More of the music of Franz Liszt (1811-1880)
More Classical ‘Sleeper” Records We’ve Discovered
We found White Hot Stamper sound on side two of this solo piano recording.
It’s big, rich and above all REAL sounding, with natural studio space. The legendary soloist Leonard Pennario is presented here at the height of his powers.
Superb choice of material, from Clair De Lune to Liebestraum to the Hungarian Rhapsody No . 2.
On the rare Stereo pressing of course — we want to hear all that studio space reproduced, just as your two ears would have heard it (more or less).
Side One
Graded Super Hot for the huge, solid-sounding piano, played with such verve and skill. The musical power on this side is stupendous.
Side Two
Even better! No smear, with incredible clarity, and no sacrifice in weight or richness.
All of which adds up to a top quality piano recording in every way.
TRACK LISTING
Side One
Chopin – Polonaise In A Flat
Debussy – Clair De Lune
Strauss – On The Beautiful Blue Danube
Side Two
Rachmaninoff – Prelude In C Sharp Minor
Rachmaninoff – Prelude in G Minor
Liszt – Liebestraum No. 3
Liszt – Hungarian Rhapsody No . 2
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 in the future 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 your money back.
Basic Concepts and Realities Explained