[perhapss]

 

[perhapss]

Check out this head rig Shostakovich as a kid is using here:



Fascinating picture IMO.

 

[perhapss]

So, a little while back I posted the link to the reference recordings youtube channel which focused on recordings post 1950s. Clearly that leaves out a lot of "ever".

Here is a link to many of the most important recordings PRIOR to that. Wonderful Vinyl transfers. Please don't underestimate the value of such resources if you really care about classical music. Again, no affiliation.

https://www.youtube.com/user/uchukyoku1/videos

Peace!

 

[perhapss]

 

[perhapss]

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew


Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me


-Martin Niemöller

 

[perhapss]

So Mr. F. had a fine gig in 1937.

With his fine microphones Eugen Beyer captured some of the greatest classical recordings in history.
Like this one.

What was happening then? Look around you today people!!! DON'T BE LIKE THEM!!
We know better! I've argued about Mr F. on this thread years ago.
What a conflicted guy.
Webern too.

I love these people but like us they saw things happening around them and look what happened.
GENIUSES looked the other way or had hopeful/optimistic views on ways to do things.
We all do this every day but now my country needs us.

Tonight I feel so torn hearing this music.

FWIW Mr. F. Never cared for Schoenberg's music much.

 

[Raketen]

One thing these streaming services are great for is trawling through old radio performances every now & then, lots of gems to find.

Something captured in another fraught era -1960s BBC recording of Coleridge-Taylor's Clarinet Quintet.

 

[perhapss]

My understanding is this the first "full length" orchestral recording the Deutsche Grammophon in 1913.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please interpret correct/edit etc. as necessary please.

 

[rkw]

A recording with a very special endorsement.

​

BTW, Gould's assessment of the Appassionata Sonata (3:05)... ouch

 

[Kundi]

 

[Arpeggione]

High Definition Tape Transfers (HDTT) offers easy access to one of the greatest recordings ever in the classical field, I feel. Sonicwise a shocking stunner, and the music is so fun for everyone I think. A favourite recording in my collection long before digital transfers and downloads.

Stravinsky’s "L'Histoire du Soldat" (The Soldier's Tale), recorded in 1956 in stereo by Westminster. Instrumental version of this piece, for 7 instruments: strings (the highest and the lowest), woodwind, brass and percussion. Local NY musicians gathered under the name Ars Nova ensemble, led by R. Mandell.

HDTT – Soldier's Tale (Ars Nova/Mandell)


Best transfer I've ever heard, you need to own the Westminster Sonotape reel-to-reel (SWB 8003) or a mint Westminster LP (WST 14041; the mono W-LAB 7049 is insanely good too) to match it.

The audio samples on HDTT should be enough to convince. Better still – the entire Sonotape is on YouTube and sounds fine (hurry to download):





HDTT site samples must be excellent for beginners in classical. Too short of course but their selection is very much based on both sound and interpretative qualities of great pieces. Most of their titles are available on used LPs and CDs in the market. So no need to support HDTT if you prefer to own the vinyl. I'm in no way or form associated with HDTT.

https://www.highdeftapetransfers.com/


Since most recordings are in stereo, they work fine on headphones. Count on some tape hiss, that comes with the analogue reel-to-reel medium.

One disadvantage is that the samples are often not wisely selected. Often just the start of a movement for 35 secs which may not represent the piece well. Say, if it is a cello concerto you may only hear the orchestral introduction and not the cello soloist! Not good, not smart. Too bad also they have so little of chamber music (pieces for 2 to 9 instruments).

 

[Arpeggione]

Komitas is often cited as the father of Armenian music.
In addition he was a pioneer in the field of ethnomusicology.

This is a very fine "idiomatic" recording.
In addition, it`s quite beautiful.

Indeed so! Happy to see this marvellous Komitas CD mentioned and acclaimed,
I actually have 5 copies of it. If one is scratched, one stolen, one suffering from CD rot,
another one victim of a divorce conflict, I still have one copy to save my soul.

Hope my late follow-up gives the interest a bump. Let me add a few words.

This thread is about outstanding recordings and interpretations of classical music.
Komitas (or often Gomidas today) based his songs and pieces on Armenian folk music.
But his work is pure art, these 17 small pieces, none over 5 minutes, are accessible
music yet soulful and refined. There’s this famous Debussy quote where Debussy says
after an all-Komitas concert in Paris: ”One of these songs would have been sufficient to
secure his name as a great composer.” Quality of these pieces is superlative. Since the
arrangements for quartet are by a member of the famous Komitas String Quartet
(world’s oldest string quartet), this strengthens the authenticity. Add to this that
Levon Chilingirian, 1st violinist of a certain quartet, is Armenian too.

CD was issued in 1997 and not re-released (MEG Recordings MEG006). I had difficulty
finding spare copies in 2015 but I see now that at least a dozen people wanting a copy
could have it.

The opulent string quartet sound fills your room. Not a hollow harsh sound in a church
(like the Chilingirian’s filmed clips in 2015, some of them on YouTube) but a rich and
truthful sonority that is – you said it – quite beautiful.



These little ”instrumental songs” have something of the charm of Fritz Kreisler violin pieces.
Charm and very high standards in common. But of course there’s a more sombre tone in
Komitas, the composing priest and monk.

Chinar es and Keler, tsoler, some of the most beautiful songs ever written, IMHO despite
not having heard them all.



Sound clips still available on the AllMusic site:

https://www.allmusic.com/album/komitas-aslamazian-mw0001390325

(turn volume down, sound isn’t good here)

 

[Arpeggione]

We have all seen and heard that some vintage classical records can be worth a lot of money. But have we actually seen and heard the very records themselves? Hardly, because if you and I could find them, then anyone could. Thus they wouldn’t be scarce and valuable any more. There is always a REASON for a record to be valuable.

Thankfully there are most often yet another reason for the high market value. The expensive ones are scarce, yes, but most of the times they are actually also VERY GOOD. People that don’t collect records usually deny or ridicule that last argument. Well, everyone needs a strategy to survive mentally under the circumstances in which they live.

The very best thing in all this is that the opposite is not true. Most records are worth just pennies but they are not necessarily bad. No no no, no such correlation. Infinite amount of superlative recordings out there to be had for nothing, you just need to have some knowledge or be prepared to buy large quantities and do the hard work (which of course is the way to gain knowledge, sigh).

So I haven’t made anyone crying yet? Good.



Now, to the subject of this posting (and perhaps a series of postings). And I chose to stay within the thread of ”Best classical recordings...ever!”, which I feel is appropriate.

Wouldn’t it be interesting to learn a little about the most expensive or at least ridiculously priced classical LPs on the market? To learn their titles at least, and perhaps memorize the look of the cover. Just in case you some day would ...

And to listen to those recordings! That’s my idea. Point out a few very expensive titles, then give a link to some listening opportunity on YouTube. Catching a performing style of yesteryear maybe. Of course the sound on YouTube may not reflect the sound of the actual LP in great condition, the source may be a later issue or some digital transfer but anyhow. The worse the sound, the better we feel, right?

My price quotes are sold items on eBay. Popsike has harvested the figures there and fed its data base with those public numbers. To avoid copyright conflicts I will quote as little as possible (say, 1 bit of data out of a 100), but anyone with objections should contact me immediately since I intend no violations.

I will not expand on the original items. You will have enough details to do further research if you like.




Let’s start with something terrific. The French 7-LP mono vinyl set issued in mid-1950’s on the Pathé label and titled ”Mozart à Paris” – Mozart in Paris. Often regarded as, sometimes actually being, the most expensive classical set ever. Various Mozart pieces written in or associated with Paris, recorded 200 years later by top-notch French artists of the time: pianists Aline van Barentzen, Jeanne-Marie Darré, Lazare Lévy, Samson François; violinist Jacques Dumont; and a pile of other instrumentalists with to most people today obscure names.

The LP box has been sold for $11,500 in 2018. Typically it goes for around $6,000. Only about 25 sets sold 2006-2020. The CD box from 2000 (4-CD) is listed for around $175 today ...

Here is the complete set (sic!) available for listening:

 

[Arpeggione]

French pianist Henriette Faure (1907-1985) was a pupil of Ravel. She was the first to give an all-Ravel concert (presumably with Ravel himself in the audience since he had prepared her performances).

She made very few recordings. Interpretations are highly rated, especially her Ravel readings. Nevertheless, the records didn’t sell in any quantities at the time and essentially no reissues until recently. So her LPs are very rare and much sought after. Of course there are some Japanese CD reissues with facsimile print.

This Pathé DTX 292 from 1956 with Ravel piano pieces is somewhat iconic. Can fetch around $3,500 today in excellent but not perfect condition.

[Yes, one of the sellers didn’t even type the record # correctly. He was rewarded a little something extra by one intrigued collector.]




Well, it’s only music. Here’s a chance to hear Henriette Faure play Ravel in 1956, tracks taken from the Pathé record (or master tapes). A lot of money saved on records, so let’s enjoy our new headphones!




Henriette Faure – Miroirs (Ravel)
Henriette Faure – Le Tombeau de Couperin: Prélude (Ravel)
Henriette Faure – Le Tombeau de Couperin: Fugue (Ravel)
Henriette Faure – Le Tombeau de Couperin: Forlane (Ravel)
Henriette Faure – Le Tombeau de Couperin: Rigaudon (Ravel)
Henriette Faure – Le Tombeau de Couperin: Menuet (Ravel)
Henriette Faure – Le Tombeau de Couperin: Toccata (Ravel)

 

[Arpeggione]

The Ukrainian violinist Leonid Kogan (1924-1982) was one of the greatest of the last century, on a par with David Oistrakh. Many Russian recordings; a mere handful made in the West.

The stereo LP recordings Kogan made for Columbia UK in the SAX series in late 1950s, early 1960s, are quite rare treasures of superlative quality. Why are they rare? I don’t know, perhaps he didn’t tour as much as other Soviet artists like Oistrakh. Or didn’t look as friendly on the covers?

Anyhow, these Columbia SAX are highly collectible today. The Beethoven Concerto on SAX 2386 can reach $10,000 for a superlative copy on the first label! A more average price today is $7,000. Please be aware (or beware) of recent reissues. To the untrained eye they can appear the same. I saw one local ad for a minor classical collection where the seller had sprinkled the LPs from all times over a floor, somewhere in the middle there was this famous Kogan SAX 2386 cover. Seller didn’t tell, no one asked publicly. I managed to identify the Kogan on the bleak photos as the Testament reissue, worth $30. Then I waited. Auction ended at too high a price, someone educated on Discogs was to be disappointed.

Must have recordings, so buy some CDs or downloads.



Here is the complete Beethoven Violin Concerto with Leonid Kogan and the Paris Conservatory Orchestra under Silvestri from SAX 2386: