Orchestral Demo Discs

Superb orchestral and classical recordings, numbering more than 100. These are the best of the best.

Argenta Is the King of Espana

More of the Music of Chabrier

  • This TAS list London LP containing two of the most exciting orchestral showpieces ever composed is guaranteed to blow your mind with a KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) side two mated to a solid Double Plus (A++) side one
  • 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
  • For the longest time we thought that Ansermet’s España could not be beat, but here is a performance that can go head to head with his and might even come out on top
  • The Capriccio Espagnol is easily one of the best on record – I always thought it was the best reason to own this album, but now I see that both sides are better than most for orchestral spectacular recordings
  • This record is absolutely, positively guaranteed to shame any Heavy Vinyl pressing of orchestral music you own
  • If you’re a fan of orchestral showpieces, this London from 1957 belongs in your collection.

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Bartok / Concerto for Orchestra / Solti

More of the Music of Bela Bartok

  • Huge hall, massive weight and powerful energy, this is Demo Disc quality sound by any standard
  • The sound here is glorious, full of all of the qualities that make listening to classical music in analog so involving
  • There are many great recordings of the work, and we had plenty to choose from, but for sonics and performance combined, Solti’s Decca recording from the mid-60s could not be beat
  • “Solti’s Concerto for Orchestra with the LSO was one of the finest of its day and remains so. Highly recommended.”
  • If you’re a fan of Bartok’s orchestral masterpiece, this London from 1965 belongs in your collection.
  • Watch out for Solti’s later recordings for Decca – they usually have an obvious shortcoming which we cannot abide in the classical records we play

Solti breathes life into these works as only he can and the Decca engineering team led by Kenneth Wilkinson do him proud.

“Solti was regarded as, above all, a superb Wagnerian. His performances and countless recordings of other nineteenth century German and Austrian music were also well-regarded, as were his Verdi and his frequent forays into such twentieth century repertory as Bartók, Shostakovich, and Stravinsky.”

There are about 150 orchestral recordings we’ve awarded the honor of offering the best performances with the highest quality sound, and this record certainly deserve a place on that list.

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Gershwin / Rhapsody In Blue / An American In Paris – Bernstein

More of the Music of George Gershwin

  • This vintage 6-Eye Stereo pressing boasts INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades from top to bottom
  • Here is sound that is both tubey and real, with much more space and a much bigger and more realistic presentation of the hall than any of the other copies we played
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Paired with his buoyant 1958 performance of An American in Paris with the New York Philharmonic, Bernstein’s rendition of Rhapsody is lively, flashy, bluesy, and intensely romantic in feeling, and these positive characteristics no doubt contributed to keeping this album in print for many years as one of Columbia’s great successes.”

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Holst – The Planets / Previn

More of the Music of Gustav Holst

  • An early British EMI pressing of Holst’s magnum opus, here with very good Hot Stamper sonic grades on both sides
  • Previn’s and the LSO’s performances are without peer in our estimation
  • We guarantee there is more space, richness, presence, and performance energy on this copy than others you’ve heard or you get your money back – it’s as simple as that
  • A TAS list Super Disc, with a performance that’s as spectacular as the recording (thanks to the work of the two Christophers)
  • Marks and problems in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs, but once you hear the sound of this copy, you might be inclined, as we were, to stop counting ticks and pops and just be swept away by the music
  • This link will take you to more of our favorite orchestral performances with top quality sound

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Chabrier / Orchestral Music – Ansermet

More of the Music of Emmanual Chabrier

  • This vintage London pressing of the Suisse Romande‘s performance of Chabrier’s most famous compositions boasts incredible Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades from start to finish – just shy of our Shootout Winner
  • It’s also impossibly quiet at Mint Minus to Mint Minus Minus (or close to it), a grade that practically none of our vintage classical titles – even the most well-cared-for ones – ever play at
  • Contains our favorite “Espana Rhapsody” on side one, and we guarantee you’ve never heard it sound remotely as good as it does on this very copy
  • This spectacular Demo Disc recording is big, clear, rich, dynamic, transparent and energetic – here is the sound we love
  • All the energy and power of Chabrier’s remarkable orchestration, thanks to the brilliant engineering of Roy Wallace
  • Ansermet’s Chabrier disc has long been a favorite of ours here at Better Records – this copy will show you why
  • We have a section of classical recordings that we think offer the best performances with top quality sound, and this record is one of its founding members. (Some might say that this one might even be ever so slightly better for the Espana Rhapsody.)

If you want a classical record to TEST your system, if you want a classical record to DEMO your system, you will have a hard time finding a better pressing than this very copy.

Who can resist these sublime orchestral works? To quote an infamous (around here) label, they are an audiophile’s dream come true.

So clear and clean, and spread out on such a huge stage, either one or both of these sides will serve you well as your go-to reference disc for Orchestral Reproduction.

Listen for the waves of sound in Espana — only the best copies bring out the energy and power of Chabrier’s remarkable orchestration.

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Borodin / Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3 / Ansermet

More of the Music of Alexander Borodin

  • An early London Stereo pressing of these two symphonic masterworks with very good Hot Stamper sound on both 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
  • We guarantee there is more richness, fullness, and performance energy on this copy than others you’ve heard, and that’s especially true if you own whatever Heavy Vinyl pressing is currently on the market, made from who-knows-what tapes
  • These originals are selling for hundreds of dollars on ebay these days, so don’t expect many early London pressings to make it to the site

We’ve long considered the album one of the greatest of all the Decca / London recordings.

Big, rich and dynamic, this is the sound of LIVE MUSIC, and it can be yours, to enjoy for years to come — if you’ve got the stereo to play it and the time to listen to it.

The powerful lower strings and brass are gorgeous. Ansermet and the Suisse Romande get that sound better than any performers I know. You will see my raves on record after record of theirs produced during this era. No doubt the world renowned Victoria Hall they recorded in is key. One can assume Decca engineers use similar techniques for their recordings regardless of the artists involved. The only real variable should be the hall.

Ansermet’s recordings with the Suisse Romande exhibit a richness in the lower registers that is unique in my experience. His Pictures At Exhibition has phenomenally powerful brass, the best I’ve ever heard. The same is true for his Night On Bald Mountain. Neither performance does much for me — they’re both too slow — but the sound is out of this world. Like it is here.

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Rossini-Respighi / La Boutique Fantasque / Solti

More of the Music of Ottorino Respighi

  • An early London pressing of Solti and the Israel Phil’s performance of this wonderful ballet suite, here with seriously good Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them from first note to last
  • It’s also remarkably 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 (particularly on side one) – the very definition of Demo Disc sound
  • After trying a few years ago, we knew the best copies had the potential to be knockouts in the Decca canon – after that it was only a matter of finding enough clean copies
  • No other performance or recording we played could hold a candle to this one – the Fiedler we used to like years ago was especially disappointing this time around
  • The best sides were always the biggest, clearest and most three-dimensional, assuming they were able to retain the rich, natural, balanced tonality that is inherently key to a good record, or a great one in this case
  • There are about 150 orchestral recordings we think offer the best performances with the highest quality sound. This record is certainly deserving of a place on that list.

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Ravel / Debussy – Ma Mère L’Oye (Mother Goose Suite) / Nocturnes / Ansermet

More of the Music of Ravel / More of the Music of Debussy

  • Here is an original London pressing (CS 6023) of Ansermet and the Suisse Romande’s lively performance of these wonderful works with a spacious, textured and Tubey Magical Shootout Winning Triple (A+++) side two mated to a solid Double Plus (A++) side one
  • 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 spectacular Demo Disc recording is big, clear, dynamic, transparent and energetic – here you will find some of the best orchestral Hot Stamper sound we offer
  • The sonics here have the power to transport you completely, with solid imaging and a real sense of space, qualities that allow us to forget we are in our listening rooms and not in the concert hall
  • There are some bad marks (as is sometimes the nature of the beast with these early pressings) on the first movement of Debussy’s Nocturnes – “Nuages,” but once you hear just how incredible sounding this copy is, you might be inclined, as we were, to stop counting ticks and just be swept away by the music

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Falla / Ravel / El Amor Brujo / De Burgos (Decca)

More of the Music of Manuel De Falla

  • With seriously good Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER throughout, this early Decca pressing of these sublime classical works will be hard to beat
  • 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
  • Tons of energy, loads of detail and texture, superb transparency and excellent clarity – the very definition of Demo Disc sound
  • Dramatically richer, fuller and more Tubey Magical than most other copies we played, with breathy vocals and rosiny, fairly smooth strings
  • We discovered to our surprise that the right reissues can sound just as good as the best early pressings – plenty of early LPs just sound like old records, which simply means that having a clean original is no guarantee of anything in the crazy world of records
  • There are about 150 orchestral recordings we’ve awarded the honor of having the best performances with Demo Disc sound, and this superb LP certainly deserve a place on that list

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Stravinsky / The Firebird – Dorati

More of the Music of Igor Stravinsky

  • With STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound on both sides, this early Mercury pressing of Stravinsky’s Classical Masterpiece is doing everything right
  • One listen to either side of this pressing and you’ll see why this is one of the top Mercury titles of all time
  • The Heavy Vinyl reissues – at 45 or 33, on one disc or four – barely begin to capture the energy and drive Dorati brings to the work
  • “The magic lies in the elaborate orchestration and the excitingly uneven rhythmic writing. Stravinsky changes the orchestration of his themes at each repetition, breaks them down into their constituent parts, pushes their accents across the bar-line, and moves them out of sync with their own accompaniments.”
  • There are about 150 orchestral recordings we think offer the best performances with the highest quality sound. This record is certainly deserving of a place on that list.
  • 1960 was a great year for classical recordings – other Must Own Orchestral releases can be found here.

This is one of the more challenging classical shootouts for us to get going. At least 80% of the copies we buy these days — for many, many hundreds of dollars each, I might add — go right back to the seller. This is one of the more reasonably quiet copies we’ve come across recently, making it a special one indeed.

Both sides are so clear, alive, and transparent, with huge hall space extending wall to wall and floor to ceiling. Zero compression.

This pressing boasts rich, sweet strings, especially for a Mercury. Both sides really get quiet in places, a sure sign that all the dynamics of the master tape were protected in the mastering of this copy.

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