Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Georges Bizet Available Now
NEWSFLASH 2021:
We sold this copy last night (10/10), immediately after one had sold in an auction on ebay for $787, a price almost two hundred dollars more than what we were asking.
Note that our copy was cleaned and auditioned and found to be both phenomenally good sounding and reasonably quiet. None of these things could be said of the record on ebay of course, but apparently the word is out that this is an amazing recording and the bidding reflected that fact. I have never seen one go for anything like this kind of dough. Now that they do — there were four bidders about $550 — you should not expect to see a Hot Stamper pressing of the album show up on our site again unless we get very lucky locally, and that is highly unlikely.
Our White Hot copy:
- Unbelievable Shootout Winning Demo Disc quality sound throughout — Triple Plus (A+++) on both sides and vinyl that is as quiet as any that can be found from this era
- This is a spectacular recording, and one of the Greatest Violin Showpiece Albums of All Time
- It is certainly a record that belongs in every right-thinking audiophile’s collection. If you’re on our site and taking the time to read this, that probably means you.
- Ruggiero Ricci is superb throughout – we know of no better performances of this works than those found on this very record
- Some old record collectors (like me) say classical recording quality ain’t what it used to be – here’s all the proof anyone with two working ears and top quality audiophile equipment needs to make the case
Ricci’s playing of the Bizet-Sarasate Carmen Fantasie is OUT OF THIS WORLD. There is no greater performance on record in my opinion, and few works that have as much Audiophile Appeal.
Sides One and Two
These two sides can show you how good the violin — and the whole orchestra — can sound. They’re tonally correct from top to bottom, transparent and sweet. The texture on the strings is PERFECTION.
These pieces are less about the “violin-in-your-lap” effect and more about the violin as an integrated member of the orchestra.
Of all the copies we have ever played, these sides had the most of a quality that goes a long way in the world of classical music. As we went through the various copies, we noticed that the sound on the best sides was especially RELAXED. (Compare that to the typical Classic Records heavy vinyl pressing, which, on the relaxation scale of one to ten, rates a lot closer to one than it does to ten. Between one and two probably.)
Once you spot the relaxed copies, you find they tend to do every other thing well, and that’s what it takes to win shootouts — doing everything well.
Side One
Bizet Arr. Sarasate, Carmen – Fantaisie
Sarasate – Zigeunerweisen
Side Two
Saint-Saëns – Havanaise
Saint-Saëns – Introduction And Rondo Capriccioso
Further Reading
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