Living Stereo: The Remastered Collector's Edition ... finally, the rarities released!

Now here is a boxed set that I have been anticipating for a while!  I realize that we focus most of our posts on vinyl recordings, but from time to time, I like to cover some CD releases, particularly those of analog recordings that have never before been issued in digital format.

Many of the heavy hitter recordings in the RCA Living Stereo catalog have been remastered and reissued in digital format (CD, XRCD, SACD) over the years.  Two Living Stereo box sets (each with 60 CDs) have been previously released.  Most of these albums have been the "sonic highlights" of the RCA catalog, the titles that generally appeal to most classical audiophiles.  However, for the longest time, some of the rarer titles in the Living Stereo series went neglected.  Well, at last, someone has decided to give justice to these precious recordings.

At the end of October of this year, Sony Classical released a third boxed set:  Living Stereo: The Remastered Collector's Edition. This is another set of 60 CDs, remastered in 24-bit/192 kHz, each one a mini-replica of the original LP (with no additional tracks).  Supposedly, 48 of these 60 have never been previously issued in digital format.  Now I read a complaint or two on the Amazon website about how the recordings in this boxed set were the "scraps" of the RCA catalog.  I could hardly disagree more.  Just because we don't have Heifetz, Rubinstein, Reiner, Munch, and Monteux does not mean that these recordings are of any less caliber.  What really drew my eyes to this set were the rare chamber music and solo instrumental recordings of the RCA Living Stereo catalog that have been very hard to find on vinyl.  While I won't be able to discuss my thoughts on every CD in this set, I thought I might share with you some of the highlights.  As examples (in no particular order):

• The recordings of the Festival Quartet, which consisted of violinist Szymon Goldberg, violist William Primrose, cellist Nikolai Graundan, and pianist Victor Babin.  I reviewed one of the original LPs (LSC-2330) back in July 2015.  In my humble opinion, these are rare gems in the RCA catalog and beautiful chamber performances.  I still own the three Brahms Piano Quartet albums (LSC-2330, LSC-2473, LSC-2517) and have previously owned the Faure Piano Quartet album (LSC-2735), but the one that has eluded me has been the Schubert Trout Quintet recording (LSC-2147).  That one is extremely hard to find and almost always fetches a high price on the auction market.  Well, those of us who are interested can finally listen to most of these on CD!  This boxed set gives us LSC-2147, LSC-2330, LSC-2473, LSC-2517, and LSC-6068; LSC-2735 is sadly not included. Listening to the Schubert Trout Quintet, I noticed some light analog hiss, but the performance was wonderful, and the sound was intimate and well-balanced.  I wish I could provide you with a comparison with the original vinyl, but maybe someday I will, if I ever land a copy of the LP.  LSC-2330 on CD sounded remarkably close to the original LP; the latter had perhaps just the slightest touch of extra warmth, but otherwise I found it difficult to find noticeable differences between the two.  My reactions were relatively similar for LSC-2473 and LSC-2517, and in the case of LSC-2517, I actually found myself enjoying the sound of the CD more than the original LP.  

• LSC-2456: Lalo: Symphonie Espagnole (Szeryng/Hendl/CSO).  Whoever called this recording one of the "scraps" of the RCA catalog needs to have his or her head examined.  This has long been considered an audiophile favorite and has been reissued on vinyl by Classic Records; it will also be reissued by Analogue Productions (hopefully in 2017) as part of its RCA/Decca series.  In comparison with the original Shaded Dog, the CD fares decently and captures the essence of the performance, but there is more fullness and body to the tone of Szeryng's violin on the LP.  Szeryng is also given a more forward presentation on the LP.  Nevertheless, this is a certainly a welcome digital reissue.

• LSC-2421: Henryk Szeryng in Recital (Szeryng/Reiner).  Definitely one of the main reasons I wanted this set.  The Shaded Dog sells for a mean of $234 (highest price $1115!) and is super hard to acquire.  Since I will probably never own a copy, I am more than happy to be able to listen to this recording on CD.  Yes, there is some slight analog tape hiss, but it does not detract from the power and beauty of Szeryng's performance.  It's a virtuosic program:  tracks include Vitali's Chaconne in G minor, Tartini's The Devil's Trill (transcribed by Kreisler) and Variations on a Theme by Corelli (transcribed by Francescatti), Gluck's Melodie (transcribed by Kreisler), Kreisler's Allegretto in the style of Boccherini, Schumann's Prophetic Bird (transcribed by Heifetz), Halftter-Heifetz's Danza de la Gitana, and Wienawski's Scherzo-Tarantelle.

• LSC-2646: Liliane Garnier Recital (Garnier/Globenski). Ahh, another rare gem!  I believe this was released in Canada, which may be why we don't see it surface often.  Ebay prices have been around $175 for the Shaded Dog.  Liliane Garnier, a French-born violinist who moved to Canada, gives a commanding performance of works such as Wienawski's Polonaise Brilliante, Beethoven's Romance in F major, Paganini's Caprice No. 20, and Ravel's Tzigane, among others.  Garnier's violin is beautifully captured on this recording.  I wonder how the Shaded Dog sounds! 

• LSC-2250: Encores by Kogan (Kogan/Mitnik). Here's a Shaded Dog that never saw the light of day.  I'm not sure what the story is behind this, but this was apparently issued on vinyl only in mono (LM-2250), and the mono sells for upwards of $50 on Ebay.  Of course, it seems that any Leonid Kogan recording sells for nothing short of a small fortune.  I don't believe that this recording is new to CD.  It's a charming album that mixes some oft-played (Debussy's Clair de Lune, Kreisler's Caprice Viennois) with some less commonly performed (Shostakovich's Four Preludes, Prokofieff's Masques [from "Romeo and Juliet"], Glazunoff's Entr'acte [from "Raymonda"]) works. 

• LSC-2553: Shostakovich: Cello Sonata; Schubert: "Arpeggione" Sonata (Shafran/Pecherskaya).  This Daniel Shafran recording is another RCA rarity.  The Shaded Dog has a mean auction price of just about $300.  I sold my copy a few years ago and am very pleased to now have it on CD.  It sounds like an intimate recital in your living room, with Shafran on the right and Pecherskaya at the piano on the left.  Both the Shostakovich and Schubert works are given lovely performances
• LSC-2373: Presenting Jaime Laredo (Laredo/Sokoloff). This is violinst Jaime Laredo's debut RCA recording after having won First Prize at the 1959 Queen Elizabeth of Belgium International Music Competition.  I've never owned this in stereo on vinyl, so I was very interested in hearing the CD.  The sound is clear and immediate, the performance highly enjoyable.  I especially liked the Berceuse and Jota from Falla's Suite Populaire Espagnole, Wienawski's Scherzo-Tarantelle, and Bach's Air on a G String.

Okay, those are just a handful of some of the highlights in this set.  I haven't even begun to mention the Juilliard String Quartet recordings of Debussy and Ravel (LSC-2413), Schubert (LSC-2378), and Beethoven (LSC-2626, LSC-2632), or Piatigorsky's cello recital (LSC-2293), or the piano duo albums of Vronsky and Babin (LSC-2417, LSC-2648), or the solo piano albums of Andre Tschaikowsky (LSC-2354, LSC-2360), or Howard Mitchell's recording of the Shostakovich 5th Symphony with the National Symphony Orchestra (LSC-2261).  My bottom line:  this boxed set was worth the purchase for me, and I look forward to discovering the other albums within. 

 

Here's another plus:  in contrast with the CD sleeves in the prior two RCA Living Stereo boxed sets, the ones with this third set are made from higher quality, thicker cardboard and are near exact replicas of the LP covers (including the back covers).  You might need a magnifying glass to read some of the liner notes, but they are there in entirety.  Even the CDs appear as facsimiles of the LP labels (although the dog is not shaded).  Nicely done!