AP releases Rachmaninoff"s Symphonic Dances on LP

24.45.228.177

Posted on November 8, 2009 at 08:13:14

ecl876
Audiophile

Posts: 320
Location: New York
Joined: January 14, 2007

Just listened to this new 45 RPM release. I think this was a TAS listing.I have the Athena released years ago, but it was quite noisy. The mastering here by Kevin Grey is quite good. There are probably better performances but this is an excellent and dynamic sounding recording. While not perfectly quiet, it is quite a bit better than the Athena, pressed at Pallas in Germany and presented in the same cheap covers we have come to expect from Acoustic Sounds 45 releases. However, I applaud Chad for releasing this- it can't be a big money maker- and hope for more classic releases.Here's an early Sterophile review:

Symphonic Dances, a three-part suite written in 1940 and dedicated to Eugene Ormandy, was Rachmaninoff's final composition. It was scored for two pianos or orchestra. This orchestral performance has---as all dance music should---superb colorations coupled with vibrant rhythms. Johanos and the DSO play with intensity and immense energy in the McFarlin Auditorium of Southern Methodist University. The performance was expertly captured by Mowrey and Hancock for the 1967 Vox Turnabout LP. Athena has come to our rescue by re-releasing this masterpiece with sonics that, if anything, even outdo the original. The excellent soundstaging, superb portrayal of inner detail, and stunning dynamics make this a wonderfully lifelike recording.

http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/64100/Donald_Johanos-Rachm

Bought sealed original, $1, very nice. NT

MVA

11:41:26 11/08/09

RE: AP releases Rachmaninoff"s Symphonic Dances on LP

Rodan

10:46:40 11/08/09

Or you can buy an original for $1

vinyl1

08:54:59 11/08/09

If anyone thinks the Athena is noisy, they ought to try the original.

Dave Pogue

06:00:35 11/09/09

Bought sealed original, $1, very nice. NT, posted on November 8, 2009 at 11:41:26
MVA Manufacturer Posts: 90 Location: S.E. Michigan Joined: March 6, 2001	NT

RE: AP releases Rachmaninoff"s Symphonic Dances on LP, posted on November 8, 2009 at 10:46:40

Rodan
Audiophile

Posts: 193
Joined: October 30, 2007

I agree that the folks at Analog Productions are doing every LP lover a great service by issuing Symphonic Dances on 45, especially given the astronomical prices of the Athena I've seen on the used market. Of course, vinyl1 is right: if you can snag the Turnabout original at the Salvos, et al. for $1, you're in business! It's a wonderful record.

I was surprised by your comment that your Athena reissue is noisy. The copy I bought when it was first released is still very quiet after many playings. But I guess pressing variations are pretty much par for the course with some of these relatively limited run reissues. I've had to send back several reissues that were defective in one way or another (noise, atomic blast ticks, scratches/gouges, etc.). That said, I think reissues are great in that give me an opportunity--at a price, of course--to acquire recordings that in their original form are too rare/too expensive to ever consider.

Or you can buy an original for $1, posted on November 8, 2009 at 08:54:59
vinyl1 Audiophile Posts: 2951 Joined: October 3, 2001	Turnabout TV 341454, they sold quite a few of them.

If anyone thinks the Athena is noisy, they ought to try the original., posted on November 9, 2009 at 06:00:35
Dave Pogue Audiophile Posts: 7491 Location: DC Area Joined: October 9, 2001 Contributor Since: March 18, 2003	I have both and there's no comparison. My new-looking original sounds like it was pressed on reground vinyl.

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Vinyl Asylum

AP releases Rachmaninoff"s Symphonic Dances on LP

24.45.228.177