Josef Krips Brahms

[formbyman]

If you are prepared to download the Krips recording of Don Giovanni,then it can be obtained from Classical Music Mobile for one Euro,the bit rate being 192,but i find the sound is good ,especially if you play it back through good equipment and decent headphones.At one Euro its worth a listen and it is a legal site.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Presumably there will be high resolution Universal download at some stage?

[Basil]

Thanks umslopogaas,

I'll give those two shops a try in the new year, I'm in the south east.

Krips recorded a few Mozart symphonies for Philips with the Concertgebouw.

I also have the two Schubert symphonies Nos.8 & 9 on Decca's 'Classic Sound' CD.

[umslopogaas]

M15 Gordon

Thanks for jogging my memory about the Searle recording. In fact, I've got the LP (SRCS 72), but had forgotten that Krips conducted the second symphony. Boult conducts the first on the other side: very odd. The sleeve notes are detailed, as usual with Lyrita, but dont give any clues why they shared out the works among two conductors.

Rare it certainly is, mine is the only copy I've ever seen. Alas however, it isnt worth much: my price guide from 2006 suggests fifteen quid, but I think you'd be lucky to get that these days. The only Lyrita that attracts big money on ebay is SRCS 109 of Malcolm Arnold's English, Scottish and Cornish Dances. That one is on the TAS list and usually fetches fifty to eighty quid.

[Pianorak]

my price guide

What price guide might that be, please. As I started collecting recordings decades ago (first LPs, then tapes, now CDs) I'm wondering if there are LPs among them worth a small or even large fortune. Not holding my breath though.

[Karafan]

Would this help at all Basil?

http://www.eavb.co.uk/lp/extrakrips.html

1 & 4 to download?

Bws,
Karafan

[umslopogaas]

M20 pianorak

Rare Classical Record Price Guide 2006

"A comprehensive list of collectable classical records and their values"

Edited by Barry Browne. Published by Sylverwood Publishing, PO Box 315, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ 12 4 BT.

This is a revised and expanded version of the 2004 edition, but I havent heard of one since, so I fear they may have folded up. It lists:

Decca mono LXT
Decca stereo 2000 SXL
Decca stereo 6000 SXL
Decca sets SET

Lyrita stereo SRCS (not the first 30 mono only RCS)

RCA stereo 2000 SB
RCA stereo 6000 SB

HMV mono ALP
HMV 3 digit stereo ASD
HMV 4 digit stereo ASD
HMV sets SLS
HMV Angel SAN

Mercury AMS

Columbia mono 33CX
Columbia stereo SAX

All 12 inch, it doesnt list any of the 10 inch ones.

I suspect its out of print, but if there's anything you'd like me to look up for you, just post the numbers.

The best current guide is the prices being bid on ebay. I spend quite a lot of time cruising round there, though I have never bought or sold.

One recent astonishing number was the bidding for Columbia SAX 2566 Bizet Carmen and L'Arlesienne Suites, cond. Andre Cluytens. There had been one bid of £500, but it may have gone even higher, I didnt see the end. The Guide suggests £300, so there'll be a happy seller out there somewhere!

Oh b****y hell, its snowing AGAIN. I'm getting really fed up with shovelling snow off the drive!

[Pianorak]

umslopogaas: Many thanks for your reply. Yep - snowing again. B****er the snow - shall go through my LPs and shall discover - lots of flying pigs no doubt!

[Ferretfancy]

I don't know about the original SXLs, but I have just listened to Act I of the Krips Don Giovanni on my three LP Ace of Diamonds set. I will still keep it for the cast, but on my equipment the sound leaves something to be desired, with the voices very close and a rather scrawny top. I should say that LPs generally often sound superb, so it's not my gear. The Decca team were still working to get the stereo illusion right at the time the set was made. Funnily enough the Erede set of Turandot which must be one of the earliest stereo operas ( 1955 ) sounds very good in its CD reissue.

[Gordon]

.... Ace of Diamonds set. I will still keep it for the cast, but on my equipment the sound leaves something to be desired, with the voices very close and a rather scrawny top. I should say that LPs generally often sound superb, so it's not my gear. The Decca team were still working to get the stereo illusion right at the time the set was made.

Yes this was very early days for stereo and for opera recording in particular and so one should not expect perfection.

The following might help you find out how early in the pressing sequence your discs were made. Ace of Diamonds discs were not necessarily recut in new masters and stampers, the original cut master might well have been used for the reissue. So it's possible that your discs are pretty close to the original issues.

Look in the centre area of the disc near the run-out grooves. There you'll find the stereo matrix number number for that disc - format ZALxxxx - followed by number.letter - the number of the lacquer generation and the letter following the cutting engineer ID. If they are mono [and some ECS were reissued in mono] the matrix will be ARLxxxx. I have several Ansermet stereo LPs in AoD and they have very low stamper numbers [implying not many first issue SXL discs were made].

Also in this run-out area of the disc but away from the matrix number you will find a single letter on its own from the sequence BUCKINGHAM. This is the sequence of stampers, B being first and M last. So if your disc is stamped ZALxxxx1.E and B then it is made from the very first set of matrices and stampers these would normally be the SXLs. If ZALxxxx.3.W and letter C then the disc was recut [by W not E] and the 3rd matrix was used to press and a stamper 2 generations [B, U , C...] down. A disc that has sold very well will clearly go a long way down the master and stamper sequence and may be recut by different engineers. I have some discs whose sides have been cut by different engineers. I don't know if there wasa fixed rule about how many discs were pressed from a given stamper or matrix.

[Pianorak]

M22
umslopogaas

I've only made a start, and as expected there's an awful lot of World of Music, Saga, Classics for Pleasure and such, reflecting the financial situation of my younger years. However, there are a few which fall into the categories you mentioned:
Decca mono LXT 6261 Closing scenes Salome & Goetterdaemmerung (Solti - Nilsson - Vienna Philharmonic)
Decca mono LXT 6042 Kirsten Flagstad "In Memoriam" (both presents from John Culshaw)

Columbia 33CX 1404 Songs you Love Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Gerald Moore
Columbia 33CX 1909 Liszt/Bartok - Charles Rosen

Rather pleased to have rediscovered: Julius Isserlis playing Scriabin 24 preludes op 11 on Delta (I believe he was the father of Steven Isserlis).
Peter Katin Recital on Decca eclipse (Bach, Scarlatti, Schumann, Chopin, Brahms, Rachmaninov).

Ah well, I'll soldier on and see what else there is.

[umslopogaas]

M22 Pianorak


I'll get back on this, I promise. I had a huge list ready to send, full of incredibly boring detail, and then lost it somewhere in my clumsy-fingered typing. But I shall return!

Or at least, I might, if you wish ... it was a lot of faff, getting all those numbers together ...

Too busy listening to records, thats the problem. At the moment, The Amadeus Quartet playing Beehoven no. 133 'Grosse Fugue'. Is there anything in the world more special?

[umslopogaas]

M22 pianorak

Sorry for the delay: had a drink, got diverted listening to records and went to bed.

LXT 6261 The stereo would be worth around £15, but this is mono: zilch I'm afraid.
LXT 6042 £35 for the stereo, but nothing for the mono.

Mind you, as inscribed with John Culshaw's signature, they are a memento worth keeping.

33CX 1404 this is the mono of SAX 2265. The Guide suggests £85 for the stereo, maybe £5 for the mono.
33CX 1909 this is interesting, its not in The Guide! Rosen made several stereo Columbia recordings, they fetch around £30, but neither this mono nor its stereo equivalent are listed. I'm sure I used to have the stereo, but maddeningly as so often happens with recordings you dimly remember, when I went to look for it I discovered I dont have it any longer. Given that there is a stereo (if my memory is sound), not much for the mono, though it has curiosity value: no idea really, maybe £10?

Keep going, it sounds as if you have an interesting collection. I do keep a watch on ebay for labels not listed in The Guide as well, eg Supraphon, so anything that stirs your curiosity, do ask (Supraphon has a wealth of very interesting music, but surfaces tend to be a bit noisy: they dont fetch much of a price, but are well worth investigating for the music and performances).

[Pianorak]

M22 pianorak

Sorry for the delay

Please don't apologise. There's absolutely no rush for any of this. However, I'm glad I have now made a start looking through the old LPs. Yes, I do have some Supraphone, Ace of Clubs and other "minor" labels. The Decca LPs are not inscribed, but his "Ring Resounding" has a personal inscription (but obviously not for sale). Anyway, once I have gone through the other LPs I'll report back!

[Pianorak]

umslopogaas:

Looks as if graceful retirement to the Caribbeans will have to wait a bit longer!

Decca SXL 6822 Respighi, Cleveland and Maazel
Wagner: Parsifal SET 5504 (Rheingold and Walkuere are MET sets)

Seem to have a lot of Turnabout incl. complete Prokofiev symphonies, cond. Jean Martinon
Beethoven String Quartets op. 18 and the late set with the Amadeus Quartett. (DG Privilege)
Quite a trip down Memory Lane:
Livia Rev playing Liszt and Schumann (Saga)
Wyn Morris conducting Symphonica of London in Mahler "Symphony of a Thousand" (I.W.R. Recording)
Ian Partridge in Schumann's Dichterliebe (still one of my favourites) (Classics for Pleasure)
Erno Szegedi playing late Liszt (Hungaroton)
Gilels: 2 Brahms Concertos, with Eugen Jochum and Berliner Philharmoniker (DG Privilege)
S. Richter at Carnegie Hall (all-Debussy), Oct 1960 (CBS)

Possibly more later.