59:51 GMT
Jules
Thank you so much for this thread - other contributors too. It has been a real eye-opener and it may become a real ear-opener too.
Mods: any way to make it a sticky?
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Post by ChrisB on Jul 24, 2014 22:01:35 GMT
Mods: any way to make it a sticky? It is! |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2014 22:27:36 GMT
One of my favorite recordings of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. Unfortunately SAX 2323 on the silver/turquoise label like this one now fetch crazy money but it is readily avaliable on the Classics For Pleasure label ref: CFP 40083  |
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Post by Dave on Jul 24, 2014 22:29:32 GMT
A note the name Silvestri on the sleeve and wonder whether that might be a young Alan Silvestri, the renowned film score composer  |
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Post by ChrisB on Jul 24, 2014 22:38:19 GMT
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Post by Dave on Jul 24, 2014 22:39:58 GMT
I wonder if they are related...
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2014 22:41:32 GMT
A note the name Silvestri on the sleeve and wonder whether that might be a young Alan Silvestri, the renowned film score composer Constantin was Romanian and became a British subject shortly before he died in 1969. I suspect Alan is the American who did Chips |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2014 1:43:58 GMT
The Decca Rostropovich/Britten Schubert's Arpeggione on SXL 6426 is a beautiful recording and well worth seeking out. Wide Band versions like this one are a little pricey but the Narrow Bands can be found at reasonable prices. The Bridge sonata is also quite delightful.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2014 15:08:24 GMT
I generally prefer the HMV pressed AMS Mercury's to the US SR versions as I find the US ones can be a bit too bright sounding and AMS 16107 is no exception and Paul Paray and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra seem to capture the mood of Chabrier's music perfectly. A lot of the Mercury recordings can be found on the Philips label as it became part of the Philips group. Philips also produced the Mercury Golden Import series which are extremely well mastered with very good pressings and can be picked up for next to nothing.  Detroit Symphony Orchestra |
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Post by julesd68 on Aug 6, 2014 18:58:45 GMT
Jules, I must congratulate you on an epic work. This is a fantastic reference for the classical newbie and also for those of us who've been listening for years!
I'm still absorbing it all, but from my notes: - Spartacus - I want that recording ever since you brought it round!
- I have that Previn Planets and agree that it is a very good all-rounder. In fact I would go further and suggest that Previn and EMI were an excellent partnership, especially when it came to Shostakovich. His recording of the 13th is exceptional.
- I have the famous Four Seasons with Loveday/Marriner/ASMF on Argo and it is a prized possession. I have a few more Argos that I shall dig out.
- Some of the Russian Melodiya recordings are quite good, although the pressing are generally poor. Getting past that, though, I have some Mravinsky and Kondrashin recordings that are superb. The Mravinsky Tchaikovsky 6th is quite an experience. I also have a JVC remaster of the Melodiya Shostakovich 15th with Rohzdestvensky and that is wonderful, if a little weird in the mix.
More later.
Right, back from holiday today! Many thanks for your kind words old chap ... There are indeed some excellent Melodiya recordings. They are definitely on the bright side of neutral but well worth considering ... I have SLS847 which is a mini Rachmaninov anthology box-set and is well worth picking up. Here's a nice one on ebay from a decent seller ... I was lucky enough to get a sealed box. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SLS-847-MELODIYA-5LP-STEREO-UK-RACHMANINOV-THE-BELLS-ISLE-OF-THE-DEAD-SEE-PHOTOS-/371101716749?pt=UK_Records&hash=item566762d10dI am a great admirer of Previn, in particular his Rachmaninov works which I mentioned on EMI. However, there is an absolutely indispensable recording on Decca with the immortal Ashkenazy - SXLF 6565-7 - this is a 3 lp box-set with the four piano concertos and Rhapsody on a Theme ... Heavenly. |
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Post by julesd68 on Aug 6, 2014 19:05:28 GMT
I've been looking for a copy of the Beethoven Violin Concerto for a while as it's one of the few Beethoven works that interest me. Paid a visit to Oxfam today and picked up GL25005 which is an RCA Gold Seal recording with Igor and David Oistrakh conducting the Vienna Symphony. Paid a quid for it and it looks very clean. My Penguin record guide tells me the performance is excellent but the violin is too closely miked and the woodwind are slightly high in the mix, but hey-ho, will give it a spin and if I like the work as a whole I will look for a better recording.
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Post by julesd68 on Sept 24, 2014 10:41:05 GMT
Just a quick note on mastering of Decca lps.
I have read on numerous occasions that the mastering of Ted Burkett is superior to others, with Harry Fisher also being a name to look out for.
It's actually very easy to find out who mastered Decca lps you already own or are thinking of buying.
On the deadwax there is a code which finishes in a letter which corresponds to the following engineers -
A = Guy Fletcher
B = Ron Mason
C = Trevor Fletcher
D = Jack Law
E = Stan Goodall
F = Cyril Windebank
G = Ted Burkett
K = Tony Hawkins
L = George Bettyes
W = Harry Fisher
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Post by julesd68 on Sept 24, 2014 11:26:16 GMT
There has been a very long-standing debate amongst classical vinyl collectors about which sounds better, Decca or its London records equivalent. Bit of a lengthy read here, but interesting stuff. This chap claims that he can clearly hear a difference between a Decca and its London equivalent recording, and furthermore he invariably finds the Decca preferable - www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/viewpoint/0102/londondecca.htmHowever is a very robust and detailed argument that basically they are the same and there is way too much mythology about the Deccas and that for reasons of self-interest, collectors and dealers alike have perpetuated this myth about the superiority of the Decca pressings - www.high-endaudio.com/softw.html#De/LoI'm not sure that I have any London pressings whilst I do have lots of Decca narrow-band, so time for some further investigation me thinks. If anyone has done a direct comparison of the same recording on both labels I would love to hear from you. |
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Post by julesd68 on Jun 28, 2015 10:43:28 GMT
I came across this website whilst reading the recently posted 'milestomozart' blog - www.high-endaudio.com/supreme.htmlAlways great to have some more contenders for the best classical vinyl recordings ... |
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Post by MartinT on Jun 28, 2015 11:11:47 GMT
I've seen that list before, Jules. It's a great guide and quite reliable.
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Post by julesd68 on Jul 1, 2015 19:40:24 GMT
Here's a fabulous guide to buying Deccas on the cheap via London or other represses ... milestomozart.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/living-decca-sxl-blueback-guide.htmlYou can really get lucky with some of these. For example, one of my favourites is SPA183 - Tchaikovsky Violin / Campoli. It is staggeringly well recorded and I bought it for £8, not £500 for SXL 2029 which the Tchai comes from ... |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2015 20:18:58 GMT
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Post by aqlam on Jul 2, 2015 23:58:48 GMT
There has been a very long-standing debate amongst classical vinyl collectors about which sounds better, Decca or its London records equivalent. Bit of a lengthy read here, but interesting stuff. This chap claims that he can clearly hear a difference between a Decca and its London equivalent recording, and furthermore he invariably finds the Decca preferable - www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/viewpoint/0102/londondecca.htmHowever is a very robust and detailed argument that basically they are the same and there is way too much mythology about the Deccas and that for reasons of self-interest, collectors and dealers alike have perpetuated this myth about the superiority of the Decca pressings - www.high-endaudio.com/softw.html#De/LoI'm not sure that I have any London pressings whilst I do have lots of Decca narrow-band, so time for some further investigation me thinks. If anyone has done a direct comparison of the same recording on both labels I would love to hear from you. I know I'm rehashing the past here, but I'd just like to say that I've heard both Deccas and Londons (blueback FFSS) and find absolutely no difference between the two. The London FFSS issues are either just as outstanding as their Decca counterparts or just as mediocre as their Decca counterparts, depending on the album. I've owned both issues of the same album at one time or another and now that I sold off most of my Deccas, I'm reclaiming them as Londons for a lot less money. Londons used to sell for a lot on Ebay -- especially the rare ones -- but market values have changed, and now London bluebacks can be purchased for very reasonable prices. Compare this to their Decca counterparts, which still sell for a lot of money and -- to my humble ears -- do not sound superior. This is not a UK vs US issue for me. I love records produced both in the UK and US. However, if I can get the same exact album with same stampers for 1/10 of the price, the decision is quite easy for me. |
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