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original live classical cd

roslin

roslin

pfm Member
On a whim I bought some classical cds at a record fair on Sky.
Richter Liszt "Piano Works''. RV10011 REVELATION 1996.
Recorded 5th Feb' 1958. Sounds good, was wondering if was originally recorded on valve, not harsh on the ears?

As well as a few others. I purchased Otto Klemperer conducts Beethoven Fidelio Testament SBT2 1328 2 cd.
Recorded live at Covent Garden Opera house 1961. BBC 2003, unopened cd.
Was mono,digital remastering.
Question being has anyone heard this type of recording, what is the quality going to be like? Not sure if I should just move it on and buy some vinyl.

Another unopened cd live recording is Wagner Tristan und Isolda MEL 37029 Sir Thomas Beecham, London 1937, Covent Garden Opera House.
Production Melodram Milano 1988.
Again, anyone heard this type of recording.

Carol
 
Anything recorded in 1958 / 1961 would certainly have been done on valve tape machines. The 1937 Tristan is an excellent recording for it`s time (if it`s the one I am thinking of) but I would class it more as a collectors piece, not always ideal if you expect it to sound "normal" The 78 disc recorders of the time were quite limited in frequency response.
 
roslin said:
On a whim I bought some classical cds at a record fair on Sky.
Richter Liszt "Piano Works''. RV10011 REVELATION 1996.
Recorded 5th Feb' 1958. Sounds good, was wondering if was originally recorded on valve, not harsh on the ears?

As well as a few others. I purchased Otto Klemperer conducts Beethoven Fidelio Testament SBT2 1328 2 cd.
Recorded live at Covent Garden Opera house 1961. BBC 2003, unopened cd.
Was mono,digital remastering.
Question being has anyone heard this type of recording, what is the quality going to be like? Not sure if I should just move it on and buy some vinyl.

Another unopened cd live recording is Wagner Tristan und Isolda MEL 37029 Sir Thomas Beecham, London 1937, Covent Garden Opera House.
Production Melodram Milano 1988.
Again, anyone heard this type of recording.

Carol
Click to expand...
The set list of the Richter recording looks very promising, it's probably very good except the sound quality which tended to be so-so in the USSR in the 50's. Well you can be sure that it's recorded on tubes ;-)

The Klemperer Fidelio was a very famous recording in its day, I would buy it myself if it was available for a few pounds. Klemperer tended to be slow and old-school, but what a sound.
 
Barrymagrec said:
Anything recorded in 1958 / 1961 would certainly have been done on valve tape machines. The 1937 Tristan is an excellent recording for it`s time (if it`s the one I am thinking of) but I would class it more as a collectors piece, not always ideal if you expect it to sound "normal" The 78 disc recorders of the time were quite limited in frequency response.
Click to expand...

Thanks Barry, I had thought valve recording, for 1958 Richter. Although cd it still retains that someone playing close by effect.

I think your right more a collectors piece for the 1937 Tristan 2x cd.
Rather than hearing the best vinyl play back, which is where I'm heading at the moment.

Carol
 
Cheese said:
The set list of the Richter recording looks very promising, it's probably very good except the sound quality which tended to be so-so in the USSR in the 50's. Well you can be sure that it's recorded on tubes ;-)

The Klemperer Fidelio was a very famous recording in its day, I would buy it myself if it was available for a few pounds. Klemperer tended to be slow and old-school, but what a sound.
Click to expand...

Thanks cheese,

I may put these up for sale rather than rip them open just to find out I would rather have something on vinyl. The unopened 2 cd Klemperer Testament will probably go for around £8 plus postage.
It's a waste to have them sitting there unopened taking up space.

Carol
 
Well, you'd probably get good money for the Richter. It was, as far as I remember, the only time it appeared on CD, and is, IMHO, Richter at his best. I'm also fairly sure it never appeared on Vinyl.

To be honest, your post(s) are rather confusing. Why did you buy the CDs if you weren't that interested in hearing them? On the off chance that they'd been recorded on valves?

By the way, Testament are a legitimate company, who pay the copyright owners for the use of the tapes, and have been responsible for unearthing many treasures, the most exceptional probably still being this:
http://www.testament.co.uk/shop/product/sbt4175.aspx
Revelation and Melodram were both rip-off artists, but still released a lot of great stuff, though sometimes the sources were a tad suspicious.
 
lennyw said:
Well, you'd probably get good money for the Richter. It was, as far as I remember, the only time it appeared on CD, and is, IMHO, Richter at his best. I'm also fairly sure it never appeared on Vinyl.

To be honest, your post(s) are rather confusing. Why did you buy the CDs if you weren't that interested in hearing them? On the off chance that they'd been recorded on valves?

By the way, Testament are a legitimate company, who pay the copyright owners for the use of the tapes, and have been responsible for unearthing many treasures, the most exceptional probably still being this:
http://www.testament.co.uk/shop/product/sbt4175.aspx
Revelation and Melodram were both rip-off artists, but still released a lot of great stuff, though sometimes the sources were a tad suspicious.
Click to expand...

Hi Lennyw,

Thats unfortunate about Richter not being on vinyl, it would lift it to a whole new other...

The cd's were bought, unexpectedly after a trip to St Kilda, Barra, Harris, Uist etc. On the way home. If I remember right, there was a book fair on at the Aros centre, Sky, July last year. So it was not actually a record fair.
Somehow, I ended up looking at the cd's.
I think the idea was to listen to what they sounded like, being older cd's recorded live.
Had bought a Danish Thorhauge 8 valve amp a few months earlier, to go with my Tannoy hpd 385. So, curiosity I guess.

Then I got side tracked on my Garrard 401, the quest changed to vinyl.


Garrard 401, Schick arm, Pollock plinth. Most of all Sound! by roslin999, on Flickr

Right now I'm enjoying PJ Harvey "Let England Shake". It's more about production orientated on vinyl right now...

Carol
 
Revelation and Melodram were both rip-off artists, but still released a lot of great stuff, though sometimes the sources were a tad suspicious.

It looks like the Melodram, Tristan und Isolde copy I have was bought in Harold Moores Records tel 01 437 1576 is on the original price label, cost then, still clearly visible.
I'm wondering now, when this would have been bought originally.
CD manufactured in Switzerland by Tecval Memories, made in Italy.
 
roslin said:
It looks like the Melodram, Tristan und Isolde copy I have was bought in Harold Moores Records tel 01 437 1576 is on the original price label, cost then, still clearly visible.
I'm wondering now, when this would have been bought originally.
Click to expand...

'01' dialling codes for London ceased in May 1990 so allowing for the fact it may have sat on a shelf for a while and the retailer used his existing stock of price labels, I'd guess any time before '91.

[edit]

They're still trading

http://www.hmrecords.co.uk
 
Carol,

If you’re looking for very good analogue recordings of classical music on vinyl, there’s a lot to choose from! Here are some ideas which imho are both well recorded & pressed, and which are also exceptional performances – you may know many of these already;

Wagner – for Tristan und Isolde, either the Bernstein or the Kleiber recordings. You might also be interested in the classic Knappertsbusch 1962 recording of Parsifal from Bayreuth. In general, I’d avoid older historical recordings, unless you’ve got a particular interest in a certain conductor or singers.

Liszt – try to find a vinyl set of ‘Années de pèlerinage’, by either Jorge Bolet or Lazar Berman.

Bach – try to find a set of Richter’s recording of both books of the Well-Tempered Klavier – this is one of my favourite recordings of the piano.

Bruckner – most of the Jochum recordings are from the late 50s / early 60s, and have a sense of immense depth and inexorable progress. (I was listening to the 5th yesterday, which was recorded in 1958, and it sounded better than a recording I made from French FM radio last year).

Mahler – look for either Horenstein (3rd and 6th), Szell (4th and 6th), Kubelik (7th), Barbirolli (5th), Klemperer (2nd) and Ancerl (1st & 9th). All truly outstanding, and most of these were recorded before it became de rigeur to conduct Mahler.

Beethoven – there are several sets of the string quartets from the 60 / 70s which are all worth tracking down – Melos, Amadeus and Vegh come to mind.

Bartók – Juilliard’s 1966 set of the string quartets. I keep returning to these, and other Juilliard Quartet recordings.

Shostakovich – the Borodin’s first set of the string quartets on EMI / Melodiya is consistently excellent and dynamic, like fresh blini with caviar and a vodka chaser. Also look for Roger Woodward’s recording of 24 Preludes and Fugues (opus 87).

Have fun,

 T
 
Tantris,

Thanks for this list. It will save costly trial and error. Not that this is entirely wrong, as I think the experience of listening to Liszt "Piano Works" live, on cd has given me an idea of what to expect from this type of recording.
After a few listenings it draws you in to the the event, as it was...You find yourself drawn in to the atmosphere of the time, with this recording.
I'm almost certain, he had more than ten fingers?
Can work through your recommendations as I have copied and saved this, much appreciated!

Carol
 
I have recently listened to this recording with the Luxman integrated amp.
The sound has changed dramatically in a positive way.
I think the solid state of set up enhances this to a whole new other.
Lifted it to enhance the natural beauty of the music.
My conclusion is listening to it on the Thorhauge valve amp was too much valve on valve, due to it being recorded on valve this had detracted the over all sound.

There is more coughing than I had previously heard, however the overall improvements outweigh this. :).
 
Er... I hate to point this out, but they didn't use valves 'for the sound' back then, they used them because that's all there was, when something better arrived, (transistors) they dumped the valves like radioactive waste!

I was told this by one of Deccas top engineers when I asked his opinion on modern hi-fi valve amps...
 
Basil,

Aye, its a fact.

There is still something beautiful about the sound of valves though...
There are so many variables in recordings.
From the 50s to today even, just when you think it's perfect you change your vinyl or cd to find it needs something to substitute something or other.

Might as well plug some original 1960 vinyl I'm selling in the pfm right now, again recorded with valves live. Karajan, mono. For those who appreciate this type of recording.
 
roslin said:
Basil,

Aye, its a fact.

There is still something beautiful about the sound of valves though...
There are so many variables in recordings.
From the 50s to today even, just when you think it's perfect you change your vinyl or cd to find it needs something to substitute something or other.

Might as well plug some original 1960 vinyl I'm selling in the pfm right now, again recorded with valves live. Karajan, mono. For those who appreciate this type of recording.
Click to expand...

The main reason stuff recorded back then often sounded so good is they didn't shove the microphones inside the piano lid or inside the violin!

Whoever invented close micing needs to have several inserted very closely into themselves!

That and they took and were allowed a lot more time to do the recording in the first place.
 
Oh, one more thing, the recording equipment plays no part in the creative process, it just records.

The one exception is guitar amps.

But do you really want a strad to sound like a strat?
 
Barrymagrec said:
Absolutely, it`s not duff modern equipment that makes duff modern recordings, it`s duff modern recording practice.
Click to expand...

True, its all about time & money. Not quality.

I love the quality of the band "Low" recordings, analogue, analogue, analogue. Mostly 180 gram. Highlighting there was no digital mastering in the process.
 
roslin,

Can you play flac files though the main hi-fi? I can do ALAC too! Bas has gone Mac?

I have some modern 'digital' recordings that'll change your mind!

Be happy to up-load a sample if you can play them?
 
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