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EMI ASD 288: Rodzinski's Superb Russian Overtures

EMI HMV ASD 288

 Russian Overtures

 Artur Rodzinski, conductor
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

 Pressing: UK, ED1, white/gold

 Condition: NM


Date first published: 1959

 Stampers:
2YEA 125-4
2YEA 126-1

 Performance: 10/10

 Sound: 9/10

 Price range: $28-427 (mean $125) on popsike.com

 Comments: This is another one of my all-time favorite EMI/HMV ASD recordings and one that is representative of EMI's best early stereophonic efforts.  It is a perfect blend of orchestral showpieces, excellent performances, and gorgeous tube sound.  Artur Rodzinski didn't record much for EMI in stereo, but what he did is pretty outstanding, pretty rare, and pretty expensive.  Readers of this blog will already know that I am a huge fan of Russian orchestral music (see ASD 582, ASD 532, ASD 509, SAX 2327, SAX 2355, ASD 263), and this one goes to the top of the charts.  Does repertoire get any more Russian than this: Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture (Rodzinski and the RPO really deliver the drama here), Glinka's Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla, Mussorgsky's Prelude from Khovantschina, and Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian Easter Overture?  The recorded sound is really marvelous, with natural, airy treble (just listen to the cymbal crashes and triangle in Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian Easter Overture), rich mid-range, and powerful bass, all made even more glorious by the generous hall acoustic.  Clarity is quite good for this era, and there is only a touch of discernible distortion on my copy (mostly heard on the Russlan and Ludmilla and Russian Easter Overture tracks in high-volume orchestral tuttis).

 To my knowledge, there are no later pressings of this album.  I have only seen this as a white/gold, unless my fellow colleagues can correct me here.  This is early stereophonic heaven in my book.


Comments

  1. MelesOctober 16, 2014 at 4:55 PM

    I am so glad you reviewed this as my personal spreadsheet had ASD 288 as Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet. The cover looked quite familiar and sure enought there is a Regal which I had associated mistakenly with SAX 2327. The Regal is SREG1049.

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  2. AndyWJuly 30, 2015 at 12:25 AM

    ASD 288 is one of the greats of the ASD catalogue and the RPO's playing captures the mood of the music perfectly

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    1. aqlamJuly 30, 2015 at 8:53 AM

      Yes, one of my absolute favorites, and what a great cover! I don't have any of the other Rodzinski ASDs but certainly wonder if they are of the same performance and sound caliber. Do you own any of them?

      Delete
  3. AndyWJuly 30, 2015 at 3:06 PM

    I have Rodzinski's Richard Strauss Death & Transfiguration on ASD 270 and I also have 2 copies of the WRC issue. The W/G ASD 270 and one copy of the WRC, STP 723, have the same stamper numbers 2YEA 52/3 & 2YEA 53/4. The other WRC is on a later label with EMI as well as WRC logos, has a different prefix, STF 723 and has stampers 2YEA 52/5 & 2YEA 53/4

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    1. aqlamJuly 30, 2015 at 3:08 PM

      I have been looking for a copy of that ... it's hard to land on Ebay without breaking the bank. Maybe I should be seeking out the WRC. How is the sound of the original W/G and the WRC? Would you recommend the WRC over the W/G?

      Delete
  4. AndyWJuly 30, 2015 at 3:45 PM

    Had a very quick sample listen to all three through headphones. So here's my thoughts: The ASD lacks the sparkle of the WRC with the same stampers. This may be down to groove condition though. The later WRC has less groove roar but the presentation seems to lack the sense of scale present in the earlier pressing.

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    1. aqlamJuly 30, 2015 at 3:50 PM

      Hmm ... tough call. Maybe it'd prudent for me to start with the WRC, see if I like it, and then decide on the ASD. I like how you call it ... "groove roar". It's very descriptive and spot on. Question is ... is it groove roar from worn out grooves or simply a bad or worn out stamper? I guess we'll never really know, being the second hand owners of these albums. Those who played them with the contemporary equipment of the time probably had styli that did more damage than the ones we have now.

      Delete
    2. MelesJuly 30, 2015 at 7:02 PM

      EMI pressing info is a little more obscure, not sure if we can discern stampers made from a given matrix. Sounds like the original pressing is better, but LP condition not the same. I suppose changes in vinyl would also affect.

      Delete
  5. AndyWJuly 30, 2015 at 4:06 PM

    I think the quality of the vinyl used also has an impact on groove roar.

    If you want to sample some of the WRC issues I have an incomplete spreadsheet of titles and numbers

    These are the Philharmonia recordings I know of and may be of interest to you.
    Prefix Catalogue No Matrix Recording Conductor Orchestra Artiste Composer Repertoire Original Notes
    OC 217 Walton Philharmonia Orchestra Elizabeth Schwarzkopf Walton Troilus & Cressida
    OC 230 Sawwallisch Philharmonia Orchestra Elizabeth Schwarzkopf Richard Strauss Capriccio Record 1
    OC 231 Sawwallisch Philharmonia Orchestra Elizabeth Schwarzkopf Richard Strauss Capriccio Record 2
    STP 338 YAX 764/5 HMV Columbia Kertesz Philharmonia Orchestra Hans Richter Hasser Mozart Piano Concertos 17 & 26 SAX
    ST 520 Wallberg Philharmonia Orchestra Elizabeth Schwarzkopf Wagner / Weber Various
    T 529 W 8446/7 Capitol Carlo Maria Guilini Philharmonia Orchestra Janos Starker Schumann & St Saens Cello Concerto
    ST 562 SW 8600/1 HMV Columbia Kyril Kondrashin Philharmonia Orchestra Leonid Kogan Lalo / Tchaikovsky Symphonie Espagnole / Serensde Meloncolique SAX
    ST 582 Galliera Philharmonia Orchestra Dukas / Rossini The Sorcerers Apprentice / La Boutique Fantastique
    ST 591 Philharmonia Orchestra Maria Callas Various Mad Scenes
    ST 597 SP1-8560/1 Capitol Fistoulari Philharmonia Orchestra Nathan Milstein Brahms Violin Concerto SP
    STP 623 2YEA 697/8 HMV Kurtz Philharmonia Orchestra Glinka Gounod Faust Russian & French Ballet Music ASD
    ST 634 Giulini Philharmonia Orchestra Tchaikovsky Sym 6
    ST 644 Vandernoot Philharmonia Orchestra Stravinsky Le Baiser de la fee
    ST 646 2YEA 346/7 HMV Kurtz Philharmonia Orchestra Various Famous Marches ASD
    ST 656 Walton Philharmonia Orchestra Walton Shakespeare Film Scores
    STP 723 2YEA 52/3 HMV Artur Rodzinski Philharmonia Orchestra Richard Strauss Death & Transfiguration ASD 270 2nr
    ST 735 Susskind Philharmonia Orchestra Moura Lympany Prokofiev Piano Concerto No 1 & 3
    ST 751 YAX 106/7 HMV Columbia Walter Susskind Philharmonia Orchestra Janos Starker Dvorak Cello Concerto SAX
    ST 783 Walter Susskind Philharmonia Orchestra Janos Starker Dohnanyi Kodaly Cello Concerto / Cello Sonata
    ST 816 Giulini Philharmonia Orchestra Mussorgsky / Tchaikovsky A night on bare mountain / Sym No 2
    ST 830 Lorin Maazel Philharmonia Orchestra Debussy / Mussorgsky Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune / Pictures at an exhibition
    ST 838 Karajan Philharmonia Orchestra Various Philharmonia Promenade Concert
    T 855 HMV Columbia Karajan Philharmonia Orchestra Elizabeth Schwarzkopf Bach Mass in B Minor 33CX Record 1
    T 856 HMV Columbia Karajan Philharmonia Orchestra Elizabeth Schwarzkopf Bach Mass in B Minor 33CX Record 2
    T 857 HMV Columbia Karajan Philharmonia Orchestra Elizabeth Schwarzkopf Bach Mass in B Minor 33CX Record 3
    ST 914 Karajan Philharmonia Orchestra Elizabeth Schwarzkopf Beethoven Misa Solomis Record 1
    ST 914 Karajan Philharmonia Orchestra Elizabeth Schwarzkopf Beethoven Misa Solomis Record 2
    ST 935 YAX 951/2 HMV Columbia Lorin Maazel Philharmonia Orchestra Richard Strauss Also Sprach Zarathustra SAX 2467
    ST 964 Robert Irving Philharmonia Orchestra Chopin Les Sylphides
    ST 995 Effram Kurz Philharmonia Orchestra Prokofiev / Shostokovitch Synphonies No 1

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    Replies
    1. aqlamJuly 30, 2015 at 4:27 PM

      Wow, thanks, AndyW! I notice that several of them are reissues of major SAX and ASD titles. I will definitely want to check those out!

      Delete
    2. MelesJuly 30, 2015 at 7:03 PM

      I've got some spreadsheet that must have started out courtesy of Tin Ear with about 1000 entries. Don't have it filtered for classical. Given the shipping expense it is something I've layed off.

      Delete
    3. AndyWJuly 31, 2015 at 1:29 PM

      The WRC spreadsheet I have is also quite large mainly due to the number of Australian issues.
      Whilst there are a lot of reissues of major SAX and ASD titles as aflame point out there are also some real treasures with WRC remastered and EMI pressed issues of recordings from labels that sometimes had dubious pressing quality.

      Delete
    4. aqlamJuly 31, 2015 at 1:49 PM

      I think I will start searching for WRC reissues of the SAX and ASD titles that I don't own and may not be able to afford at this point. If the sound quality is as respectable as you say, they may be great bargains. I think your hunting will be much more successful than mine, since WRCs are not easily found stateside.

      Delete
    5. AndyWAugust 1, 2015 at 3:15 PM

      They are all pressed by EMI using original stampers so it is no more risk than with the originals. As always condition it what really matters

      Delete
  6. AndyWJuly 31, 2015 at 3:35 PM

    Looking at ebay it would seem that Australian WRC issues are more common in the US. The Australian WRC issues of Schurichts Bruckner 8 and Barbirolli's Mahler 9 are nice but the seller knows the rarity of the originals.

    This site gives some insight into their quality http://www.stereo.net.au/news/exclusive-the-world-record-club/

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    Replies
    1. aqlamJuly 31, 2015 at 3:58 PM

      Cool, thanks, AndyW, for sharing!

      Delete
    2. MelesJuly 31, 2015 at 4:45 PM

      So the Australian issues are equivalent or better to the UK issues?

      Delete
    3. AndyWAugust 1, 2015 at 2:47 PM

      In theory they should be the same but it seems that the Australians introduced another tier of quality control. Whether this made any difference I do not know.

      The Australian WRC was probably so successful as there were no indigenous labels whereas the UK had plenty.
      It's also quite enlightening to find out that Decca saw WRC as a threat and introduced the Ace of Clubs label which was followed by the Ace of Diamonds series which has given us all access to classic Deccas at reasonable prices

      Delete
    4. aqlamAugust 1, 2015 at 2:51 PM

      Yeah, I had to laugh when I read that story. Thank goodness for WRC, then, for the Ace of Diamonds reissues!

      Delete
    5. MelesAugust 2, 2015 at 1:56 PM

      Australian WRC is a buy then, very nice!

      Delete
    6. AndyWAugust 3, 2015 at 12:32 AM

      The UK versions are as well.

      Delete
  7. AndyWJuly 31, 2015 at 4:45 PM

    These are the follow ups, some really good insights here
    http://www.stereo.net.au/tag/world+record+club

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MelesJuly 31, 2015 at 4:59 PM

      "Eventually I lied outright to Eric, assuring him earnestly that I had dealt with the matter. So I suppose the E.M.I. technicians continued to play our mothers (as they did their own) and I really don’t think they did any harm. At any rate Eric was satisfied even if he still had his suspicions."
      Ouch.

      Seems they were involved with Erato and Meloydia. I've not had much luck with those labels.

      Delete
    2. AndyWJuly 31, 2015 at 5:18 PM

      Meloydia can be a bit pot luck with the exception of the EMI ones, try the Bizet-Shchedrin Carmen Ballet Suite on ASD 2448
      I've found Erato's to be wonderful. As well as WRC they also appear on HMV HQM/HQS & XLP/SXLP http://fischer.hosting.paran.com/music/Erato-lps/erato-ste50101-50.htm

      Delete

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