jpc writes: Eugene Ormandy & Philadelphia Orchestra - The Columbia Legacy (Mono-Recordings) Label: Sony, ADD/m, 1944-1959 Bestellnummer: 10394239 Erscheinungstermin: 9.4.2021 I don't know what's right either.
I got my replacement Karl Richter box yesterday but was out late, so didn't have much time to go through it. The only disc I've put on so far is the Bradenbergs. he chooses quite a fastctempo compared to the sets I already have (Pinnock and Suzuki) and opts for a very short 3.ii movement - just 52 seconds. Pinnocks is 33s, Suzuki drops in a piece from another work to make a 4:28 running time. I'll listen to the Mass in B minor next, and see how that compares to JEG and Suzuki. A point about packaging - They used some original covers, but the discs are grouped into sets of 3-6 discs with the same front cover for each disc. The back cover is plain white with brief titles of works. eg the two sets of the Mass in B minor use one cover for all for all four discs. The Brandenburgs and Orchestral Suites use the same cover across three discs. I'm not good at posting my own photos but if I work it out I'll put some up.
Maybe for Christmas! I may have made a dent in my K Richter box by then. Seriously looking forward to seeing what's in this.
I have a few of the recordings in the box and I can say with certainty that they are in stereo. Examples: Saint Saens Symphony No 3 with Biggs, Tchaikovsky Symphony 4, The Nutcrucker, etc. Columbia was late in adapting stereo, specifically the first stereo releases by Columbia were in 1958 although I believe that they started recording in 1956. This the reason that most of these recordings in the box are in mono but for sure there are quite a few stereos among them.
With regarding Richter, has anybody had the opportunity to compare the remasterings of these 2000 and 2010 releases below?
Even though I’m not interested in having the Perlman box, I’m dying to know if anyone actually gets one for that insane price!
I’m almost 57 and recognize that I myself will go OOP before I listen to all of my CDs. My purchase rate has slowed down and probably will continue to do so. But there are very few instances where I bought a box because I wanted to, or expected to, listen to every CD. I often go on listening streaks- artist, composition, composer, genre- and I don’t know when or what the next one will be. The low per-CD cost of these boxes makes it more affordable to listen to music that way. Streaming very well may be in the future for me, though I do like the physical product and am not yet set up for hi-if listening of streaming services.
I never even thought of getting the Perlman box but I do end up having some of his recordings via other big boxes.
Unfortunately, I don't think this proves there are any stereo recordings in the Ormandy box. The box has two recordings of Tchaikovsky Symphony #4, and these presumably are the two mono recordings that Ormandy made of the symphony for Columbia (in 1947 and 1953 - he made a third recording in stereo for Columbia in 1963). The box has one recording of The Nutcracker, which is presumably the mono recording from 1953 (Ormandy also made a stereo recording of excerpts for Columbia in 1963). The box has one recording of the Saint-Saens Symphony 3 with Biggs on the organ, but Ormandy actually made two recordings of this piece for Columbia, both with Biggs! The first was a mono recording in 1956, which is presumably the recording contained in the box. The second recording was the stereo recording made in 1962. There's a useful Ormandy discography here: Discography of Eugene Ormandy (1899-1985)
I did some cross checking with titles visible on the Amazon listing and Discogs (which is far from complete in the classical universe). The new box seems to stop around 1958, and many of the later titles were recorded in the early '50s, surely NOT stereo. In fact, I could not find a single title in the Amazon photo which is listed as a Columbia MS (stereo) recording. That, and the JPC parenthetical statement in the title (Mono Recordings) seems to indicate this does NOT contain stereo versions. As I posted earlier, I've read elsewhere that a stereo box is also in the works... I probably won't get this box, but not because it isn't stereo, that doesn't bother me in the least. Just not interested so much in the content! Especially at the asking price. If it shows up for $13 at some point, I'll grab it! Ha!!!!
I am too, but I guess, one way or another, we'll know more in a couple of days. If even one of us gets it, that's a win.
@HistPerf and @sambamaster you are probably right. I was not aware of the two different recordings of Saint Sans with Biggs and I thought that the one in the box was the one that I have on LP which is in stereo. Same for the Tchaikovsky 4 and the Nutcracker. I wonder why Sony did not name the box more appropriately, like Ormandy the Mono Legacy or something like that. Maybe their marketing department thought that it is better not to mention the word “mono” in order to attract more buyers, who knows.....
For sure there are recordings made both in mono and stereo. This box will include only the mono ones AFAIK.
I wouldn't be so sure. On jpc it is expressly written that these are mono recordings and the year of recording, which is shown in the track index, leaves no room for doubt. It should also be said that Sony has recently managed to do wonderful things with old mono recordings, such as the Reiner Columbia box set!
You may own Ormandy Philadelphia Columbia recordings of the same COMPOSITIONS as the those found in the Legacy box, but if the recordings you own are STEREO they are surely NOT the same recordings as the recordings in the Legacy box. Check the recording dates on YOUR media (LP, CD, tape). There are for example mono (1956) and stereo (1962) recordings of the Saint Sëans Symphony No. 3 with Ormandy, Philadelphia, and E. Power Biggs. The Legacy box has ZERO stereo recordings, period. There may be some instances where recordings made during the early days of stereo were issued on both mono and stereo LPs. I have not heard any instances though where the mono versions of those recordings are included. Sony has not, to my knowledge, in any of their Complete Album collections issued both the mono and stereo versions of the same recording when then LP versions of the same recording were released in both mono and stereo; in all previous Complete Album collections they have only included the stereo version. The Legacy box is just the first of several Sony produced Ormandy mega boxes. Another will surely be just like the Legacy box in design and contain only the complete Columbia Stereo recordings. Then there will be one or more boxes with the RCA recordings.
Well, mine just got posted. There's a tracking number, but they didn't mention which service they used (starts with RRD), but they definitely sent something.
Or the mono recordings in the Munch set. Basically all the Sony conductor sets - one can not go wrong with any of these, if still available.
Sorry everybody, I jumped the gun in my conclusion that there are some stereo recordings in the Ormandy set, it seems that this is not the case after all. I guess that was what I really wanted to happen and I was too hasty to think it might be true. I am still interested in the box anyway.
Given the apparent shipping weight, I feel confident that you’re all being shipped the single-disc sampler. (Not looking to rain on your parade here—just trying help people who haven’t decided yet and maybe haven’t fully digested all the posts...)
Does anyone have thoughts/reviews/recommendations regarding the recent 40-CD box from Eduard van Beinum? SC823 40CD - Eduard van Beinum, The Art of
