The Death of the CD?

[Parry1912]

Given my view that no music of historical value has been made for some decades now (with a few exceptions)

As a devotee of English music I can't help but think of all the wonderful music that's been made available in recent years by the likes of Naxos, Chandos, Hyperion, Dutton, etc. none of which is available on vinyl. Great new recordings of composers such as Alwyn, Gardner, Moeran, Rubbra, Berkeley (father and son), Dyson, Bowen and many more (good luck getting Brian's 'Gothic' Symphony on vinyl!). Not to mention excellent new recordings of RVW, Bax, Elgar and the likes by Hickox, Handley, Davis, etc.

Then there's the fine recordings of Mahler by Abbado, Chailly and others. Not to mention the developments in HIPP.

I could go on.

[Roehre]

As a devotee of English music I can't help but think of all the wonderful music that's been made available in recent years by the likes of Naxos, Chandos, Hyperion, Dutton, etc. none of which is available on vinyl. Great new recordings of composers such as Alwyn, Gardner, Moeran, Rubbra, Berkeley (father and son), Dyson, Bowen and many more (good luck getting Brian's 'Gothic' Symphony on vinyl!). Not to mention excellent new recordings of RVW, Bax, Elgar and the likes by Hickox, Handley, Davis, etc.

Then there's the fine recordings of Mahler by Abbado, Chailly and others. Not to mention the developments in HIPP.

[umslopogaas]

#268 jayne lee wilson, that Argenta recording was released in 1958, the first year of stereo LPs, as SXL 2020. Its got Capriccio Espanol (R. Korsakov), Andaluza (Granados), Espana (Chabrier) and Spanish Dances (Moszkowski). I have a 2006 price guide that suggests £140 for a copy in good original condition. I havent seen one go through ebay recently, but I would think it would cost at least that today, I have noted copies go for twice as much in recent years. And no, mine is not for sale!

[gurnemanz]

As a devotee of English music I can't help but think of all the wonderful music that's been made available in recent years by the likes of Naxos, Chandos, Hyperion, Dutton, etc. none of which is available on vinyl. Great new recordings of composers such as Alwyn, Gardner, Moeran, Rubbra, Berkeley (father and son), Dyson, Bowen and many more (good luck getting Brian's 'Gothic' Symphony on vinyl!). Not to mention excellent new recordings of RVW, Bax, Elgar and the likes by Hickox, Handley, Davis, etc.

There is a lot to discover out there. When my father died I inherited his CDs, some which I have really enjoyed but would almost certainly never have bought off my own bat. One of these is English String Miniatures by composers by whom I do not possess a single other recording: Geoffrey Bush, Anthony Hedges, Herbert Sumsion, Geoffrey Wright, Alan Langford.
No longer available but details here: http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/...album_id=18577

[Stunsworth]

#268 jayne lee wilson, that Argenta recording was released in 1958, the first year of stereo LPs, as SXL 2020. Its got Capriccio Espanol (R. Korsakov), Andaluza (Granados), Espana (Chabrier) and Spanish Dances (Moszkowski). I have a 2006 price guide that suggests £140 for a copy in good original condition

I sold one on eBay at around that time, and though I can't remember the exact price I think it was around that amount.

I have a feeling I have a second copy. Probably best to check.

[cloughie]

I sold one on eBay at around that time, and though I can't remember the exact price I think it was around that amount.

I have a feeling I have a second copy. Probably best to check.

Looks like available at half the price on Amazon. I used to have it as SDD216, and now have it on CD in the Decca Original Masters Argenta box, which include two other favourites of mine both with the PCO Berlioz Sym Fant and Tchaik 4.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_7?url=search-alias%3Dclassical&field-keywords=argenta+espana&sprefix=argenta%2Cclassical%2C499

[Ferretfancy]

I have not been able to trace a CD version of Argenta conducting the Symphonie Fantastique. There's a tantalising excerpt on Decca's Demonstration disc " A journey into Stereophonic Sound", but that's all.
The demo disc is great fun, with a delightfully " Cholmondeley Warner" commentary by Geoffrey Sumner. It includes an extract of Ansermet rehearsing The Rite of Spring, Edmundo Ros doing Under the Bridges of Paris, trains and racing cars, and an exterior sequence capturing the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London
I paid £18 for a very good copy a few years ago, and how it took me back!

[PJPJ]

I have not been able to trace a CD version of Argenta conducting the Symphonie Fantastique.

It's in this box:

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=148639

[umslopogaas]

#275 stunsworth. If you've got a copy, I'd hang on to it as an investment for your old age, I doubt the value is going to decrease.

#277 ferretfancy. Argenta and the 'Symphonie Fantastique'? Decca SXL 2009. In its original glory, wonderful. My copy is OK, but has a scratch (heigh ho) but its mercifully on the 'March to the Scaffold', so you hardly notice. Wonderful stuff.

An idle thought, I know nothing at all about Ataulfo Argenta. Yes, I know I could Google him, but do any posters have some knowledge of this guy? He was clearly good enough to persuade Decca to record him.

[Ferretfancy]

It's in this box:

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/...lbum_id=148639

Thanks for that, unfortunately apart from the Fantastique I seem to have all the other items on individual CDs, so it would be a big duplication!

[cloughie]

I have not been able to trace a CD version of Argenta conducting the Symphonie Fantastique. There's a tantalising excerpt on Decca's Demonstration disc " A journey into Stereophonic Sound", but that's all.
The demo disc is great fun, with a delightfully " Cholmondeley Warner" commentary by Geoffrey Sumner. It includes an extract of Ansermet rehearsing The Rite of Spring, Edmundo Ros doing Under the Bridges of Paris, trains and racing cars, and an exterior sequence capturing the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London
I paid £18 for a very good copy a few years ago, and how it took me back!

Also on this as a single disc - not the cheapest, but it was available previously on a Pickwick CD.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sym-Fant-Berlioz-Liszt/dp/B0000042EP/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1331595196&sr=1-2

[Pabmusic]

...An idle thought, I know nothing at all about Ataulfo Argenta. Yes, I know I could Google him, but do any posters have some knowledge of this guy? He was clearly good enough to persuade Decca to record him.

I'm not an expert (and, yes, I could google him too) but I'm sure he was a Spanish concert pianist who migrated to conducting. He was associated with the fascists, fighting with them in the civil war. He spent much of WW2 in Germany, returning to Spain to work with the Spanish Radio Orchestra, where he began to conduct regularly. By the time Decca was contracting continental orchestras in the 1950s, he was also an occasional conductor with Ansermet's SRO - hence the Decca contract. He died in 1958 of tuberculosis. That's about all I can recall. [But see post 284]

[jayne lee wilson]

One of my prized possessions is a Classic Records Gold Disc of Argenta/SRO doing the complete Debussy Images with the original London LP sleeve photo of a castle on it.. They really DON'T make 'em like that any more. There's also an IMG Artists/Universal collection of him in the "Great Conductors of the 20th Century" series with great transfers of Liszt's Faust Symphony and Schubert's Great C Major. What might he have achieved...

I'm not an expert (and, yes, I could google him too) but I'm sure he was a Spanish concert pianist who migrated to conducting. He was associated with the fascists, fighting with them in the civil war. He spent much of WW2 in Germany, returning to Spain to work with the Spanish Radio Orchestra, where he began to conduct regularly. By the time Decca was contracting continental orchestras in the 1950s, he was also an occasional conductor with Ansermet's SRO - hence the Decca contract. He died in 1958 of tuberculosis. That's about all I can recall.

[Pabmusic]

So I googled him (see post 282) and found that my memory was correct, except that he didn't die of TB (although he had it). He was found dead in his car of carbon monoxide poisoning, which is truly sad.

[Ferretfancy]

I'll look out for the Fantastique second hand somewhere. I listened to Espana yesterday, and very good it is, although the recording is not one of Decca's best in comparison with some of their other very early issues.