RCA, Deutsche Grammophone were the easiest to find of the major labels, following by loads of budget labels. I do have half dozen or so Philips pressings but I can't recall if they were imports or domestic pressings. The Rostropovich/Richter Beethoven sonatas is one I was clearly not happy with surface wise. An RCM was one of my best system upgrades. It made my vinyl collection tremendously more enjoyable as far as surface noise, noise floor and occasionally even transparency were concerned. I've had 4 turntables since I bought the VPI 16.5 and it remains the single best upgrade outside of speakers and room treatments. Regarding the discussion on Kyung Wha Chung, I think she is one of the world's great violinists living or dead. I don't know if she has a signature album, one of my favorites is her playing the Dvorak Violin Concerto. To me she has it all virtuosity, great tone and feeling. Last night listening was Serkin/Ormany Mendelssohn Piano Concerto 1 and 2 from the big Serkin box. Great performances, first time listen.
Thanks to @ubertrout for posting this review in the Classical Corner thread, will repost it here in case in case it wasn't, this is a review on the Serkin Complete Columbia Collection box: My Favorite Classical-Music Release of 2017 Hank Drake's Amazon review is as usual also very well written.
Phase four where two works are revisited and imho played better Grieg, E. Piano Concerto and Symphony. Bergen P.O cond. Ole K. Ruud wih Noriko Ogawa piano 2003 BIS 1191 stereo/multichannel sacd The piano concerto is pretty good but I feel Ronan O' Hora gets that bit more from it with the R.P.O especially in the first movement (Tring SBM cd/Membran sacd) although the sound stage is more 'purist' on this recording. Where everything's right on the money is the two purely Orchestral Pieces which I can't imagine being any better having heard the Jaavi on DG and I'd say the disc is worth it for them alone. The sound is very naturally balenced which is something I do care about
All my Philip LP's, regular line and budget line were pressed in Holland. Not sure if there were any US pressed Philips. If there were, I am thankful I do not own any ...
There were some. I have this one. The pressing isn't bad, but it sounds as if a lower-generation master was sent to the U.S.
In my experience the quietest vinyl I have is on albums pressed after the 90s when sales were low. I haven't bought any new vinyl since roughly 2014, I was having excellent success with new vinyl pressed at RTI, QRP, Pallas, Optimal up to that point with over 90% success rate. It seems like there are more complaints and threads about new vinyl since I stopped buying. That is spooky, I was on coopmv's quote from several pages ago when I posted that.
If I could 'like' this post more than once I would - I couldn't agree more with your assessment of Chung's virtuosity. On the subject of recordings, whilst there are others I could happily recommend, I believe that these three are utterly essential for any lover of the violin. It's worth repeating that her immortal Bach recording has recently been re-issued on vinyl in all its analogue glory. I paid the most I have ever paid for an lp for the original.
Sorry I can't see these images, I only see three IMG tags If these are Discogs image links I must have some issue on my end since only one other person has mentioned it to me. Maybe a DNS thing on my end. Can you list which Bach performances?
I've just changed all the images for you - can you see them now? The Bach is Partita No. 2 In D Minor / Sonata No. 3 In C Major, SXL 6721.
I can see them, thanks! Milstein's DG recordings are my favorite for the Bach Sonatas and Partitas. There many, many great recordings of the Tchaikovsky, Sibelius and Bruch Violin Concerto 1, all three of her performances are great! Particularly the Sibelius.
Now playing: Jean Sibelius – Symphony No.7 in C major Op.105 — Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra – Paavo Berglund (EMI / Warner Classics)
Some of you may have noticed I have been on a bit of a mission about bad packaging from record sellers. Today my faith has been somewhat restored by this epic performance from a French seller on Discogs. The cardboard sandwich was about two inches thick! And inside the bubble-wrap I find this lovely looking sealed lp - on the reverse photo you may note a majestic ‘comb-over’ of the old school for Mr Holliger …
Her Bruch has the added bonus of a fabulous Scottish Fantasia. As for the Bach, it has such power and nobility - it is certainly 'mannered' in its style (she plays it the same way live) but I find the interpretation utterly compelling, it just demands your full attention!
This Philips LP looks very different from any of my Philips LP's. I did not start buying mine until the mid to late 70's ...
Now listening to Mahler's Symphony 6 by Bernard Haitink/Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (1989 Philips recording), from this Japanese box:
@coopmv - I’m wondering if you have this Argo recording with Willcocks? It’s very special to me as it’s almost the soundtrack to my youth - it’s the kind of service I would sing near daily for a number of years, so I find it especially moving.
