The Budget Collector: French Reissues of Constantin Silvestri on the Trianon Label

The stereo orchestral recordings that the Romanian conductor and composer Constantin Silvestri (1913-1969) made for His Master's Voice (HMV; or La Voix de Son Maitre [VSM]) in the late 1950's and early 1960's continue to be highly collectible records on the used classical LP market. I have even seen some online sellers call some of the releases the "classical Holy Grail".  

If we take a look at some data, we can see that prices are still quite high and have not decreased over the past decade:

• HMV ASD 338 (Overtures) - median $341, max $801
• HMV ASD 400 (Prokofiev Love for Three Oranges) - median $196, max $556
• HMV ASD 401 (Stravinsky Symphony in Three Movements) - median $248, max $717
• HMV ASD 417 (Rhapsodies for Orchestra) - median $217, max $1001
• HMV ASD 455 (Shostakovich Symphony No. 5) - median $230, max $751
• HMV ASD 519 (Hungarian Dances) - median $154, max $813

I was first introduced to Silvestri's work around 2013 when EMI released its 15 CD box set of his orchestral recordings as part of its Icon series. This was an excellent deal at the time and really the only way that I was able to acquire and listen to much of this music since many if not most of the original vinyl releases on HMV and VSM were outside my budget. Sadly, it is now out of print, and used copies sell for over $100 USD. As a less experienced collector, I wasn't aware that there could be inexpensive yet high quality vinyl reissues of these recordings that potentially offered a rewarding listening experience.  

Trianon logo

Enter Trianon, which, according to Discogs, was a French record label that was initially launched in the mid-1950's as a label for budget classical reissues or "variétés" compilations and remained active until the 1980's. Its parent label was Pathé Marconi/EMI. I only recently discovered Trianon while browsing through the records listed by some Ebay sellers based in France. Naturally, my curiosity led me to investigate these further and, a couple of weeks later, a trio of records arrived at my doorstep.

Trianon C 045-10605

Anton Dvorak: Symphonie No. 5 "Du Nouveau Monde"

Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française

Constantin Silvestri, conductor

Matrix numbers: 2YLA 1061 21 / 1062 21

This is the Trianon reissue of La Voix de Son Maitre (VSM) ASDF 151, with matrix numbers that appear to match those of the original French stereo release of this recording. Interestingly, the stereo version only saw release in France, while the mono version was released in the UK (HMV ALP 1550) and USA (Angel 35623). Why this is the case, I do not know. Perhaps the UK EMI office felt that it had produced enough stereo recordings of the New World Symphony at home?  

With a Popsike median price of $250 and a max of $912, the original ASDF is highly sought after. The mono release can be found for much, much less. The Trianon seems well positioned to be the most affordable way to get the stereo recording. In 2017, Testament released a 180 g reissue of ASDF 151. I haven't listened to this - have any of you?

So how does the Trianon sound? To be honest, it took me a few listening sessions to get a better handle on how this record sounded. First, I did some late night listening with my Sennheiser headphones and thought it sounded pretty decent within the small confines of soundspace created around my head. Then, when I played the record through my speakers, I noticed that in the first and second movements, the stereo separation was more biased toward the right channel. Strings and woodwinds were concentrated in the middle, brass and percussion were way over on the right. Things became a little bit more left-right balanced when I switched to side two and listened to the third and fourth movements, but the spatial separation of orchestral sections was still not very distinct. At times, the balance can be a bit brass heavy. As this was reportedly an early stereo recording (see book passage below), perhaps the engineers were still experimenting with microphone placement? It would be interesting to hear the original French stereo as well as the original mono release of this recording for comparison.

One thing I will add: this has got to be one of my favorite performances of the fourth movement of this symphony, if not my favorite. The tempo is just right, and the orchestra plays with such intensity. Silvestri really builds up the climax at the end. 

According to John Gritten's 1998 biography Constantin Silvestri: A Musician Before His Time (Warwick Editions, London), Silvestri was quite pleased with this recording with the ORTF. Here are a couple of passages I thought I would share:

From page 8:

From page 196:

As you can read above, the New World Symphony would also be the very last work that Silvestri would conduct before he passed away, far too soon, in 1969.

Trianon TRI 33147

Hector Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14

Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire

Constantin Silvestri, conductor

Matrix numbers: 12181 A 21 / 12181 B 21

 

Another fine 1973 reissue of the rare original French VSM stereo release, ASDF 224. Too bad it doesn't have the same cover as the ASDF with that sepia-toned photo of the composer! The ASDF is pretty rare, though, which likely explains its median price of $161 and max price of $541 on Popsike. 

The matrix numbers on this Trianon reissue do not match those of the first VSM stereo release (2YLA 1097 21C / 1098 21C), so it would appear that different stampers were used. Don't let that discourage you from considering it. This record sounds wonderful with great presence and dynamic range and was definitely worth the $10 I paid for it. The bells heard in the final movement (Songe d'une nuit de Sabbat) are loud and resonant and may be some of the most realistic I've heard for this work on vinyl. 

There is also a 1961 UK HMV Concert Classics issue of the recording (SXLP 20036). I haven't heard this one but imagine that it would be a pretty good alternative choice.

Trianon TRI 33 119

Beethoven: Concerto en ré majeur pour Violon et Orchestre; Op. 61

Leonid Kogan, violin

Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire

Constantin Silvestri, conductor

Matrix numbers: YLX 1052 21F / 1053 21i

For many of you, this reissue probably needs no introduction. The Russian violinist Leonid Kogan's recording of the Beethoven violin concerto with Silvestri and the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra has long been a collector's item. The original first edition UK Columbia SAX release (SAX 2386) is a rarity that typically sells on Ebay for between $5000 and $10,000. There was an original French stereo release, SAXF 162, which is also costly (median $216, max $801) but does not sell for quite as much as the UK version, as well as an Italian (SAXQ 7308) and German (SMC 91333) release.  

This is a decent performance, although I find the Oistrakh/Cluytens/ORTF recording to be more musically involving. I was pretty happy with the sound of this Trianon reissue. Kogan's robust tone is captured quite well. Orchestral clarity is pretty good overall, although things get just a little congested towards the loud climax in the third movement.  

 

If you are interested, you can find a very nice digital transfer of the EMI Classics for Pleasure vinyl reissue of the Kogan/Silvestri/PCO recording at Pristine Classics.  

That wraps things up for this week at Miles to Mozart. Happy listening!