Thirty three and a third.

[Irons]

Playing "Myths" last night I reminisced of the hours and money spent at Harold Moores of Great Marlborough Street just off Oxford Street opposite the massive HMV store. Harold had his own label, Rediffusion Aurora which licenced recordings from the old Soviet bloc, "Myths" is an original Polskie Nagrania recording. There are many others, not least from Supraphon.
The basement of Harold Moores was devoted to classical vinyl plus some jazz. You could, and I did, spend hours in splendid isolation sorting through many treasures, the only drawback being the eye-watering prices!
Harold retired and sold his business to a couple of Americans. His timing was fortunate as although CD sales were high the digital revolution which was to wipe out bricks and mortar record shops was in it's infancy. Sadly, "Harold Moores" is now just a memory, as is HMV opened by Edward Elgar in the 1930's, which now sells trainers. 

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Playing "Myths" last night I reminisced of the hours and money spent at Harold Moores of Great Marlborough Street just off Oxford Street opposite the massive HMV store. Harold had his own label, Rediffusion Aurora which licenced recordings from the old Soviet bloc, "Myths" is an original Polskie Nagrania recording. There are many others, not least from Supraphon.
The basement of Harold Moores was devoted to classical vinyl plus some jazz. You could, and I did, spend hours in splendid isolation sorting through many treasures, the only drawback being the eye-watering prices!
Harold retired and sold his business to a couple of Americans. His timing was fortunate as although CD sales were high the digital revolution which was to wipe out bricks and mortar record shops was in it's infancy. Sadly, "Harold Moores" is now just a memory, as is HMV opened by Edward Elgar in the 1930's, which now sells trainers.

Years ago I remember hearing/reading about Harold Moores; I had hoped to visit it one day.    Sad story regarding it and HMV.  Strangely, imagine if they could have made it through the CD years, they could have been doing a grand business selling vinyl--again?!

I didn't know that Harold had his own label.  How were the pressings Irons?  And besides Polskie Nagrania and Supraphon, do you recall what other labels he licensed from?

PD

[Irons]

Years ago I remember hearing/reading about Harold Moores; I had hoped to visit it one day.    Sad story regarding it and HMV.  Strangely, imagine if they could have made it through the CD years, they could have been doing a grand business selling vinyl--again?!

I didn't know that Harold had his own label.  How were the pressings Irons?  And besides Polskie Nagrania and Supraphon, do you recall what other labels he licensed from?

PD

The pressings are excellent, P. The problem for them is the location of the shop sandwiched between Oxford and Carnaby Street with rent and rates through the roof!
The box set of Dvorak chamber works on the sister label Legend is outstanding. I recall buying it in the early days of the second coming for me of vinyl and being pleased as punch with the purchase.
https://www.discogs.com/search/?q=Rediffusion%20legend&type=all

[Biffo]

Playing "Myths" last night I reminisced of the hours and money spent at Harold Moores of Great Marlborough Street just off Oxford Street opposite the massive HMV store. Harold had his own label, Rediffusion Aurora which licenced recordings from the old Soviet bloc, "Myths" is an original Polskie Nagrania recording. There are many others, not least from Supraphon.
The basement of Harold Moores was devoted to classical vinyl plus some jazz. You could, and I did, spend hours in splendid isolation sorting through many treasures, the only drawback being the eye-watering prices!
Harold retired and sold his business to a couple of Americans. His timing was fortunate as although CD sales were high the digital revolution which was to wipe out bricks and mortar record shops was in it's infancy. Sadly, "Harold Moores" is now just a memory, as is HMV opened by Edward Elgar in the 1930's, which now sells trainers.

Harold Moores has been teetering on the brink of extinction for years now so I am not surprised. I didn't know about the HMV shop though. Their main store in Oxford Street used to be up near the Marble Arch end but they opened a mega-store near the Tottenham Court Road end; the latter had an extensive classical department in the basement. Have both stores now closed?

[vandermolen]

Harold Moores has been teetering on the brink of extinction for years now so I am not surprised. I didn't know about the HMV shop though. Their main store in Oxford Street used to be up near the Marble Arch end but they opened a mega-store near the Tottenham Court Road end; the latter had an extensive classical department in the basement. Have both stores now closed?

I had a nice chat with the famous Harold in the shop one day - a nice New Zealander, We both preferred Prokofiev's 'Ivan the Terrible' to 'Alexander Nevsky'.

I often picked up interesting stuff in that shop such as Symphony No.5 by Kabelac.

Their staff were notoriously surly and supercilious with their customers. I remember the following telephone conversation exchange whilst ordering a CD from home.

HM Staff Member: 'What are the initials on your credit card?'

Me: 'J and M'

HM Staff: 'Was that M or N?'

Me (answering quickly): 'M for Monkey'

HM Staff, (with surprised and supercilious tone): 'Oh, what an unusual middle name!'

[Pohjolas Daughter]

The pressings are excellent, P. The problem for them is the location of the shop sandwiched between Oxford and Carnaby Street with rent and rates through the roof!
The box set of Dvorak chamber works on the sister label Legend is outstanding. I recall buying it in the early days of the second coming for me of vinyl and being pleased as punch with the purchase.
https://www.discogs.com/search/?q=Rediffusion%20legend&type=all

Thanks Irons! 

PD

[Irons]

Harold Moores has been teetering on the brink of extinction for years now so I am not surprised. I didn't know about the HMV shop though. Their main store in Oxford Street used to be up near the Marble Arch end but they opened a mega-store near the Tottenham Court Road end; the latter had an extensive classical department in the basement. Have both stores now closed?

I always thought the store by the Regent Street and Oxford Street crossroads was the main store, but I may be wrong. The last time I was up there the one by Bond Street station was still open. The infamous Mike Ashley took over the former for his Sport Direct brand. I wandered in out of curiosity and felt like crying. As you say the classical department was extensive and had an air of tranquillity, the knowledgeable staff were always ready to offer advice. 

[MusicTurner]

Novak - Slovak Suite (1903) + South-Bohemian Suite (1937) /Vajnar /supraphon LP 1984

  It's a bit of a mystery why Novak recordings are so less plentiful than those of Suk, with few, if any, non-Czech among them, since they both wrote attractive music, and Novak perhaps was the most ambitious one of the two composers ... perhaps there's a bit of an autumnal glow in these quasi-nostalgic works, besides the folksy traits, reminding of say, Delius. In the Slovak Suite, maybe even Wagner comes to mind in the first, hymn-like setting, complete with harp and organ. There are more modern traits in the South Bohemian Suite, where say, in the long March of the Taborites, a percussive piano helps underlining the atmosphere and build-up, reminding almost of Honegger, for instance.

  Sonics and the performance are good, I can't imagine that the other versions I have (Sejna/LP in the Slovak Suite, and Bostock/CD in the South Bohemian Suite) are better. The liner notes are good and informative too.

[MusicTurner]

Hi MT,

When you say that you tend to avoid the DG Archiv type are you referring to the ones that I said that I had a copy of one of the Fournier/Bach Suites one and had provided a photo?  Or of a different pressing?  And, also, you think that the sound is better on the old yellow DG gatefolds?  I have a few of those--of early Gregorian chant music.

PD

I don't think I have any of the Archiv gatefold ones to directly compare, so it's a just a general, perhaps misunderstood opinion of mine, based on the few I've heard. None of the yellow gatefold DGs I own (which are few) are in stereo, but the performances and music are of more interest to me, than the Archiv ones. But some of those DG releases have apparently been in stereo too; then I have just them in different releases by DG. Stereo gatefolds were in fact a novelty to me, which I only discovered due to the theme of the recent entries here, in this thread ... 

[Pohjolas Daughter]

The pressings are excellent, P. The problem for them is the location of the shop sandwiched between Oxford and Carnaby Street with rent and rates through the roof!
The box set of Dvorak chamber works on the sister label Legend is outstanding. I recall buying it in the early days of the second coming for me of vinyl and being pleased as punch with the purchase.
https://www.discogs.com/search/?q=Rediffusion%20legend&type=all

Looking again at some of the Rediffusion LPs, I noticed that there was at least one LP which wasn't a license but a new recording; it was recorded at Wigmore Hall.  This one:

https://www.discogs.com/Radoslav-Kvapil-Songs-Of-Innocence-And-Experience-Mussorgsky-Piano-Music/release/8080626

Did they do many of these?

HM Staff Member: 'What are the initials on your credit card?'

Me: 'J and M'

HM Staff: 'Was that M or N?'

Me (answering quickly): 'M for Monkey'

HM Staff, (with surprised and supercilious tone): 'Oh, what an unusual middle name!'

  Trying to be witty I'm sure.

I don't think I have any of the Archiv gatefold ones to directly compare, so it's a just a general, perhaps misunderstood opinion of mine, based on the few I've heard. None of the yellow gatefold DGs I own (which are few) are in stereo, but the performances and music are of more interest to me, than the Archiv ones. But some of those DG releases have apparently been in stereo too; then I have just them in different releases by DG. Stereo gatefolds were in fact a novelty to me, which I only discovered due to the theme of the recent entries here, in this thread ... 

Thanks for your thoughts on them and good to read your comments regarding Novak too.  Looking at the Wiki entry, I see some possible reasons as to why his music at least during his lifetime didn't become more popular.     It sounds though that there was a renewed interest in at least some of his works late in his life (see "musical resistance").  I would love to hear more of it and more often too (like on the radio and in concert halls).

PD

PD

[MusicTurner]

Indeed, reading that entry, there seems to have been a lot of both political stuff and personal intrigues & rivalry influencing the musical climate in his days, besides the obvious problems of the wars and the Nazi invasion ...

[Irons]

Looking again at some of the Rediffusion LPs, I noticed that there was at least one LP which wasn't a license but a new recording; it was recorded at Wigmore Hall.  This one:

https://www.discogs.com/Radoslav-Kvapil-Songs-Of-Innocence-And-Experience-Mussorgsky-Piano-Music/release/8080626


PD

At least two, methinks.

[Irons]

Indeed, reading that entry, there seems to have been a lot of both political stuff and personal intrigues & rivalry influencing the musical climate in his days, besides the obvious problems of the wars and the Nazi invasion ...

Probably fanciful, but I have often thought that having a genius as Dvorak did Czech music more harm then good, and none more so then his son-in-law, Josef Suk. The only composer of note of the following generation that completely shook off the shackles of the great man and had his own voice from day one is Janacek. Some of Suk's chamber music is very good but too like Dvorak's for its own good. Suk was a composer of real worth who had a voice, the Asrael Symphony proves that, but maybe the Dvorak influence curtailed his development as a composer. 

[prémont]

...... and that some performers are less interesting (Wenzinger, Lehmann etc.).

[MusicTurner]

What would be some of your favourites from them, then, preferably in stereo?

I'm not much into Baroque mono, like it's the case with 'Impressionist' orchestral music, much preferring a better, 'festive' sound picture and timbre. Chosen exceptions are some Scherchen, Mengelberg and pianist's recordings, with plenty of individuality. I also have some Casals, Landowska, Neel and Schweitzer in Bach, but mainly due to their importance in the recorded legacy. Maybe more. Culled a few others.

And I own the Wenzinger Brockes Passion, in stereo, but it's been ages since I heard it. And Lehmann's mono Water Music. Both LPs.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Probably fanciful, but I have often thought that having a genius as Dvorak did Czech music more harm then good, and none more so then his son-in-law, Josef Suk. The only composer of note of the following generation that completely shook off the shackles of the great man and had his own voice from day one is Janacek. Some of Suk's chamber music is very good but too like Dvorak's for its own good. Suk was a composer of real worth who had a voice, the Asrael Symphony proves that, but maybe the Dvorak influence curtailed his development as a composer.

Interesting thoughts Irons.

It would be interesting to know how often (if at all) Josef Suk, Sr. either asked for Dvorak's opinion about works in progress, or ideas that he had for works, etc.  Also, if Dvorak commented much about Suk's works, offered suggestions and how his approval or displeasure of them influenced Suk's compositions.  He (Suk, Sr.) did study under Dvorak (how many years I don't know) plus he was married to his daughter.  In any event, I do enjoy Suk, Sr.'s music.   

At least two, methinks.

Neat!

PD

[Biffo]

Probably fanciful, but I have often thought that having a genius as Dvorak did Czech music more harm then good, and none more so then his son-in-law, Josef Suk. The only composer of note of the following generation that completely shook off the shackles of the great man and had his own voice from day one is Janacek. Some of Suk's chamber music is very good but too like Dvorak's for its own good. Suk was a composer of real worth who had a voice, the Asrael Symphony proves that, but maybe the Dvorak influence curtailed his development as a composer.

Janacek is really only half a generation behind Dvorak and probably more influenced by Smetana, initially at least, before finding his own way through folksong.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Some recent LP acquisitions for me:

Fibich:  Spring, The Romance of Spring, At Twilight and A Night at Karlstein with Nada Sormova, Karel Prusa, Prague Radio Chorus and Orchestra and Frantisek Vajnar (a digital recording on Supraphon):



and an album by David Geringas (cellist) of works by Haydn, Boccherini and Vivaldi with the RIAS-Sinfonietta Berlin and Leopold Hager on Parnass:



PD

[Irons]

Janacek is really only half a generation behind Dvorak and probably more influenced by Smetana, initially at least, before finding his own way through folksong.

You are right. Idyla for String Orchestra, an early work, is absolutely charming and an influence from Smetana (and Dvorak) is clear. It was late in life when the Janacek as we know him emerged with for example, Taras Bulba and Sinfonietta.

[Irons]

Some recent LP acquisitions for me:

Fibich:  Spring, The Romance of Spring, At Twilight and A Night at Karlstein with Nada Sormova, Karel Prusa, Prague Radio Chorus and Orchestra and Frantisek Vajnar (a digital recording on Supraphon):



and an album by David Geringas (cellist) of works by Haydn, Boccherini and Vivaldi with the RIAS-Sinfonietta Berlin and Leopold Hager on Parnass:



PD

I do not know David Geringas, P. Is that a German label?

In the past I avoided digital LP recordings but not any more as I have found them very good.
Checking my shelves I have two Fibich recordings: 2nd Symphony with Sejna and CPO (mono) and String Trio plus Quintet for Violin, Clarinet, French Horn, Cello and Piano.
Your Fibich looks very nice - I like the titles - I would purchase for certain if coming across a copy. Post your thoughts, I look forward to reading them.