Classical Music – Decca, Mercury, RCA

Szeryng Plays the Music of Fritz Kreisler

More Recordings Featuring the Violin

  • Boasting solid Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER throughout, this early pressing (one of only a handful of copies to ever hit the site) will be very hard to beat
  • The violin is so sweet and present, so rich, natural and real, you will forget you’re listening to a record at all
  • This recording is not your typical dry, bright, nasaly, upper-midrangy Merc – the sound is rich and smooth like a good London, with a big stage and lovely transparency
  • We are happy to report that the vinyl is reasonably quiet for a vintage Plum Label Mercury stereo pressing too, with no marks that play (something that could not be said of our Shootout Winner, alas)

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Brahms – Sonatas for Cello and Piano / Starker / Sebok

More of the music of Johannes Brahms

  • Starker and Sebok’s virtuoso performances, here with rich, dynamic, and tubey Double Plus (A++) sound throughout this original Plum Label Mercury pressing
  • Both of these sides are big, full-bodied, clean and clear, with a wonderfully present and solid piano, and plenty of 3D space around it
  • The cello is present and immediate, with sound that is remarkably textured, full and harmonically natural

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Copland – Rodeo / El Salon Mexico / Danzon Cubano / Dorati

More Music Conducted by Antal Dorati

  • Dorati and the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra’s performance of these wonderful Copland works appears on the site for only the second time ever, here with solid Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER throughout this original Plum Label Mercury stereo pressing of SR 90172
  • It’s also remarkably quiet at the high end of Mint Minus Minus, a grade that even our most well-cared-for vintage classical titles have trouble playing at
  • This copy is everything that a good Mercury should be: dynamic, open, immediate, exciting, and of course, with Dorati and the MSO, beautifully performed
  • The “of course” should be taken with a grain of salt — plenty of Dorati Mercury records do not sound good, and if anybody should know, we should, we’ve played them by the score
  • But we love what he and the MSO have done with these Copland pieces – we tried lots of other recordings, and nothing could touch Mercury for exciting, lifelike and energetic sound
  • 1959 was a phenomenal year for audiophile quality recordings – as of 2025 we’ve auditioned hundreds and reviewed more than one hundred and seventy titles, and there are undoubtedly a great many more that we’ve yet to discover.
  • We think there are a large number that belong in any audiophile’s record collection worthy of the name.

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Respighi / Ancient Dances and Airs on Golden Import

More of the Music of Ottorino Respighi

  • Outstanding sound for this vintage import reissue pressing, with both sides earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them
  • I believe this is only the second Golden Import Mercury reissue we have ever listed on the site — good sounding ones are few and far between, but they do exist, and this is one of them
  • It’s more transparent, less distorted, smoother, and more tonally correct than much of what we played (particularly on side two)
  • More reviews and commentaries for Mercury Golden Import pressings can be found here.
  • We had three copies of the Golden Import, all with the same stamper numbers, and this one came out on top, although it is far from the best, the best being the right pressings on the real Mercury Living Presence label

Of course the music is wonderful, with Respighi looking back and paying homage to the music and the musical structures of the past. This is no Pines of Rome.

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Khachaturian / Tchaikovsky – Gayne Ballet / Romeo and Juliet / Dorati

More of the Music of Tchaikovsky

  • Dorati and the LSO’s masterful performance of Gayne Ballet returns to the site for only the second time in years, here with solid Double Plus (A++) grades on both sides of this Plum Label Mercury Stereo pressing
  • It’s also fairly quiet at Mint Minus Minus, a grade that even our most well-cared-for vintage classical titles have trouble playing at
  • An abundance of energy, loads of rich detail and texture, superb transparency and excellent clarity – the very definition of Demo Disc sound
  • The top is correct, even sweet, and you can’t say that about very many vintage Mercury recordings
  • One listen and we think you’ll see why we consider both the performance and recording of the Khachaturian to be the equal of the famous Golschmann LP on Vanguard, and both are in a different league than the Decca on the TAS List

Both of these sides are Demo Disc quality, thanks to their superb low-distortion mastering. It’s yet another exciting Mercury recording. The quiet passages have unusually sweet sound.

This kind of sound is not easy to cut. This copy gets rid of the cutter head distortion and coloration and allows you to hear what the Mercury engineers (Robert Fine and Wilma Cozart) accomplished.

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Respighi – The Birds / Brazilian Impressions / Dorati

More of the music of Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936)

More Classical and Orchestral Recordings

  • This vintage TAS-approved Maroon Label Mercury pressing boasts excellent Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER from first note to last
  • It’s also fairly quiet at Mint Minus Minus, a grade that even our most well-cared-for vintage classical titles have trouble playing at
  • This copy is everything that a good Mercury should be: dynamic, open, immediate, exciting, and of course, with Dorati and the LSO, beautifully performed
  • Both “The Birds” and “Brazilian Impressions” are wonderful sounding – we guarantee you’ve never heard a better copy of both works
  • This is yet another amazingly good sounding Mercury recording engineered by Robert Fine and produced by Wilma Cozart

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Schumann / Lalo – Cello Concertos / Starker

More Mercury Label Classical Recordings

More Classical and Orchestral Recordings

  • An original Mercury pressing of Starker’s commanding performance of Schumann and Lalo’s cello concertos (one of only a handful of copies to ever hit the site) with superb Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it throughout
  • The cello is present and immediate on this side one, with sound that is wonderfully full and harmonically natural, and side two is not far behind in all those areas
  • You’d be hard-pressed to find a copy that’s this well balanced, yet big and lively, with such wonderful clarity in the mids and highs (particularly on side one)
  • Problems in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these early pressings, but once you hear just how good sounding this copy is, you might be inclined to stop counting ticks and pops and just be swept away by the music
  • We had a devil of a time finding audiophile quality surfaces on this title — it’s hard to imagine there will be many quieter copies coming to the site, and the ones that do will be unlikely to sound as good as this one

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Dvorak – Cello Concerto / Starker

More Recordings with Janos Starker

Hot Stamper Pressings of Mercury Classical Recordings Available Now

  • Starker and the LSO’s sublime performance debuts on the site with the big, lively and rich sound we had been waiting for
  • The cello is present and immediate, with sound that is wonderfully full and harmonically natural
  • 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
  • As you may well imagine, shootouts for this album are exceedingly rare. For a sought-after TAS List title such as this, we’re lucky to be able to do one every five years or so. Until the next one comes around, please consider trying some of our other classical and orchestral Hot Stamper pressings

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Stravinsky / Petrushka / Dorati

More of the Music of Igor Stravinsky

  • Excellent sound for this superb recording of Stravinsky’s ballet, with Double Plus (A++) grades on both sides of this vintage pressing (only the second copy to hit the site in nearly three years)
  • It’s also remarkably quiet at the high end of Mint Minus Minus, a grade that even our most well-cared-for vintage classical titles have trouble playing at
  • This spectacular Demo Disc recording is big, clear, rich, dynamic, transparent and energetic – here is the Mercury sound we love, and that is so hard to find
  • “Petrushka brings music, dance, and design together in a unified whole. It is one of the most popular of the Ballets Russes productions.”
  • 1960 was a great year for classical recordings – other Must Own orchestral releases can be found here.

This vintage Mercury pressing has the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern records can barely BEGIN to reproduce. Folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn’t showing signs of coming back. If you love hearing INTO a recording, actually being able to “see” the performers, and feeling as if you are sitting in the studio with the band, this is the record for you. It’s what vintage all analog recordings are known for — this sound. (more…)

Rodrigo / Concierto Andaluz & Concierto de Aranjuez

More TAS Super Disc Recordings

  • An original Mercury pressing of this wonderful TAS-approved recording (the first to hit the site in years) with incredible Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades from top to bottom – just shy of our Shootout Winner
  • Our last shootout was in 2010 — we really dropped the ball on this one!
  • This is a TAS list title that deserves its place on a list of Super Discs, as long as you are talking about one that sounds the way this one does
  • The vinyl was a problem with many of our better copies — those of you who are fans of later Mercs, perhaps the Starker titles, just to take one example, know what I am talking about with the less-than-audiophile-quality surfaces so common to these pressings
  • These sides are exceptionally transparent and full of energy, with the lush strings of the guitars more textured and real than on practically all other copies we played
  • The orchestra sounds rich and sweet, yet the guitars are clear, present and appropriately placed relative to the surrounding ensemble

These Nearly White Hot Stamper pressings have top-quality sound that’s often surprisingly close to our White Hots, but they sell at substantial discounts to our Shootout Winners, making them a relative bargain in the world of Hot Stampers (“relative” meaning relative considering the prices we charge). We feel you get what you pay for here at Better Records, and if ever you don’t agree, please feel free to return the record for a full refund, no questions asked.

This is a wonderful record and fully deserving of its place on Harry’s TAS list. The performance here by the first family of guitar is legendary. More importantly, the music is delightful and belongs in any serious classical collection. (Others that belong that category can be found here.)

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