This thrilling, epoch-making masterpiece remains fascinating to this very day thanks to its bloodcurdling rhythms, its secretive, intertwined melodies, and the boiling, seething, and lashing of the titanic instrumental forces. And Sir Georg Solti and his phenomenal orchestra certainly ensure that all this is brought over to the listener. The notes of the lyrical passages simply fly out of the loudspeakers with the lightness and airyness to which one is accustomed with DECCA recordings from this era. But one can still be astounded by this audiophile work of art: such a gentle, voluminous, lashing and pounding sound-storm is only normally heard live in the concert hall. And precisely because this recording sounds so marvellous, it tops the vinyl charts in the American specialist magazine The Absolute Sound.

Artykuł STRAVINSKY<br />Le Sacre Du Printemps<br />Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti pochodzi z serwisu Cleartone.

This four-movement composition employs traditional forms such as the sonata form in the outer movements and the pre-Classical dances menuet and gavotte. The work’s carefree esprit, serenade-like humor, and courtly elegance is delightful throughout and culminates in a high-spirited sturm und drang Finale.

On the B side is Glinka’s Kamarinskaya Fantasia, only eight minutes long but captivating with its extremely closely-knit compositional style, and his Overture to A Life for the Czar – a showpiece whose leitmotifs are truly forward-looking. Alongside these classical-romantic musical gems, Borodin’s In The Steppes of Central Asia acts as an ideal programmatic amalgamation of the Orient and the Occident, and fits perfectly into this choice of repertoire.

Artykuł PROKOFIEV, GLINKA, BORODIN<br />Karinskaja Fantasy / A life for the Czar / In the steps of central Asia<br />Ernest Ansermet, L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande pochodzi z serwisu Cleartone.

Debussy explains these Images: „I am attempting something . . . that might be called reality, but what idiots call Impressionism, a term that is completely misapplied . . . “ Throughout the whole set of these orchestral Images Debussey’s sensitive apprehension of qualities of tone is apparent. The ear of one of the most refined connoisseurs of sound in his generation is at work. The effect is wonderfully clear, stimulating and moving.

Vinyl lovers like those from Speakers Corner can lament about how difficult it can be to dig up audio treasures and enhance them to make them fresh and new. A good mastertape and precise cutting is of prime importance, of course. But a collector’s heart will also miss a beat when taking a look at the original cover. Record dealers know this only too well and demand a high price for rare original recordings, as though they were dealing in gold.
The rarer the recording, the more expensive it comes. In order to close the gap between the demand for coveted LPs and the potential for speculation with such productions, Speakers corner are re-releasing a number of first-class recordings by Mercury and Decca. All the titles appeared in their catalog but were sold out years ago.

Artykuł DEBUSSY<br />Images Pour Orchestre<br />Ataulfo Argenta, L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande pochodzi z serwisu Cleartone.

Artykuł LISZT<br />Hungarian Rhapsodies Nos. 1, 4, 5 / Battle of the Huns<br />Hermann Scherchen, Vienna State Opera Orchestra pochodzi z serwisu Cleartone.

Artykuł MILHAUD, STRAUSS R.<br />Lincolnshire Posy / Three Japanese Dances / Suite Francaise / Serenade In Es <br />Frederick Fennell, Eastman Wind Ensemble pochodzi z serwisu Cleartone.

Artykuł TCHAIKOVSKY<br />The Nutcracker<br />Ernest Ansermet, L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande -2LP pochodzi z serwisu Cleartone.

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head.

„My own preference in Sinfonia Domestica has always been for the 1964 recording from the Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell, a performance so remarkable for its driven energy that one begins to suspect that Frau Strauss may have been crushing pep pills into the family’s morning muesli. Leading an orchestra that he had trained to consistently outstanding levels of virtuosity, Szell concludes the work in a total overall time of 41:25 as well as clocking up the fastest speeds in each individual movement. Szell’s propulsive account is, however, entirely appropriate as a depiction of the composer as an ambitious young family man, utterly convinced of his own talent as he strives energetically to establish his rightful place in the world.“ – Rob Maynard, MusicWeb International

Artykuł STRAUSS R.<br />Symphonia Domestica, Op. 53<br /> The Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell pochodzi z serwisu Cleartone.

Bartók employs the inexhaustible sources of tonal writing with superb mastery to produce his own distinctive tonal language. In his dissonantly sharpened, expressive, even audacious music one can recognize peasant dance, cantilena, variation movement, rondo form, and twelve-tone themes, which however remain tonal.

During his career spanning 60 years, violinist Isaac Stern recorded this major contemporary work several times and demonstrates once again his superb mastery of his instrument in this particular recording. With bravura he conjures up eruptive snatches of melody out of the rhapsodic depths, allows the slow movement to glow with pastoral sentiment, and tears through the vast variations finale with a perfect command of the score, his instrument and his creative prowess.

Artykuł BARTOK<br />Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 2<br />Isaac Stern, Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic pochodzi z serwisu Cleartone.

Her clean and highly differentiated timbre, her lyrical expression, technical perfection, and of course her very own thrilling esprit is marvellous to hear.

No matter whether the absolute Brahms fan tucks this LP under his pillow at night, or the collector stows it away in his cupboard, or even better lets it spin around on the turntable, this LP remains invaluable for its documentary and artistic value.

Erica Morini?s 60-year career included concert performances with leading orchestras such as the Leipzig Gewandhaus and Berlin Philharmonic but regrettably she made few recordings. It?s a rare pleasure, therefore, to hear this supreme violinist at her finest in this stereo recording of Brahms?s Violin Concerto in D major, which the 61-year-old Morini made with the Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Artur Rodzinski.

It was recorded in 1956 at Walthamstow Assembly Hall in London for the Westminster label and clearly demonstrates the performer?s clean and highly differentiated timbre, lyrical expression, technical perfection, and the thrilling passion that was her trademark. This outstanding LP is one the collector will treasure for its documentary value and which the music-lover will appreciate for its insight into the work of an artist of real musical integrity.

Artykuł BRAHMS<br />Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77 <br />Erica Morini, Artur Rodzinski, Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of London pochodzi z serwisu Cleartone.