_Composers – Tchaikovsky

You Can Do a Lot Better than this Tchaikovsky 5th

Hot Stamper Classical and Orchestral Pressings Available Now

Our Favorite Orchestral Performances with Top Quality Sound

We played a few copies of the album we had sitting in the backroom and none of them quite worked for us.  The sound was somewhat veiled and dry. (The 1s/1s pressing was the worst of the bunch, by the way.)

A decent record, not much more than that, and not really not worth putting in a shootout with the better pressings of the work we have discovered over the years.

Yes, we still have no Hot Stamper pressings of the work to offer, but we know they are coming, someday. Our current favorite is a performance by Mravinsky on DG from 1961.

It’s a “good, not great” vintage classical record, best played on an old school stereo system that can hide its shortcomings.

The much more revealing systems of today, like the one we employed to audition this very copy, simply make it too easy to spot its many faults.

Vintage Vinyl

We are not fans of vintage vinyl because we like the sound of old records. Lots of old records don’t sound good to us at all, and we review them by the score all over this blog.

We like old records because they have the potential to sound better than every other kind of record, especially the ones that have been made and marketed to audiophiles for the last thirty years.

We wrote about that subject in a commentary we called the big if. An excerpt:

The best of the best vintage recordings are truly amazing if you can play them right. That’s a big if. 

In fact, it may just be the biggest if in all of audio.

We go on to discuss the wonderfully accurate timbre of the better vintage pressings, in contrast to the consistently inaccurate tonality of the Modern Heavy Vinyl pressing. It’s a long story but we think it is well worth your time if you are an audiophile looking for better sounding vinyl.

The following four things are best kept in mind when a pressing doesn’t sound like we remember it did, or think it should:

  1. Our standards are much higher now, the result of having spent decades critically listening to vintage classical pressings by the hundreds, if not the thousands.
  2. Our stereo is dramatically more revealing and more accurate than it was in the past, before 2007 certainly.
  3. Using the Odyssey machine and the Prelude Cleaning System, we not only clean but markedly improve the sound of old records in ways we never could before.
  4. Since no two records sound the same, maybe the one we played long ago actually did sound as good as we thought back then. The odds are against it, but we can’t say it’s not possible.

With all four of the above points considered, the current consensus is that LSC 2239 is very unlikely to be as good a record as we used to think it was.

The most likely explanation is that I was simply not able to judge the record properly at the time.

  1. I needed higher quality playback.
  2. I needed better cleaning technologies.
  3. I needed to learn how to do rigorous, repeatable, controlled shootouts.

In short, I needed to follow the advice found in the commentary I wrote after finally managing to put all of those things in place:

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We Get Letters – “The first time I listened, that moment elicited an involuntary cry, ‘Wow!’”

More of the music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

More of the Music of Stevie Ray Vaughan

Dear Tom and Fred,

I just got through listening to my latest haul of records, including a few Pink Floyd White Hot Stampers. They are just fantastic. As is the SRV The Sky is Crying, and every other record I’ve bought from you. They are transformative.

One that deserves special mention is the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto I just got. I expected the violin to sound amazing, and it does. I did not expect to be blown away when the full orchestra joins in. The first time I listened, that moment elicited an involuntary cry, ‘Wow!’

The second time I listened, it evoked the same response. It’s simply magical. Thank you.

Finally, I got a WHS of the Beatles Help! I really love the album. Nearly every song is great. One song that did not move me as I hoped was Yesterday. I read on your blog that some German pressings have amazing versions of Yesterday. Even if the rest sound like crap, I’d be very interested to buy one if you have it laying around.

Thanks again for all you do. I should mention that another of your loyal customers, ab_ba, turned me on to your work, and is largely responsible for helping me find my way.

Dear Bill,

Some thoughts:

As for the Tchaikovsky, so glad to hear you liked it so much. Finding a recording that gets the orchestra right is ten times harder than finding a record with a good sounding violin. This we have learned through experience.

I used to think these Heifetz records were a bit crude, but now I realize I just couldn’t play them right back in those days.

As for Help!, we don’t buy the German pressings anymore because it is just too hard to sell a record at the prices we charge where one song sounds great. You can find them easily enough if you want to go that route.

As for ab_ba, glad he was able to help you find a better way.

We both owe him a debt of gratitude in that respect.

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Tchaikovsky / Strauss – Romeo & Juliet / Till Eulenspiegel / Munch

More of the music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

More of the music of Richard Strauss (1864-1949)

  • Wonderful Living Stereo sound throughout this original Shaded Dog pressing, with both sides earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them
  • Hard to find them quiet, though – for whatever reason, this title was rarely if ever pressed on quiet vinyl
  • Our favorite performance of the Tchaikovsky — when you hear it played by the BSO, guided by the baton of the supremely talented Charles Munch, you know you are hearing the work performed with the greatest skill and interpreted as authentically as is humanly possible
  • Spacious, rich and smooth (particularly on side two) – only vintage analog seems capable of reproducing all three of these qualities without sacrificing resolution, staging, imaging or presence
  • Our White Hot Shootout Winner was simply amazing sounding — some of the best orchestral sound we have heard lately, especially audible in exceptionally breathy flutes and sweet strings
  • It was a quite a step up in sound quality over even the closest contender, which just goes to show how hard it is to come across these very special pressings no matter how many Shaded Dogs you play

A Must Own Record

This is a recording that belongs in any serious Classical Music Collection. Others that belong in that category can be found here.

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Tchaikovsky – Swan Lake Ballet Complete / Ansermet

More of the music of Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

More Records on Decca and London

  • This stunning 2 LP set of Ansermet and the Suisse Romande‘s definitive performance boasts excellent Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them on all FOUR sides
  • 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
  • Lovely string tone and texture, rich bass, a big hall, lovely transparency – the sound here is hard to fault (particularly on sides one and two)
  • That gorgeous clarinet says it all, so rich and Tubey Magical (also particularly on sides one and two) – few copies have that sound the way this copy does
  • The miking is tasteful, with much less spotlighting than most of the classical recordings we play
  • If you are looking for a shootout winning copy, let us know – with music and sound like this, we hope to be able to do this shootout again soon
  • If you love the music of Tchaikovsky — and what audiophile doesn’t? — this London from 1959 is surely a Must Own

This London UK import 2 LP set put every other recording of Swan Lake to shame. This is the one, folks, assuming you want a nearly complete performance of the work. (We have had some single LP highlight pressings on the site before. The Fistoulari on London can be especially good on the right pressing.)

I rank the performance here by Ansermet and the Suisse Romande second to none.

Ansermet is surely the man for this music, and the famously huge hall he recorded in just as surely contributes much to the wonderful sound here. (The Royal Gala Ballet is a good example. If you have the two grand to spend we highly recommend you find yourself a good one. And don’t waste your money on the Classic no matter what you may have read elsewhere.)

Production and Engineering

I believe, though have not been able to confirm, that James Walker was the producer and Roy Wallace the engineer for these sessions from 1958 in Geneva’s glorious-sounding Victoria Hall. It’s yet another remarkable disc from the Golden Age of Vacuum Tube Recording.

The gorgeous hall the Suisse Romande recorded in was possibly the best recording venue of its day, possibly of all time; more amazing sounding recordings were made there than any other hall we know of. There is a richness to the sound that exceeds all others, yet clarity and transparency are not sacrificed in the least. It’s as wide, deep, and three-dimensional as any, which is, of course, all to the good, but what makes the sound of these recordings so special is the weight and power of the brass and the timbral accuracy of the instruments in every section.

These are the kind of records that will make you want to take all your heavy vinyl classical pressings and put them in storage. None of them, I repeat not a single one of them, can ever begin to sound the way this record sounds.

Quality record production is a lost art, and it’s been lost for a very long time.

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Ritual Fire Dance – Side One Had Tubey Colorations Missing from Side Two

More Columbia Classical Recordings

More Classical ‘Sleeper” Recordings We’ve Discovered with Superb Sound

An undiscovered gem from 1967 on the 360 Columbia label.

Side two of this record blew our minds with its White Hot Stamper sound.

Musically and sonically this record is nothing short of wonderful.

Who knew? You could play fifty vintage piano recordings and not find one as good as this.

Tchaikovsky, Liszt, Beethoven, Debussy, Mozart — these shorter pieces and excerpts were composed by those with the greatest gift for melody, men who’ve produced works that have stood the test of time, enchanting audiences over the centuries with works of such beauty and charm.

Here at Better Records we have never been fans of Columbia classical LPs. Years ago we noted that:

Columbia classical recordings have a tendency to be shrill, upper-midrangy, glary and hard sounding. The upper mids are often nasally and pinched; the strings and brass will screech and blare at you in the worst way. If Columbia’s goal was to drive the audiophile classical music lover screaming from the room (or, more realistically, induce a strong desire to call it a day record-playing wise), most of the time one would have to grant they’ve succeeded brilliantly. Occasionally they fail. When they do we call those pressings Hot Stampers.

To be clear, the fault more often than not has to be in the mastering, not the recording. We’ve raved about so many great copies of titles in the past, only to find that the next three or four LPs we pick up of the very same titles sound just godawful. There are some amazing Bernstein recordings out there, but the the amount of work it takes to find the one that sounds good is overwhelming — how can such great recordings be regularly mastered so poorly?

Side One

A++, with a huge, rich, sweet, natural sounding piano. The more you listen the more apparent it becomes that, as natural as it may seem at first blush, there are still some old school tubey colorations that make the sound not quite as “accurate” and real as one might wish.

And the confirmation of that finding comes as soon as you flip the record over.

Side Two

A+++, with a piano that really DOES sound real. Tubey colorations are gone. It’s clear and clean and solid the way a piano really sounds in recital. The transparency is simply amazing — you are there. There aren’t many solo piano recordings that sound this right. When you hear one, it’s shocking how good it can be.

A case of good tube mastering? On the best sides of the best pressings, absolutely.

More on the subject of tubes in audio here.

Testing with the Piano

Lately we have been writing quite a bit about how pianos are good for testing your system, room, tweaks, electricity and all the rest, not to mention turntable setup and adjustment.

  • We like our pianos to sound natural (however one chooses to define the term).
  • We like them to be solidly weighted.
  • We like them to be free of smear, a quality that is rarely mentioned in the audiophile record reviews we read.

Other records that we have found to be good for testing in order to improve your playback, as well as your critical listening skills, can be found here.

Want to find your own top quality copy?

Consider taking our moderately helpful advice concerning the pressings that tend to win our shootouts.

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Tchaikovsky – Now That’s the Way a Piano Should Sound!

The Music of Tchaikovsky Available Now

Album Reviews of the Music of Tchaikovsky

I don’t know of another recording of the work that gets the sound of the piano better. On the better copies, the percussive quality of the instrument really comes through.

Without question this is a phenomenal piano recording in every way.

It’s amazing how many piano recordings have poorly-miked pianos. The badly recorded pianos are either too distant, lack proper reproduction of the lower registers, or somehow smear the pounding of the keys into a blurry mess.

Are they badly recorded?

Or is it a mastering issue?

Perhaps a pressing issue?

To be honest, it’s probably all three.

On the best copies the rich texture of the strings is out of this world — you will have a very hard time finding a DG with better string tone. This record does not have the shortcomings of the average DG: it’s not hard, shrill, or sour.

DG made plenty of good records in the 50s and 60s, then proceeded to fall apart, like most labels did. This is one of their finest. It proves conclusively that at one time — 1962 to be exact — they clearly knew exactly what they were doing.

Lately we have been writing quite a bit about how good pianos are for testing your system, room, tweaks, electricity and all the rest, not to mention turntable setup and adjustment.

  • We like our pianos to sound natural (however one chooses to define the term)
  • We like them to be solidly weighted
  • We like them to be free of smear, a quality that is rarely mentioned in the audiophile reviews we read

Other records that we have found to be good for testing and improving your playback can be found here.

Further Reading

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This Living Stereo from 1958 Didn’t Make the Grade

More of the Music of Tchaikovsky Available Now

Hot Stamper Pressings of Living Stereo Recordings Available Now

Our notes read “blary, bright, not nearly as good as Anserment’s recordings,” which are the ones we compared it to, both the complete balleet and the highlights.

In other words, it just sounded like an old record.

If you are looking for a top quality pressing with a performance to match, we recommend two:

  1. The complete ballet on three discs with Anserment conducting, and/or
  2. The highlights, on a single disc, again with Ansermet conducting.

This Shaded Dog might be passable on an old school audio system, but it was too unpleasant to be played on the high quality modern equipment we use.

There are quite a number of other vintage classical releases that we’ve run into over the years with similar shortcomings. For fans of vintage Living Stereo pressings, here are some to avoid.

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Tchaikovsky / The Nutcracker Ballet in Two Acts (Complete) / Ansermet

More of the music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

More Orchestral Music Conducted by Ernest Ansermet

  • Tchaikovsky’s complete classical masterpiece returns to the site for the first time in nearly two-years with INSANELY GOOD Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound on all FOUR sides of these original London pressings
  • 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
  • If you have never experienced a vintage top quality pressing of a Wilkinson-engineered Decca Tree recording from Victoria Hall, this is your chance to hear sound that puts practically anything else to shame
  • A record like this lets you get lost in the world of its music, and what could be more important in a recording than that?
  • This is our favorite performance of The Nutcracker, perhaps the most famous ballet ever written, and one that belongs in every right-thinking audiophile’s collection
  • Enchanting music and sound combine on this copy to make one seriously good Demo Disc, if what you are trying to demonstrate is how relaxed and involved vintage analog can make you feel
  • If you’re a fan of brilliant orchestral showpieces, this London Box Set from 1959 belongs in your collection.

There is certainly no shortage of Audio Spectaculars available on the site. A record such as this, so rich, natural and effortless, has distinctly different qualities that we feel are every bit as vital to the critical audiophile’s enjoyment of Tchaikovsky’s music.

Ansermet breathes life into this ballet as only he can and the Decca engineering team led by Kenneth Wilkinson do him proud. (more…)

Tchaikovsky / 1812 Overture / Marche Slave / Alwyn

More of the music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

More Orchestral Spectaculars

  • Outstanding sound from start to finish – this Decca recording of the 1812 from 1958 is the only one we know of that can show you the power of Live Music for this important work
  • This UK pressing is BIG, lively, clear, open and resolving of musical information like no copy of the 1812 you’ve heard
  • The two coupling pieces, Marche Slave and the Capriccio Italien, also have rich, powerful, weighty brass and lower strings
  • The most exciting and beautifully played 1812 we know of – we encourage you to compare this to the best orchestral recording in your collection and let the chips fall where they may
  •  When you hear how good this record sounds, you may have a hard time believing that it’s a budget reissue from 1970, but that’s precisely what it is. Even more extraordinary, the right copies are the ones that win shootouts
  • There are about 150 orchestral recordings we’ve awarded the honor of offering the Best Performances with the Highest Quality Sound, and this recording certainly deserve a place on that list.

There is some noticeable low frequency rumble under the quietest passages of the music for those of you with the big woofers to hear it!

The lower strings are rich and surrounded by lovely hall space. This is not a sound one hears on record often enough and it is glorious when a pressing as good as this one can help make that sound clear to you.

The string sections from top to bottom are shockingly rich and sweet — this pressing is yet another wonderful example of what the much-lauded Decca recording engineers (Kenneth Wilkinson in this case) were able to capture on analog tape all those years ago.

The 1958 master has been transferred brilliantly using “modern” cutting equipment (from 1970, not the low-rez junk they’re forced to make do with these days), giving you, the listener, sound that only the best of both worlds can offer.

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Tchaikovsky / Piano Concerto No. 1 – Our Favorite Performance and Sound By Far

More of the music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893)

More Masterpieces of Classical Music

  • A stunning copy of this classical masterpiece with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or very close to it from start to finish
  • By far our favorite performance for the work, and fortunately for us audiophiles, it is also the best sounding recording of the work that we know of
  • With huge amounts of hall space, weight and energy, this is DEMO DISC QUALITY SOUND by any standard
  • When the brass is the way it is here – rich and clear, not thin and shrill – you have yourself a top quality DG pressing
  • Virtually no smear to the strings, horns or piano – this is Golden Age Recording done right!
  • There are about 150 orchestral recordings we think offer the best performance coupled with the highest quality sound. This record has earned a place on that list.
  • More entries in our core collection of well recorded classical albums.

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