Best Grieg/Schumann recording?

[PJPJ]

I did have the Eclipse LP, but no longer, and I'm pretty sure it was electronic stereo, as was Kna's Bruckner 5, both later released in real stereo when the stereo tapes turned up. I cannot find a stereo release of Winifred Atwell's Grieg PC, and it may be the tape is lost.

[Barbirollians]

The Lipatti/Ansermet is an amazing performance especially as apparently Lipatti dragged himself out of his sickbed with a high temperature to play it

[Sir Monty Golfear]

Gordon

Gordon
Decca's first ever stereo recording was Rimsky Korsakov's Antar, made in the Victoria Hall Geneva with Ansermet and the Suisse Romande on 12th /13th May 1954
The engineer was Roy Wallace, and the performance can be found on CD with fascinating background notes about the sessions. I'm not sure if the mono was issued on LXT, but the recording did did appear on vinyl coupled with The Golden Cockerel on an Eclipse LP. I don't know whether this was stereo or elecronically enhanced mono.

Listening to the CD,which is on Decca Legends, it still sounds remarkably good. Ansermet was said to have remarked that it like being there, and of course it is very close sound, but impressive still with a convincing stereo spread. The performance has been rivalled, but not beaten.

Did decca use RCA cutting gear under licence for this ?

[Ferretfancy]

Did decca use RCA cutting gear under licence for this ?

I'm not sure about the cutting gear, which would of course have been used to make masters much later than the original 1954 tape recording. The tape machine was made by Westrex. Stereo discs did not become available until 1958, although I did hear a demonstration at an audio fair in 1956 0r 1957. This used hill and dale and lateral.

The first stereo discs using the agreed 45/45 groove configuration were issued by Pye, and the first batch were produced with the channels out of phase. Pye had jumped the gun by a month or so, but it was the first Decca and RCA releases that made the impact. There was quite a rush to produce suitable pickup cartridges at a reasonable cost, such as the ceramics from Acos and superior moving iron models from Tannoy and others.
Happy Days !

[Sir Monty Golfear]

I'm not sure about the cutting gear, which would of course have been used to make masters much later than the original 1954 tape recording. The tape machine was made by Westrex. Stereo discs did not become available until 1958, although I did hear a demonstration at an audio fair in 1956 0r 1957. This used hill and dale and lateral.

The first stereo discs using the agreed 45/45 groove configuration were issued by Pye, and the first batch were produced with the channels out of phase. Pye had jumped the gun by a month or so, but it was the first Decca and RCA releases that made the impact. There was quite a rush to produce suitable pickup cartridges at a reasonable cost, such as the ceramics from Acos and superior moving iron models from Tannoy and others.
Happy Days !

Very interesting !. I read that some early recordings of Sir Alexander Gibson and the New Symphony orchestra of London where recorded by RCA and Licensed to Decca....I think one disc had the Orchestral Version of Liszt's Mephisto Waltz on it. I think it was because RCA had already got micro groove cutters, and Decca hadn't at that time.

[verismissimo]

Decca's first ever stereo recording was Rimsky Korsakov's Antar, made in the Victoria Hall Geneva with Ansermet and the Suisse Romande on 12th /13th May 1954
The engineer was Roy Wallace, and the performance can be found on CD with fascinating background notes about the sessions. I'm not sure if the mono was issued on LXT, but the recording did did appear on vinyl coupled with The Golden Cockerel on an Eclipse LP. I don't know whether this was stereo or elecronically enhanced mono.

Listening to the CD,which is on Decca Legends, it still sounds remarkably good. Ansermet was said to have remarked that it like being there, and of course it is very close sound, but impressive still with a convincing stereo spread. The performance has been rivalled, but not beaten.

I have that recording on a Decca 10 inch LP, LW 5326. Seems to be in mono. Wonderful performance.

[Pianorak]

Re the Schumann PC: A bit surprised that no one has mentioned the Gieseking recording with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by von Karajan. Have just given my old Columbia LP (33C 1033) another outing - an excellent performance IMV.

[amateur51]

Re the Schumann PC: A bit surprised that no one has mentioned the Gieseking recording with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by von Karajan. Have just given my old Columbia LP (33C 1033) another outing - an excellent performance IMV.

I have heard several Giesking recordings of the Schumann over the years and have always found his playing to be conversatiional, give & take with the orchestra, rather attractive.

I hope that your re-listening provides the pleasure that you're anticipating, Pianorak

[Sir Monty Golfear]

Re the Schumann PC: A bit surprised that no one has mentioned the Gieseking recording with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by von Karajan. Have just given my old Columbia LP (33C 1033) another outing - an excellent performance IMV.

I believe EMI remastered this recording and issued it on cd. May well be still available.

[Barbirollians]

I believe EMI remastered this recording and issued it on cd. May well be still available.

I see MM in Gramophone did not like it back in 1954 saying he skated over the surface of the concerto and much preferred Lipatti and Kempff.

[Ferretfancy]

Very interesting !. I read that some early recordings of Sir Alexander Gibson and the New Symphony orchestra of London where recorded by RCA and Licensed to Decca....I think one disc had the Orchestral Version of Liszt's Mephisto Waltz on it. I think it was because RCA had already got micro groove cutters, and Decca hadn't at that time.

Sir Monty,
It was slightly the other way round. The originals were recorded by Decca engineers and issued on the RCA label, with Decca re-issuing them later on their own label. A good example is the superb Pierre Monteux version of the Enigma variations. I used to know an older disc cutting engineer who worked at the Hampstead studios, and he told me that the the RCA LPs were cut from tapes that had been given a frequency boost at about 7k because that's what the Americans liked.

Alexander Gibson's Mephisto Waltz was another good example from a disc called Witch's Brew, again released later on Decca World Of. This is a famous disc loved by audiophiles, and I once saw a mint copy on offer for £200 !

We have to thank "Wilkie", Kenneth Wilkinson of Decca for many of these records, including the marvellous recordings he made for Reader's Digest.

[umslopogaas]

#56 Ferretfancy. 'Witches' Brew' (RCA SB 2020) is indeed an audiophile treasure, but it is very hard to predict what you would have to pay for a copy these days. I used to keep notes on prices achieved on ebay and back in 2009 there were three sold, at £71, £254 and £150. The 2006 Price Guide to Rare Classical Records (I wish they'd update it) says £225. These days the market for classical vinyl is in decline, the old generation (like me) is dying out and the next lot arent interested in vinyl. I'm going to will mine to my nephew, with the warning that if he wants to sell it he had better be quick, because soon there'll be no-one left to buy it.

Its a wonderful record, must get it out and give it a play.

[Sir Monty Golfear]

Sir Monty,
It was slightly the other way round. The originals were recorded by Decca engineers and issued on the RCA label, with Decca re-issuing them later on their own label. A good example is the superb Pierre Monteux version of the Enigma variations. I used to know an older disc cutting engineer who worked at the Hampstead studios, and he told me that the the RCA LPs were cut from tapes that had been given a frequency boost at about 7k because that's what the Americans liked.

Alexander Gibson's Mephisto Waltz was another good example from a disc called Witch's Brew, again released later on Decca World Of. This is a famous disc loved by audiophiles, and I once saw a mint copy on offer for £200 !

We have to thank "Wilkie", Kenneth Wilkinson of Decca for many of these records, including the marvellous recordings he made for Reader's Digest.

Thanks for the reply, I knew I was on the right lines, but as you kindly pointed out , it was he other way round!.

Yes I had a copy on the Decca world of series. I to have seen the original witches brew record going for good money online.
My first versions of Rachmaninov piano concertos 1&2 were Peter Katin On the World of series too.

Kenneth Wilkinson gave us some splendid classic recordings. The Readers Digest / World Record Club set of Rachmaninov concertos with Earl Wild , Jascha Horenstein and the RPO still rate amongst my favourites for recording quality and performance. There is something very special about them.

[Ferretfancy]

Sir Monty
I picked up a mint condition box of the Reader's Digest LPs in the Oxfam shop in Marylebone - £4 for 6 discs! The title was Classical Piano Magic, and it includes other great Earl Wild performances, including Franck's Symphonic Variations, Pictures at an Exhibition, the Dohnanyi Nursery Variations and many more. The set only includes Rachmaninov 2 & 4, both conducted by Horenstein.
This was my best bargain of 2011!

[Sir Monty Golfear]

Sir Monty
I picked up a mint condition box of the Reader's Digest LPs in the Oxfam shop in Marylebone - £4 for 6 discs! The title was Classical Piano Magic, and it includes other great Earl Wild performances, including Franck's Symphonic Variations, Pictures at an Exhibition, the Dohnanyi Nursery Variations and many more. The set only includes Rachmaninov 2 & 4, both conducted by Horenstein.
This was my best bargain of 2011!

Hi Ferretfancy,

That was a real steal! ...great that it was mint too!.

I didn't know that Earl Wild had recorded the pictures. What a great pianist he was.


Hi Fe