Edit Piaf 5/1/2020
L’essentiel Piaf. PLD2007. Peters international. Pathetic Marconi France, recorded in France, pressed in US. Mediocre sound quality, chanson hits. Not her best voice though, mediocre from Piaf. No keeper.
Piaf tonight. Angel ANG65024. Mono. EQ1. Very good sound, superb chansons, superb performances. Very recommended.
Piaf chansons. Capitol stereo. ST10328. Very good sound, and performance. Superb.
Reviewed 4/30/20
Villa Lobos / Alec Wilder, NY Woodwind quintet. Phil Harmonia Records Corp. PH110. Mono. Superb full sound! Off the rockers, absolute stunner recording quality considering the age of the recording. Your brain just refuses to believe it’s mono. The music content is quite erratic, so if you are not into modern music, (I’m not), then you will definitively not like it. I was highly tempted to keep it nonetheless, but G’kar will enjoy this better that I would. If you love this type of music, this recording is a MUST HAVE.
!Percy Grainger - folk song arrangements. Pearl, SHE572. Human like vocal dynamics. That kind of dynamic range, with lungs and breath strength that you hear only live. EQ1. The bottom end seems to roll off.
!The art of Emmanuel Feuerman - Victrola mono, immortal performances. VIC1476. Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Handel-Feuerman. With Primrose on viola and Frank Rupp on piano. 1S first stamper. The cellos tone is phenomenal! Super deep, can hardly believe it’s not a double bass. The only cello I heard on recording with such deep tone was Starker’s Stradivarius. EQ1. Recorded in 1939and 1941. Although, I expected higher recording quality from a first stamper, but it’s not shabby at all. Definitively a reference cello recording! Recording quality is not the quietest, not the most dynamic, but the tone is right on, and Feuermans playing is in the same league as Casals and Starker. He deserves serious attention.
Monteux/ LSO. Dvorak symphony no 2. RCA Victor red seal, LM2489. 3s/2s, absolutely superb sound. Very spatial. can’t believe it’s not stereo. The piece itself is quite hectic for me, so I’m gifting it to G’kar. If you happen to love this piece, this is your reference recording. Played and interpreted superbly.
Heifetz-Piatigorsky Brahms concerto for violin and cello. LD2513 /LDS 2513 living stereo. RCA Victor Soria. Early stampers - 3rd for stereo, 2/1 for mono. The stereo pressing is clearly better than the mono. They recorded the two versions with different microphones. - the miking on the stereo version is clearly better, and pressed with better dynamic range and resolution. The mono appears to be compressed in comparison, and leaner sounding. The concerto itself is hectic, definitively not on my list of works to connect to. I’m sad, as the cover is truly collectible: Heifetz showing the finger…..
Reviewed 4/29/2020
Segovia - Platero and I, second series. Decca DL10093. Mono. It comes with a warning: “THIS IS A HIGH FIDELITY RECORD “. Indeed, sounds as if Segovia was playing in the room. One of those monos where you swear it is a stereo. However, it must be mono sound as I’m playing it with the mono cartridge. Played back on EQ1. This is the first EQ1 recording I hear which sounds as if it was a modern recording. Indeed, it must have been as it’s probably made in 1956. Superb soundstage, dynamics, harmonic richness, frequency extension. And BTW, Segovia fans be ready, it’s absolutely fabulous playing. I have his CD collection, but it does not come close to as engaging as this mono recording does. With the cd I was always aware of the aspect that it’s just a recording. Here, I can connect to the guitar, to Segovia. The hair stands up on my back. The spatial resolution and harmonic richness is fabulous: it is there, and it feels NATURAL. With digitized hi Rez the detail level is higher, but it feels unnatural, somehow broken from reality, faked. When we blow up resolution disproportionately, then reality and naturalness gives way to mechanical, artificial sound.
Richard Tauber - Wien, du Stadt meiner Träume. EMI/Odeon O74121. Serious time travel. EQ1. Recorded 1928-32. Did not listen too much. Very dirty record, needs serious cleaning.
Josef Lhevine - Master of romantic piano. RCA Victrola mono. Lots of Chopin. Indeed, he was one of the great masters. Rubinstein held him in very high esteem. Quite odd playing style for modern ears. However, very powerful performer. He comes through on this recording.
Lm1051 Bach concerto in D minor for two violins and orchestra. Heifetz. Mono. EQ4. Unfortunately sound quality is poor. Sounds like an old record - limited freq, dynamics, no imaging. No keep.
LL1453 Mendelssohn concertos no 1., 2. For piano and orchestra. Peter Katin. LSO/ Anthony Collins. EQ2, mono. Highs are shrill, compressed. Much better sound than LM1051 though. Playing style is jumpy. Not keeping.
Beethoven Concerto in D majors or violin and orchestra. op 61. Joseph Szigeti, Bruno Walter, PSO New York. Columbia Masterworks, ML4012. Mono. EQ1. Superb performance, big spacious sound. Violins are prominent and spatially palpable, the bass is not so separated. The solo violinist is in front of the orchestra, superb orchestral imaging. Violins tone is fabulous, Szigetis playing is top notch. The orchestra provides fantastic, coherent support for the soloist. mr Walters conducting is not your usual Beethoven, but quite intriguing and suspenseful, layered and cerebral. The record is pretty dirty, needs a deep cleaning. Still, it’s been supremely touching and top notch. Very different perspective from modern recordings. Here, we have a spatial coherence and a focus on the touch of music, instead of trapped in the headspace with modern recordings.
Pure analogue corner 2020, April.
These were recorded in the 50s, with single mike directly to one track tape, and cut directly to lacquer, with volume adjustment and nothing else. So, it’s as unedited as it gets. In general, all of these are super quiet, have very good spatial feel - they bring you the hall acoustics feel. The instruments are palpable, and there’s no hint of any digital nasties. Not as detailed as a modern DMM recording, cannot hear very low into the micro-detail level. Also, the EQ is nothing typical. With the Violin, the closest to it is EQ1, although it does not match it perfectly, but close enough for a natural, very enjoyable and natural presentation. The instruments are in the space, feels as if they play in your room. As the eq does not match perfectly, the tonality is recording-like, yet the wholeness and the purity adds so much that it’s much more concise than a modern, high-resolution recording. The wind instruments and violins especially shine, and imho kick the modern violin recordings tonality to the curbside. While with modern hi res analogue or digital recordings you get stuck at marveling at the technical brilliance of the recording itself, and get a big buzz from dynamic range, resolution, and other features - with these recordings I do not start thinking about the technical parameters at all. They let you enjoy the music, and completely forget about the stereo (well, mono) gear behind it. The prominent feel I get is the awe that I’m connected to 70 years ago, to the time when my grandparents were young and the world was so different.
All the records were pressed on thick, superb quality vinyl. They are all super flat, consistent, most impressive pressing quality ever.
Handel, sonatas for violin and continuo, op 1. Vol 3. W9066. A now little known, but then-celebrated violinist, Julian Olevsky leads. His style is pure Bach, but it’s still quite enjoyable. He is very talented indeed. Superb recording, very recommended.
Dvorak, Two Trios for Violin, cello and piano. W9024. Fournier violin, Janigro cello, Badura-Skoda piano. Little eclectic music, but very nice, and superb playing and sound. Want to bask in a wonderful trio? Here’s your chance.
Mozart Three divertimenti. W9059. Vienna PH wind group. Superb atmosphere, very good Mozart. Highly recommended.
HOLYSHIT! Rameau, Complete clavichord works, Vol 3. W9316. Robert Veyron-Lacroix. Absolutely masterful interpretation. Gems from Rameau for harpsichord. And the sound!!!!! The Rondeau (Les Tricotets) is hands down the most credible, palpable, spatial instrument rendering I ever heard. You can see and touch the plucked strings. For stereo freaks, you would never think that mono can do this, but yes it can and just now it has slapped stereos butt big time. Absolutely stellar recording, with heart touching, jaw dropping real life rendering of this elusive, extremely hard to reproduce instrument. The string plucks, and dynamic weights, combined with rock solid imaging and coherence that stereo just can not match. The result of that rock solid coherence is a gorgeous 3D image, that extends to every dimension in the space. I love harpsichord, have heard just about every recording out there (95% of them stereo). Yet, never been touched by any as I have by this recording.
HOLYSHIT episode 2. Domenico Scarlatti, Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord. Julian Olevsky and Fernando Valenti. Now the harpsichord takes the back seat, and violin gets the lime light. Simply astounding. The body and tone of the violin!!! I have NEVER heard such strong fundamentals and solid body tone from recorded violin, ever. Even compared to live violins I heard, this is truly a fantastic violin. I am speechless. I can almost see the playing, the bow, the fingering. Outta dis world! With the exception of the EMI Shostakovich quartet, this recording DEMOLISHES just about every violin recording on the planet. And, BTW, the imaging also kicks the butt of just about most of the stereo recordings. This is at the level where my mind refuses to file it to the recordings category, and places it with the live events and instruments.
Respighi, Is Tramonto. W9624. Sena Jurinac soprano, Barylli quartet. Very talented performers, superb performance and recording. Not my cup of tea though, but Respighi fans would adore it.
Mozart Four divertimenti. W9058. Vienna PH wind group. Superb clarinet, it leads the quartet. Very different interpretation from current Mozart’s. Very palpable, touching sound.
Bach partitas, Vol 3. W9304. Superb hall acoustics, wonderful piano sound. Romantic playing style. Highly recommended for performance quality. Although playing style for me is not Bach-like.
Prokofiev sonatas for piano, Vol 2,3. Yury Boukoff. W91312,13. Top bananas for real piano in your living room, and masterful performance. However, it’s still Prokofiev. Not my cup of T. If it’s yours, you’ll be in heaven.