Columbia SAX 2315 Oistrakh's Classic Beethoven
Beethoven: Violin Concerto
David Oistrakh, violin
French National Radio Orchestra
André Cluytens, conductor
Pressing: ED1
Pressing: ED1
Stampers: YLX 1006-6; YLX 1007-16
Performance: 10/10
Sound: 8/10
Price range: $300+ on popsike
Comments: A very valuable Columbia SAX. I can't believe how high prices for this album have been inflated on Ebay. I just checked popsike, and though for some unclear reason I wasn't able to get statistics, I could see that auction prices went from around $300 to as much as 700+ GBP (!!$!). I'd recommend skipping Ebay and looking for this from a UK dealer. I bought mine from an online UK dealer about 10 years ago and paid about 145 GBP for a NM copy. In fact, I just checked and saw that a EX copy is selling on Classical Vinyl for 140 GBP, so it looks like this price might be fairly consistent.
To my knowledge, Oistrakh recorded the Beethoven Violin Concerto twice for EMI. The first time was in 1954 with Sixten Ehrling and the Stockholm Festival orchestra in mono (33CX 1194). In 1959, he recorded it again, this time in stereo, with Andre Cluytens and the French National Radio Orchestra, and I believe that this is the one which is better known. The album is simply wonderful. I would describe the performance as majestic. Oistrakh's violin is very nicely recorded -- you can just hear him playing center stage right in front of you. Cluytens and orchestra accompany him well and never overpower, creating a nice sonic balance. As far as analog versions of this concerto go, this may be my favorite, although other choices include Wolfgang Schneiderhan's classic stereo recording for Deutsche Grammophon and Nathan Milstein's stereo Capitol recording. I have never heard Leonid Kogan's Columbia SAX on vinyl, but I can imagine it could very well be sublime (I've heard the CD remastering, and at the very least the performance is charged). This is a cornerstone of the Columbia SAX collection.
Performance: 10/10
Sound: 8/10
Price range: $300+ on popsike
Comments: A very valuable Columbia SAX. I can't believe how high prices for this album have been inflated on Ebay. I just checked popsike, and though for some unclear reason I wasn't able to get statistics, I could see that auction prices went from around $300 to as much as 700+ GBP (!!$!). I'd recommend skipping Ebay and looking for this from a UK dealer. I bought mine from an online UK dealer about 10 years ago and paid about 145 GBP for a NM copy. In fact, I just checked and saw that a EX copy is selling on Classical Vinyl for 140 GBP, so it looks like this price might be fairly consistent.
To my knowledge, Oistrakh recorded the Beethoven Violin Concerto twice for EMI. The first time was in 1954 with Sixten Ehrling and the Stockholm Festival orchestra in mono (33CX 1194). In 1959, he recorded it again, this time in stereo, with Andre Cluytens and the French National Radio Orchestra, and I believe that this is the one which is better known. The album is simply wonderful. I would describe the performance as majestic. Oistrakh's violin is very nicely recorded -- you can just hear him playing center stage right in front of you. Cluytens and orchestra accompany him well and never overpower, creating a nice sonic balance. As far as analog versions of this concerto go, this may be my favorite, although other choices include Wolfgang Schneiderhan's classic stereo recording for Deutsche Grammophon and Nathan Milstein's stereo Capitol recording. I have never heard Leonid Kogan's Columbia SAX on vinyl, but I can imagine it could very well be sublime (I've heard the CD remastering, and at the very least the performance is charged). This is a cornerstone of the Columbia SAX collection.
The Concert Classic of this is an option, SXLP30168, but is a little late of a pressings. Blue and silver going around $400 lately for NM. Semi-circle $90, Magic Notes $50. Over 415 sold on popsike which is a lot. The fairly high price of these records speaks to the performance and sound. I posted on the plethera of Kogan reissues of the same piece I believe on the Milstein SAX.
ReplyDeleteThis is something I have not been able to understand. The price this album sells for is astonishing considering how many copies go up for sale. You'd think supply and demand would regulate its price, but in spite of the seemingly endless supply, the price remains high. You can get it for less than Ebay from Classical Vinyl, if it's still available.
ReplyDeleteI have this on Blue silver with the same 6/16 stampers as aqlam and also on the notes 3rd label with 8/21 stampers. Both are good but I think the earlier pressing just edges it. Certainly doesn't justify the huge price difference though
DeleteIt's insane how much this album sells for on Ebay in its blue/silver pressing ... $400+, sometimes higher. I was lucky to snatch mine 10+ years ago from a UK dealer for between $100-200 and that was stretching my budget big time back in 2004.
DeleteWhere did you find your copies?
DeleteThe Blue/ Silver copy was bought at Camden Market from a Japanese guy who was moving back to Japan and was selling all his worldly possessions. I bought a lot of records from him at £5 each. The 3rd label copy was from a charity shop where records were 3 for £1
ReplyDeleteThat's it... I am moving to England.
DeleteI bought my one way ticket yesterday. I can't wait to hit the bargain bins there!
DeleteI don't think the UK is any better than anywhere else, you just need to have a little luck and be at the right place at the right time. Some of my best finds have come from the junkier type of antique shops.
DeleteWell, these pressings are non-existantant in the US. Your suggestion on antique shops is a good one.
DeleteOn the subject of Oistrakh, I have recently found a couple of Meloydia stereo recordings with David Oistrakh Conducting
ReplyDeleteVictor Pikaize playing Dvorak's Concerto and Ysaye's Mazurka in B Minor with the Moscow Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra 33CM 1903-4
Mikhail Fichtengoltz playing Mozart Concerto No 7 K271a, Adagio K261 and Rondo K373, with the Soloist Ensemble of Moscow State Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. 33CM 0275-66(a)
I am unfamiliar with the work of either of these violinists but if the standard on these recordings is anything to go by I will be searching out more. Whilst these are Russian pressings and the vinyl quality is not as good as the EMI pressed Meloydia's, the quart of the recording and musicianship shines through the slight vinyl roar present.
I remember having found two cheap Russian Melodiyas in the last couple of years: the Borodin String Quartet playing Shostakovich's 8th SQ and Evgeny Svetlanov conducting the Moscow Philharmonic in Tchaikovsky's 5th. Sound quality on the chamber recording was a bit better than the Tchaik 5, but both were decent. I wonder if there are more Melodiyas with Oistrakh as a chamber music artist (piano trios).
DeleteIs EMI Melodyia good? I kind of avoid them out of principle/ignorance.
DeleteDecent. I've owned maybe one or two ... I remember a Prokofiev 7th symphony years back.
DeleteSome of the best ASD's are Meloydia recordings. You should try HMV ASD 2448, Bizet Shchedrin The Carmen Ballet. Gives Ballet Music From the Opera a run for it's money.
DeleteWhat a great recommendation! And I am about to post on LSC-2400 as part of the Decca/RCA series ...
DeleteNot a trio but I have an early MK mono recording of the Schubert duet for violin & piano Op 162 & Grieg Sanata No 2 for violin and piano with Oistrakh and Obrin. SQ is actually very good.
ReplyDeleteAQL and I are monophobes and it really does not make sense with chamber music to go mono. Good buddy of mine called Russian Mike is into vintage mono chamber music (and newer stereo) and all related equipment from the period. I've got a mono Hollywood String Quartet LP I need to pull out along with some other decent mono items and rethink my biases.
DeleteInterestingly this recordings and many others made by soviet artists in the 50s, was made in Paris with French technicians. I think the actual original is the French SAXF 817, which is ironically far cheaper than the UK equivalent. BTW, the German copy I own is pretty good too.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteA large(ish) package from Australia arrived this week in the post. One of the items in it was an Australian Columbia Issue of this record, SAXO-2315 with 1006-2 and 1007-16 stampers. I immediately compared it to my old and trusted copy of SHZE-143, a German Electrola RI from 1967. I was struck by the superior stereo imaging of the German record, the far better instrument separation and detail. I started regretting my purchase-until the solo violin entered the chat: In the Australian record the violin sounds really sweet, mellow and pleasant, in the German record it is loud, unpleasant and harsh by comparison. So, no buyers regret here after all. I am keeping the Australian record, because when all is said and done, it is all about the violin.
ReplyDeleteDear Kostaszag,
DeleteThank you for sharing your impressions! I am very happy to hear that you've discovered the merits of the Australian WRC and HMV/Columbia pressings. I made a similar discovery this past spring/summer when I also received, as you say, some large(ish) packages from Australia introducing me to these pressings. I do have Australian SAXO-2315 with an orange magic notes label and the exact same stampers as yours and agree that it sounds very good indeed. I wish it had the same cover as the UK SAX, but that's a minor detail. I wasn't aware that the World Record Club reissued this SAX - do you have the Australian Columbia release?
Unfortunately, I don't have the UK SAX anymore, but I do have a French Columbia CVB reissue from the early 1970s with Pathe matrix numbers (21C/21C); I think these may be the same as the original French SAXF. It also sounds excellent (if it weren't for two skips in the opening minute) and perhaps a tad bit richer and warmer to my ears than the Australian SAXO.
If I may ask, which other Australian pressings arrived with your package?
My Oistrakh record is the Australian Columbia-my initial entry, where I said it was a WRC was an error, that is why I deleted it. I also received TE 363, "Beecham conducts more Lollipops", a WRC record with British stampers. Also TRC S-6097-1/2, Das Lied von Der Erde with Paul Kletzki-australian stampers but good ones, and a curiosity: ZCS 90217 https://www.discogs.com/release/24663800-Mussorgsky-Minneapolis-Symphony-Orchestra-Antal-Dorati-Pictures-At-An-Exhibition, a Mercury pressed for an Australian record club that sold exclusively Mercury records-with American stampers as it seems!
DeleteThose are some really nice purchases! Let me know what you think about the Kletzki! I’ve been eyeing the ASD for some time but haven’t made up my mind. I didn’t realize there was a WRC!
DeleteThe WRC Mercury issue is interesting, indeed. I've owned the original US version with a similar cover. What are the stampers on your Australian copy?
DeleteStampers are ZCS 90217A FR6/8. The first 3 letters are obviously different from the US-Versions, but the FR suffix indicates an American mastering specifically for the Australian label and the lettering is the same as in American Mercurys I have. Also, the vinyl is dead quiet too.
DeleteThe label was the Eclipse Record Club, who made available for the Australian market a very small but interesting series of Mercury recordings. https://www.discogs.com/label/898945-Eclipse-Record-Club-Pty-Ltd?page=1
discogs lists only 17 records, circulated in 1960-61. My guess is they had a deal with Mercury that was abruptly canceled when the label was sold to Philips in 1961.