Columbia SAX 2506: Szell conducts Schumann, Part 3
Schumann: "Rhenish" Symphony, Manfred Overture
The Cleveland Orchestra
George Szell, conductor
Pressing: UK, ED1, blue/silver
Date first published: 1959
Stampers: YAX 954-1, YAX 955-2
Performance: 10/10
Sound: 7/10
Price range: $54-431 (mean $151) on popsike.com
Comments: The UK issue of US Epic BC 1130 with the added Manfred Overture, which was originally paired with the first symphony on Epic BC 1039. The YAX matrix numbers would suggest that EMI remastered these recordings, which theoretically could have translated into an improvement in sound, though I suspect that the tapes they had to work with may not have been the best. The SAX boasts a higher quality of vinyl and quieter surfaces. Aside from this, I couldn't detect any major sonic differences between the two (though one could argue that the sound floor was improved on the SAX ... my ears couldn't make out a difference). The performance is a solid one (in my humble opinion, Szell's Schumann cycle is one of the best). It's just too bad that Szell couldn't have originally recorded this or any of his other recordings for EMI or Decca, who probably could've produced a better sounding record in the end. Get this one if you absolutely have to have the SAX. I opted to keep the Epic, which was a bargain.
I've been pleasantly surprised by Epic on my system. A couple Fleischer/Szell LPs I've played recently have been quite effective (killer performance with reasonable tube sound.) They can be a bit dry and sterile some of the time, but seem to compensation with a good defined sound. Its disappointing to hear of the mediocrity of the Columbia SAX mastering of this early Szell/Columbia material. The Szell Sax stuff is priced very high because it is probably the best piece of wax available for these great performances and they did not sell well overall in the UK.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I think, too. Columbia certainly gave better production quality to their pressings of Szell's recordings. I definitely prefer the laminated, flipback UK covers but not for the price. I wonder how these actually did in terms of sales. I also agree that a lot of those Epic releases have a dry sound. That also goes for most of US Columbia/CBS classical recordings. With the exception of a few notable recordings, most of them just don't have that sense of presence as RCA, Mercury, Decca/London, EMI, etc.
DeleteHi, can someone please explain the Epic matrix? What is 2A 2D compared to 2E 2C, for example?
ReplyDeleteI don't know this one off the top of my head, but Epic was a division of American Columbia so there should be info on the Columbia stuff, the six eye Columbia and the like. I honestly never made this connection before and I'm not confident they used the same plants etc. I certainly would not pay big money for UK versions. Decca got broken up as a monopoly very early on and I'm not sure of the relationship between Columbia SAX and the American pressings; they definitely were completely independent of each other by the 1950s.
DeleteA Good-sounding (cheap) Szell EMI dubbing is Walton 2/Partita: World Record STP624 - using SAX matrices (3/2 - pre-Westrex 3D cutter).
ReplyDeleteEntertaining link here!..
https://ontherecord.co/2021/02/17/seems-as-though-some-reviewers-like-this-london-more-than-i-did-a-cautionary-tale
Great to know as I don't have that one.
Delete