Decca/London/Argo

Offenbach et al. / French Overtures / Ansermet

More Music Conducted by Ernest Ansermet

  • This original London pressing (CS 6205) of these wonderful Romantic works boasts KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them from first note to last
  • 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
  • The sound of the orchestra is dramatically richer and sweeter than you will hear on practically all other pressings – what else would you expect from Decca‘s engineers and the Suisse Romande?
  • This shootout has been many years in the making – we’ve been trying to do these wonderful French overtures for about five years, which just goes to show how hard it is to find these kinds of records in audiophile playing condition nowadays
  • We also have a recording with Fremaux at the helm for EMI coming soon to the site that’s every bit as good
  • Which one is better is probably a matter of taste as they are both head and shoulders better than any other recordings we have come across in the last five or more years
  • If you’re a fan of delightful orchestral showpieces such as these, Decca’s wonderful recording from 1961 belongs in your collection

(more…)

Grieg – Peer Gynt Suite / Fjeldstad / LSO

More of the music of Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)

More Classical and Orchestral Recordings

  • Fjeldstad and the London Symphony’s performance of Peer Gynt Suite debuts on the site with INSANELY GOOD Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from first note to last
  • Here are just a few of the things we had to say about this amazing copy in our notes: “very 3D and tubey and sweet and spacious”…”huge and weighty and jumping out [of the speakers]”…”so fun” (side one)…”powerful and so musical (side two)”
  • Although we’re on record as preferring the Gruner-Hegge and the Oslo Philharmonic performance, there is no denying the power of this superb recording, with huge, spacious, dynamic, Tubey Magical Decca/London sound
  • Cyril Windebank was the engineer – he’s the man responsible for some of Decca’s most wonderful recordings
  • It’s simply bigger, more transparent, less distorted, more three-dimensional and more real than practically any other pressing we played 
  • 1958 happens to be one of the truly great years for analog recordings as far as we are concerned, and the evidence is this amazing group of albums, all recorded or released in that year

(more…)

Prokofiev / Scythian Suite / Ansermet

More of the Music of Sergei Prokofiev

  • Both sides of this original London pressing of CS 6538 had the big, lively and rich sound we’d been waiting for, earning KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus grades or close them
  • 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
  • Everything that we listen for in a great classical recording can be heard on this copy – it’s immediate, dynamic, very low distortion, spacious, and alive
  • The bass deserves special mention here – you rarely hear recordings from the 50s and early 60s, the kind of LPs that were mastered with tubes, of course, having this kind of truly deep, punchy bass

(more…)

Berlioz – Symphonie Fantastique / Argenta

More Imported Pressings on Decca and London

  • With two INSANELY GOOD Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sides, this copy of this orchestral spectacular (the first to hit the site in over two and a half years) is certainly as good as we have ever heard
  • Here are just a few of the things we had to say about this amazing copy in our notes: “big and spacious with textured strings”…”fully extended from top to bottom”…”tubey bass and brass”…”huge and open”…”rich and transparent”
  • We love the performance of The Paris Conservatoire Orchestra under Argenta, and this original London pressing shows you just how well recorded that performance was back in 1958
  • The sound is clear and open and wonderfully smooth and the bottom is big — the tympani and lower strings are powerful and dynamic
  • You will have a hard time finding better sound in the lower registers for this work — most of the pressings we’ve played were simply too anemic to take seriously
  • Marks and problems in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these early pressings, but once you hear just how stunning sounding this copy is, you might be inclined, as we were, to stop counting ticks and pops and just be swept away by the music
  • It’s worth noting that this is the only copy from our shootout that will make it to the site this time ’round – all of the others had far worse issues that rendered them unacceptable for listing, so those of you hoping for a Nearly White Hot or Super Hot copy with audiophile surfaces and no marks that play are going to be almost as disappointed as we were

(more…)

Tchaikovsky / Nutcracker Suites 1 & 2 / Ansermet

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

Hot Stamper Pressings of The Nutcracker Available Now

  • A superb copy of Tchaikovsky’s classical masterpiece with top quality sound from first note to last
  • If you have never experienced a vintage pressing of a Roy-Wallace-engineered Decca Tree recording from Victoria Hall, this is your chance to hear sound that puts practically everything else to shame
  • The notes for the last shootout winner read “I think this is my favorite [compared to the complete ballet (2203). It has more room, more glow and more sweetness, and it’s the most dynamic.”
  • 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 an AMAZINGLY well recorded performance of one of the most famous ballets – probably THE most famous – ever committed to analog tape
  • 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

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 serious audiophile’s enjoyment of Tchaikovsky’s music.

Ansermet breathes life into this ballet as only he can and the Decca engineering team led by Roy Wallace do him proud.

(more…)

Schubert / Octet / Vienna Octet

More Classical Recordings Featuring the Violin

  • Amazing sound throughout this original London pressing of the Vienna Octet’s performance of Schubert’s sublime chamber work, with both sides earning INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades
  • 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
  • The rich, textured sheen of the strings was far more natural and more real than on all other copies we played, with a clarity and sweetness we were looking for in the violin and cello
  • Both of these sides are super spacious and positively dripping with ambience — talk about Tubey Magic, the liquidity of the sound here is positively uncanny

(more…)

Beethoven / Symphony No. 9 / Ansermet

More of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Decca and London Hot Stamper Pressings Available Now

  • An early London pressing of this definitive performance by Ansermet and the Suisse Romande that was doing just about everything right
  • 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
  • The sound here is rich, lively and musical yet still clear and spacious (particularly on side two)
  • True, side one earned a minimal Hot Stamper grade of 1.5+, but we still guarantee that it will beat the pants off any Heavy Vinyl reissue, because every one of those that we played was opaque, muddy and thick enough to have us crying “uncle” after five minutes
  • “…the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande play very well, facing every challenge with musical integrity that reveals to the listener that emotional engagement with the score is far more meaningful than virtuosity for its own sake.”
  • 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.
  • More entries in our core collection of well recorded classical albums.

(more…)

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

(more…)

Beethoven / Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral) – Ansermet

More of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

More Classical Recordings

  • A vintage London pressing of Beethoven’s Sixth with superb grades from top to bottom
  • These sides are doing practically everything right – they’re rich, clear, undistorted, open, spacious, and have depth and transparency to rival the best recordings you may have heard
  • The texture on the strings is captured perfectly – this is an area in which modern pressings fail almost completely
  • Recorded in Geneva’s exquisite Victoria Hall in 1959, this is a top performance from Ansermet and the Suisse Romande, the best we know of
  • 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.
  • If you love the symphonic music of Beethoven — and what audiophile doesn’t? — this London from 1959 is surely a Must Own as well as our pick for the best recording of any of the nine Beethoven symphonies

In our opinion, this is the best sounding Beethoven 6th Symphony ever recorded. It is the most beautiful of them all, and has long been my personal favorite of the nine Beethoven composed.

Ansermet’s performance is clearly definitive to my ear as well. 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.

Everything sounds so right on this record, so much like live music, there is practically nothing to say about the sound other than You Are There.

This is the kind of record that will make you want to take all your heavy vinyl classical pressings and put them in storage. None of them, I repeat none of them, will 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.

The texture on the strings is captured perfectly; this is, by the way, an area in which modern pressings fail almost completely. We have discussed this subject extensively on the site. The “rosin on the horsehair” is a sound that is apparently impossible to encode on modern vinyl.

(more…)

Ravel / Daphnis et Chloé / Monteux

More of the Music of Maurice Ravel

  • Boasting excellent Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them throughout, this vintage Decca Ace of Diamonds pressing was giving us the sound we were looking for on Ravel’s complete Masterpiece
  • The sound is big and rich, lively and open, with tons of depth and huge climaxes that hold together (particularly on side one)
  • The voices in the chorus are clear, natural, separate and full-bodied — this is the hallmark of a vintage Golden Age recording: naturalness
  • We know of no other recording of the work that does as good a job of capturing such a large orchestra and chorus
  • Of course, Monteux is a master of the French idiom – his performance of the complete ballet is definitive in our opinion
  • Even though properly-cleaned, properly-pressed, properly-mastered original Decca pressings are the ones that win our shootouts, we guarantee this 60s reissue will easily beat any copy of the album you can find, at any price
  • There are about 150 orchestral recordings we have found to offer the best performances with the highest quality sound. As card-carrying audiophiles, we naturally insist on both. This record is certainly deserving of a place on that list.

Both sides here are BIG, with the space and depth of the wonderful Kingsway Hall that the LSO perform in. John Culshaw produced the album, which surely accounts for the huge size and space, not to mention quality, of the recording. The sound is dynamic and tonally correct throughout.

(more…)