Thirty three and a third.

Started by Irons, November 22, 2018, 11:40:48 PM

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aligreto

Quote from: Irons on April 01, 2021, 07:38:34 AM
With a steady hand.

A steady hand is always essential in this realm.

vandermolen

This was one of my favourite Lyrita LPs. Unfortunately the works were issued on separate CDs:
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

aligreto

I thought that I would post this as it is unique in my collection. It is a double vinyl album but it is the only one in my collection which has a springback binding. The spine is metal.

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: aligreto on April 02, 2021, 05:48:41 AM
I thought that I would post this as it is unique in my collection. It is a double vinyl album but it is the only one in my collection which has a springback binding. The spine is metal.
Interesting!  I've never seen one like that before.  How often did they manufacture ones like that?

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

Irons

Quote from: vandermolen on April 01, 2021, 11:05:56 PM
This was one of my favourite Lyrita LPs. Unfortunately the works were issued on separate CDs:


Jeffrey, my first ever Lyrita LP purchase was the Berkeley 2nd Symphony and my most recent the 1st Symphony. Lyrita served Berkeley well with all three Symphonies along with a cracking issue of miscellaneous works. He seldom features in conversations of British composers because in my opinion he had his own voice and didn't go down the "cowpat" route. 

You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

aligreto

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on April 02, 2021, 05:52:02 AM
Interesting!  I've never seen one like that before.  How often did they manufacture ones like that?

PD

I have no idea PD but I have never come across another one like it in all of my shopping and digging.

André Le Nôtre

#886
Quote from: aligreto on April 02, 2021, 05:48:41 AM
I thought that I would post this as it is unique in my collection. It is a double vinyl album but it is the only one in my collection which has a springback binding. The spine is metal.

I have one like that of Anton Heiller--one of my favorite organists--playing Bach. It is Dutch Philips I believe--usually pretty good. Unfortunately, the sound quality is horrendous! I love the sound of vinyl and am used to listening to historic recordings--I find the mono recordings of the 30s - 50s, especially, and even some from the acoustic era to have a very beautiful quality! However, this one was basically unlistenable. It has nothing to do with the spiral binding of course, but just adding my 2 cents.

As for the cartridges, I was not necessarily saying that I agreed with the idea that cartridges need replacing every five years; I had a Blue Point that I used for nearly 15 years--albeit very low hours--before I had it replaced in 2016 and it performed flawlessly during the entire period. I replayed records with my new cartridge and noticed no hint of degradation whatsoever. Too bad I can't say the same for the suspension on the Oracle that failed after 3.5 years! STILL have not had that fixed...Too much going on with the pandemic, the death of my mother from it, and so on... Hopefully this summer life will stop being crappy and I will get it fixed (and go on vacation far from the Loss Angeles/HELL A area!)


vandermolen

Quote from: Irons on April 02, 2021, 07:10:47 AM
Jeffrey, my first ever Lyrita LP purchase was the Berkeley 2nd Symphony and my most recent the 1st Symphony. Lyrita served Berkeley well with all three Symphonies along with a cracking issue of miscellaneous works. He seldom features in conversations of British composers because in my opinion he had his own voice and didn't go down the "cowpat" route.
Very interesting Lol and yes, that might explain, why he is relatively neglected. the Second Symphony is my favourite along with No.1 and, of course, they are coupled together on the Lyrita CD, (as are the piano concertos) with the nice cover painting of Berkeley from your LP. I have an odd feeling that I may have attended the first performance or maybe first London performance of Symphony No.4 which is possibly when I asked Berkeley to sign my concert programme. I'm not certain however. Anyway, I prefer the first two symphonies and the marvellous Concerto for Two Pianos (the companion to Symphony No.1 on that fine old Lyrita LP). Along with Cyril Scott's Piano Concerto No.1 (Ogdon/Herrmann)and Hadley's 'The Trees So High' (which I know you like) it was one of my favourite Lyrita LPs alongside the Bax and Rubbra symphony releases.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Irons

Quote from: André Le Nôtre on April 02, 2021, 07:10:15 PM
I have one like that of Anton Heiller--one of my favorite organists--playing Bach. It is Dutch Philips I believe--usually pretty good. Unfortunately, the sound quality is horrendous! I love the sound of vinyl and am used to listening to historic recordings--I find the mono recordings of the 30s - 50s, especially, and even some from the acoustic era to have a very beautiful quality! However, this one was basically unlistenable. It has nothing to do with the spiral binding of course, but just adding my 2 cents.

As for the cartridges, I was not necessarily saying that I agreed with the idea that cartridges need replacing every five years; I had a Blue Point that I used for nearly 15 years--albeit very low hours--before I had it replaced in 2016 and it performed flawlessly during the entire period. I replayed records with my new cartridge and noticed no hint of degradation whatsoever. Too bad I can't say the same for the suspension on the Oracle that failed after 3.5 years! STILL have not had that fixed...Too much going on with the pandemic, the death of my mother from it, and so on... Hopefully this summer life will stop being crappy and I will get it fixed (and go on vacation far from the Loss Angeles/HELL A area!)

Sorry to hear of the loss of your mother.

I purchased an Ortofon Kontrapunkt C eighteen years ago. After using the cartridge for about four years, at a special birthday I treated myself to a Koetsu and put the Ortofon away with all the other cartridges accumulated over the years. Reading about a company last year that refurbishes cartridges on a whim I sent them the Ortofon for a report. It transpired that the stylus was as good as new but reaffixing to the cantilever required. That and cleaning after disassembly was all that needed to be done. The cartridge tested well and more importantly impressive in listening tests. I am currently using the Ortofon which is nearly twenty years old in my system.
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

Irons

Quote from: vandermolen on April 03, 2021, 12:19:12 AM
Very interesting Lol and yes, that might explain, why he is relatively neglected. the Second Symphony is my favourite along with No.1 and, of course, they are coupled together on the Lyrita CD, (as are the piano concertos) with the nice cover painting of Berkeley from your LP. I have an odd feeling that I may have attended the first performance or maybe first London performance of Symphony No.4 which is possibly when I asked Berkeley to sign my concert programme. I'm not certain however. Anyway, I prefer the first two symphonies and the marvellous Concerto for Two Pianos (the companion to Symphony No.1 on that fine old Lyrita LP). Along with Cyril Scott's Piano Concerto No.1 (Ogdon/Herrmann)and Hadley's 'The Trees So High' (which I know you like) it was one of my favourite Lyrita LPs alongside the Bax and Rubbra symphony releases.

Ah, there is a fourth Jeffrey, not aware of that. The third is more "difficult" then the first two. Favourite Lyrita recordings? That could be a thread all of it's own. Hardly gets a mention but I like the Scott 2nd PC too. Lets not forget Moeran or Finzi ...... I give up, the list is endless!
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

MusicTurner

Quote from: vandermolen on April 01, 2021, 11:05:56 PM
This was one of my favourite Lyrita LPs. Unfortunately the works were issued on separate CDs:


I still have that one ...

premont

Quote from: aligreto on April 02, 2021, 05:48:41 AM
I thought that I would post this as it is unique in my collection. It is a double vinyl album but it is the only one in my collection which has a springback binding. The spine is metal.

As far as I know, Ahlgrimm was the first  to record Bach's (almost) complete harpsichord works (Philips 1952). About 40 years ago I acquired the LPs you own. I have to say, that I found the interpretation very pedestrian and also found the monstrous instrument (Ammer pedal harpsichord) less suited for these small-scale works. Also as far as I recall, she doesn't do any repeats in the suites, thereby virtually truncating them. So I didn't take it with me into the digital age. However I also purchased her WTC and AoF in a newer Philips LP (1977) release, and as I appreciate her playing in these works far more, I have made a digital copy of these.
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MusicTurner

Quote from: Irons on April 03, 2021, 12:40:54 AM
Sorry to hear of the loss of your mother.

(...)

My condolences too.

MusicTurner

Quote from: (: premont :) on April 03, 2021, 04:38:47 AM
As far as I know, Ahlgrimm was the first  to record Bach's (almost) complete harpsichord works (Philips 1952). About 40 years ago I acquired the LPs you own. I have to say, that I found the interpretation very pedestrian and also found the monstrous instrument (Ammer pedal harpsichord) less suited for these small-scale works. Also as far as I recall, she doesn't do any repeats in the suites, thereby virtually truncating them. So I didn't take it with me into the digital age. However I also purchased her WTC and AoF in a newer Philips LP (1977) release, and as I appreciate her playing in these works far more, I have made a digital copy of these.

What I heard of old Ahlgrimm recordings didn't sparkle either, but others might disagree.

premont

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premont

Quote from: André Le Nôtre on April 02, 2021, 07:10:15 PM
I have one like that of Anton Heiller--one of my favorite organists--playing Bach. It is Dutch Philips I believe--usually pretty good. Unfortunately, the sound quality is horrendous!

Anton Heiller was the second (Philips 1952) to record Bach's almost complete organ works. Walcha was the first (Archiv 1947-52). I have never seen other volumes of Heiller's set for sale than the one with the toccatas. As you write the sound quality was very, very poor. This may be the reason why the set is completely forgotten to day. He re-recorded some of the works for Vanguard and Amadeo in much better sound. These newer recordings represent - as it was to be expected - a kind of proto HIP paticularly concerning registrations and articulation, and it would have been interesting to hear how informed his 1952 recording was.
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aligreto

Quote from: André Le Nôtre on April 02, 2021, 07:10:15 PM

As for the cartridges, I was not necessarily saying that I agreed with the idea that cartridges need replacing every five years; I had a Blue Point that I used for nearly 15 years--albeit very low hours--before I had it replaced in 2016 and it performed flawlessly during the entire period. I replayed records with my new cartridge and noticed no hint of degradation whatsoever. Too bad I can't say the same for the suspension on the Oracle that failed after 3.5 years! STILL have not had that fixed...Too much going on with the pandemic, the death of my mother from it, and so on... Hopefully this summer life will stop being crappy and I will get it fixed (and go on vacation far from the Loss Angeles/HELL A area!)

My sincerest condolences on the death of your mother.

aligreto

Quote from: Irons on April 03, 2021, 12:40:54 AM

I purchased an Ortofon Kontrapunkt C eighteen years ago. After using the cartridge for about four years, at a special birthday I treated myself to a Koetsu and put the Ortofon away with all the other cartridges accumulated over the years. Reading about a company last year that refurbishes cartridges on a whim I sent them the Ortofon for a report. It transpired that the stylus was as good as new but reaffixing to the cantilever required. That and cleaning after disassembly was all that needed to be done. The cartridge tested well and more importantly impressive in listening tests. I am currently using the Ortofon which is nearly twenty years old in my system.

An interesting story and good for you! As a matter of interest, how did you find the Koetsu?

Irons

Quote from: aligreto on April 03, 2021, 05:15:25 AM
An interesting story and good for you! As a matter of interest, how did you find the Koetsu?

A Koetsu Rosewood - and safe to say the same applies to the more exotic Koetsu - is not an allrounder. The midrange (which is the most important) is liquid gold but the bass is loose and treble curtailed. In some respects a magical cartridge. Oddly, no markings and nilch documentation on tracking force etc.
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

aligreto

Quote from: Irons on April 03, 2021, 07:15:03 AM
A Koetsu Rosewood - and safe to say the same applies to the more exotic Koetsu - is not an allrounder. The midrange (which is the most important) is liquid gold but the bass is loose and treble curtailed. In some respects a magical cartridge. Oddly, no markings and nilch documentation on tracking force etc.

Very interesting description of its capabilities; thank you for that.
How did you eventually sort it out? Was it by trial and error, researching on the web or contacting them directly?