More of the music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893)
More Classical ‘Sleeper” Recordings We’ve Discovered with Demo Disc Sound
This budget Whitehall pressing is one of the most incredible SLEEPERS in the entire classical catalog, with SUPERB sound as well as performances of the highest quality from the Vienna Festival Orchestra. The sound is big and bold, spacious, open and sweet in the best golden age tradition. Superior pressings of this recording would give all but the best Shaded Dogs, Londons and Mercs a serious run for their money, beating most of them handily. Yes, it’s that good. The string tone and rosiny texture on side two are especially noteworthy.
There’s a freedom from coloration on either side that is positively refreshing after playing most vintage classical recordings.
This copy is as quiet as we can find them, with a side one that plays Mint Minus to Mint Minus Minus, and a side two that plays Mint Minus Minus. Whitehall was a budget label whose records sold for less than two dollars; they might be found in drug stores and five and dimes.
This record has the kind of sound found more often on the top Deccas and Londons from the ’60s, the kinds of records audiophiles pay a fortune for with no guarantee of good sound.
This pressing comes with our 100% money back guarantee of both great sound and great music. You will not be disappointed, that I can assure you.
TRACK LISTING
Side One
The Nutcracker Suite
Side Two
Swan Lake Suite
This is an Older Classical/Orchestral Review
Most of the older reviews you see are for records that did not go through the shootout process, the revolutionary approach to finding better sounding pressings we started developing in the early 2000s and have since turned into a veritable science.
We found the records you see in these older listings by cleaning and playing a pressing or two of the album, which we then described and priced based on how good the sound and surfaces were. (For out Hot Stamper listings, the Sonic Grades and Vinyl Playgrades are listed separately.)
We were often wrong back in those days, something we have no reason to hide. Audio equipment and record cleaning technologies have come a long way since those darker days, a subject we discuss here.
Currently, 99% (or more!) of the records we sell are cleaned, then auditioned under rigorously controlled conditions, up against a number of other pressings. We award them sonic grades, and then condition check them for surface noise.
As you may imagine, this approach requires a great deal of time, effort and skill, which is why we currently have a highly trained staff of about ten. No individual or business without the aid of such a committed group could possibly dig as deep into the sound of records as we have, and it is unlikely that anyone besides us could ever come along to do the kind of work we do.
The term “Hot Stampers” gets thrown around a lot these days, but to us it means only one thing: a record that has been through the shootout process and found to be of exceptionally high quality.
The result of our labor is the hundreds of titles seen here, every one of which is unique and guaranteed to be the best sounding copy of the album you have ever heard or you get your money back.
Further Reading