Columbia SAX 2395
Haydn: Symphonies No. 98 in B flat, No. 101 in D major "The Clock"
Philharmonia Orchestra
Otto Klemperer, conductor
Pressing: UK, ER2
Stampers: YAX 515-9, YAX 516-9
Performance: 8/10
Sound: 7/10
Comments: As you can see from the picture, this is a late red label pressing with the magic notes logo in the postage stamp box. I'm not sure if these records were pressed using valve equipment, but from what I've read on the internet, they may not have been. You can generally find these pressings for a fraction of the price of a first or even second pressing. Sound quality, in my opinion, is still quite good, and you might not even be able to tell a significant difference between these pressings and a semi-circle label pressing. Then again, if you're just trying to get a vinyl copy of a rather valuable album, you might just want to pick up one of these for less until you can get a good deal on an earlier pressing. I wanted to be impressed with this particular album but have to say that I wasn't. It might just be the quality of my copy. Klemperer is not the name you usually associate with great Haydn interpreters, but he's actually not that bad. Tempos are not leaden like in some of his later Beethoven and are reasonably brisk. Textures are clear. I'd say that these performances are enjoyable, though you might get a little more excitement out of listening to Sir Colin Davis and the Royal Concertgebouw on Philips.
For the record, I'd like to say that I love, love, love my postage stamp SAX 2389 Karajan, Handel Water Music. A great and unique sounding recording and performance.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if these postage stamp Columbia pressings are literally just made from the original blue and silver mothers/plates. With EMI postage stamps this is absolutely not the case. The SAX postage stamp pressings do not sound like their EMI brethren. Postage stamp pressing of SAX 2570, Beethoven Overtures, does not have the greatest sound (I bet original second label sounds the same). ASD 2561, Beethoven 2nd Sym and Overtures sounds much better with tremendous bass. These two LPs share the same recording of the Prometheus Overture. The sound is closer here, but the color stamp ASD gives a more vivid, defined, and punchier sound. I firmly believe at this point that the Columbia SAX (add EMI SAN to this) pressings are completely different from the ASD series. They may say EMI, but sonically these Columbia's are like a completely independent label. My weak hypothesis is that Columibia did not remaster when issuing the later pressings. This makes sense as I am sure the demise of Columbia was in the works for years, so they were under budget constraints (no modern cutting equipment, or no remastering, or both).
Similarly, I have a postage stamp pressing of Klemperer conducting Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream (SAX 2393). I also have the 2nd label, and both sound very nice, so just because the record was not pressed using tube equipment, it still sounds great.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Columbia postage stamp pressings were probably pressed using the original mothers/plates. They have the same stampers numbers (YAX ...). I believe I read somewhere that the main difference is the equipment used to make the pressings.
I happen to have the first label pressing of SAX 2570, and my pressing also does not sound phenomenal. It's good but not great. In fact, I think that the CD reissue might sound better. Interestingly, I have the EMI boxed set of Klemperer conducting Mozart's symphonies, overtures, etc. These are all EMI postage stamp pressings (black and white) and they are all enjoyable.
Interesting. If you reuse plates or unused plates from the original mother, then their would not be a big difference in sound as no change is occurring in the recording chain electronics. Different vinyl and different thicknesses will sound different. I have a test pressing from a friend's recent LP and await my 180 gram version. There is also a 150 gram. I may try to convince him in the name of science to play a variety of these pressings to see if the gap between the first and last records made is significant.
ReplyDeleteWe seem to have similar views on the same recordings. I noted your poor sound rating of the Gilels Emperor (SAX 2252). Perhaps they did reuse stampers. If this theory is correct then the late reds (sax stamp) of earlier SAX would be valve, so your SAX 2393 LP's would be valve based and should sound very similar. If so, then I'd also say that earlier SAX labels of the same LP still have a better chance of sounding slightly better, but no way to know without listening to the two LP's.
I've looked at that Mozart box and it would be interesting. That would be a late B&W postage stamp with I expect some dryness to the sound that might work very well with Mozart. I need a great LP of the little G Minor (25). Do you have the SAX of the minor symphonies? It appears not to be the same recording as the later Klemperer rendition. I love 25 in Amadeus, but have so few LP's of it. Marriner is not doing it for me.