EMI ASD 289 Kurtz's Nutcracker Suite, A Reference Recording
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Suite from the Ballet)
Efrem Kurtz, conductor
Philharmonia Orchestra
Pressing: EW1 (white/gold)
Date first published: 1958
Stampers:
2YEA 81-1
2YEA 82-2
Performance: 10/10
Sound: 9/10
Price range: $26-201, mean $62 on popsike
Comments: There are dozens of recordings of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, both in its ballet entirety as well as in its suite form, both on vinyl and on CD, but this recording with Efrem Kurtz directing the Philharmonia is my favorite. Kurtz, Russian-born but later a naturalized American, was a great interpreter of Russian music (recorded Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Rimsky-Korsakov, Khachaturian, and Kabalevsky on EMI), and his performances of the Tchaikovsky ballets on EMI/HMV have always been well regarded. As I stated in an earlier post (http://milestomozart.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-4-ks-of-emi.html), some of the finest sounding early EMI stereo records were those made by Kurtz (one of the 4 K's) and the Philharmonia. In my opinion, this is one of them.
Since I purchased this album more than 10 years ago, I have always been impressed with the warm, analog tube sound of this recording. Recorded in 1958 in Kingsway Hall, you can really appreciate the famed acoustics of this venue. Each time I listen I feel like I'm sitting midway back in the concert hall. There is plenty of air surrounding the orchestra: just listen to the trumpets as they sound the opening notes of the Marche on side 1. The soundstage is reasonably wide but more noticeably deep. Orchestral balance is excellent. Dynamic range is wide, and the minimal surface noise also allows you to appreciate the detail of the recording in softer musical passages.
The beauty is that this record is pretty common, so you shouldn't have a hard time locating a copy on either Ebay or from a dealer in the UK. Even the white and gold label first pressing can be purchased for less than some of the more expensive ASDs, which, in my opinion, actually don't sound as good (see price range above). I have not heard the semi-circle second label pressing, but I would wager that it wouldn't leave much to be desired. I believe that my co-blogger Meles has recently purchased a second pressing, and I'll be very interested in hearing his assessment. Kurtz's Tchaikovsky ballet recordings have fortunately been remastered and are available on a 2 CD compilation from the company formerly known as EMI.
Certainly a candidate for top ten bargain ASD's then! I wonder how you might compare the sound of this gold and cream pressing with the semi-circle reissue of the other recommended Kurtz, Swan Lake (http://milestomozart.blogspot.com/2013/08/asd-271-tchaikovsky-swan-lake-suite.html).
ReplyDeleteThis is available in the reissue SLS 859 with Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. I'd rather have the gold and cream or one of the later labels of this album (semi-circle tops probably).
I'm counting on you to let us know how the semi-circle issue sounds!
DeleteSound quality on this album was very similar to that on the Swan Lake album. Both have the warm, tube sound which I really like. I believe that both were recorded in Kingsway Hall, too. I'll eventually get to Kurtz's Sleeping Beauty recording.
I guess I do have a semi of this coming in the next few weeks! You've got this gold and cream and the swan lake semi. Inquiring minds want to know which one you feel is better when you have the time to compare.
DeleteMy early color post stamp , stampers: 2YEA 81-7, 82-4G also sounds terrific but the tube sound is not so evident. Do you have recommendation for any other excellent albums recorded in Kingsway Hall, either EMI or other label ?
ReplyDeleteYes, absolutely. I will be posting these in the coming days to weeks, but for starters, I'd say that pretty much all of Kurtz's early EMI albums are terrific sounding.
DeleteGeoffrey,
DeleteThat color stamp should be close with perhaps a sweeter string tone would be my guess. I've got a semi coming. I think these two labels are very much like the gold and cream (less airy, perhaps slightly grainier than the G&C) with a little better definition and bass.
With the Blue and Silver SAX I detect a different sound that takes a hit on the later reissues. I've got quite a few later SAX label stuff coming which I hope retains more of that flavor. With the ASD Gold and Cream's I don't think the two pressings above lose much and may gain. I will have quite a few doubles soon on the ASDs with which to compare. In the name of science I am even trying to 3, 4, and 5 different labels on some releases.
Looking forward to hearing the results of your sonic experiments!
DeleteI'll also state that the ASD's (and SAX for that matter) do not seem to be plagued by the typical tube bloom sound that is evident with Decca, RCA, and Mercury recordings which is caused by poor bass definition with these labels. The ASD have low tight bass and this is one of the reasons the later transistor pressings fare so well as they have a much better recording with which to work.
DeleteThe ASD G&C sound is very neutral with heavy, heavy bass. The SAX are no slouch in bass (in fact they are beautifully balanced), but seem to offer some sort of tube magic that is different from tube bloom. This midrange SAX magic is 90% lost in the non-SAX reissues (of which I have many). The reissues are all excellent and do have a tube flavor, but they are much more like the gold and cream reissues.
Meles,
DeleteThanks a lot for your precise description about the sound of various ASDs and SAXs.
Have you ever compared G&C pressiong of ASD 251 (Scheherazade by Beecham) to color or B/W stamp? I've heard G&C pressing on my friend's system. The clarity is not good with narrow sound stage. My friend regreted much for the money he paid and recommend post stamp pressing .
Geoffrey, I would completely agree with you on the disappointing sound of the white and gold ASD 251. Very congested sound lacking in clarity and soundstage. I think that many of Beecham's early stereo releases on white and gold were similar. I'm not really sure why that is exactly, since other early ASDs don't have this problem. But somehow this problem was fixed with the postage stamp pressings, which makes me think that the problem was not on the master tapes but with the cutting of the vinyl. Or could it be that beechams records sold do well that there werevmany stampers, and early ones were better than later ones? It would be nice to know the answer here.
DeleteAqlam has been complaining about the Beecham gold and creams (or white gold, WG, same thing). For the ASD 251 Scheherazade I show a semi-circle and Concert Classic SXLP30253 as alternates. SXLP30253 should be late B&W sound with a lot of slam and dynamics. However, without a doubt I would get the semi. Both should cost $5 so if you can get one in with another order they would be worth trying. I heard ASD 252 on another system here recently and the G&C(WG) was decent, but something was a bit quirky in the sound (1/2 of side 2). The later pressings of these have a lot of slam, but perhaps a little lacking in the midrange. The semi-circle would have awesome midrange. Semi's are generally cheap so eat them up, especially of the G&C is 20 times the price.
DeleteI've got on comparison in hand right now and that is Hiawatha's Wedding Feast ASD 467 (a very good sounding gold&cream). Both pressings are good. On my system the B&W is competitive. But on a solid state big panel system the gold and cream was decisively better. On my system the great bass performance helps the B&W exploit its advantages in the bass. Two months ago I like it better, but now I favor the G&C (which is super cheap). The giant panels showed the gold & cream to have a very refined sound and they did not like the brighter highs of the B&W. On my system that is not an issue and I think the ugly brightness was more the fault of the panel system.
I've got about 200 LPs coming in. Though I have more and am more eager to hear the three SAX pressings, here are the ASD's I've got coming in multiple pressings:
ASD 541 Sibelius,, Finlandia, Swan Tuonela, Karelia, En saga SC vs. CPS vs. B&W
ASD 327-8 Bach. 6 Brandenburg Concerti. Menuhin/BathFCO. WG vs. CPS
ASD 371 Tchaikovsky. Sleeping Beauty (highlights). Kurtz/PO. SC vs. CPS
ASD 542 Tchaikovsky-Piano concerto no 1/Franck-Symph. Var. Ogdon/PO/Barbirolli. WG vs. SC
ASD 543 Verdi. La Traviata (highlights). LosAngeles/Monte/etc/RomeO/Serafin. WG vs. SC
I might be able to say something more definitive after these comparisons. Right now I favor G&C, with the SC a close second and slightly better than CPS in midrange. These are the best reissues of the early material.
For early Beecham I think we are both pretty interested in the reissues as they do not have funky sound or break up. I think Mr. Beecham was quite a conductor and his LP's might have gotten a lot of play and more copies were made.
Individual label comparisons are hard as a given copy of a record could be a hot pressing that sounds great and sometimes another could be a dud for whatever reasons (I've got multiple copies of many albums and they rarely sound exactly the same). Hopefully, the comparisons above will give enough data points. I also believe if I've got ten semi pressings that sound great and ten gold and creams that are all over the place, then that says something even if they are all different records.
I am keeping my eyes open for more doubles, triples, and quadruples in the various pressings. I'll be doing lots of posts on the subject.