Found 7 product(s) in the

Vinyl Records

category in the

Classical Music

genre from the

Reference Recordings

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Product Reviews

Michael Stern - Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3 'Organ'

Product No: AREF 1514
Available: BackOrdered
Category: 45 RPM Vinyl Record
Label: Reference Recordings

5 Stars
Posted Saturday, September 30, 2023 by Anonymous Very good fidelity, quiet surface, and and moving performance. My SVS sub shakes the room with the pedal notes; didn't know vinyl had such low, powerful frequencies! Highly recommended if you like this music. One needs a good low frequency system to appreciate the power of this performance. Otherwise, just a good, clean, orchestration and balanced organ. Again, recommended!

Eiji Oue - Stravinsky: The Rite Of Spring

Product No: AREF 1515
Available: BackOrdered
Category: 45 RPM Vinyl Record
Label: Reference Recordings

such promise, until the needle hits the groove

1 Stars
Posted Thursday, August 19, 2021 by scott baxter I had such hopes, but this is a very noisy record. Far too many pops and audible grit throughout both disks. I always wash a brand new record, and re-washing made no difference. The record was put through a degritter cleaner and it made no difference. I bought a second lp set and it sounded just the same. This is wasted money. I have a near 40 year old Antal Dorati/London Symphony recording by London Digital and it is so much more quiet.

Apart from the abysmal surface, this 'read' of the score is rather more relaxed than I think it should be, but we're now talking about matters of taste. Overall, it's too languid, lacking attack on certain passages that should literally shock the listener. Both the Bernstein and Dorati led recordings do a better job in this respect.

Overall I'd say this is a very problematic recording that had superb potential, but that is squandered by the rash of artifacts scattered across the surface of both disks.

Michael Stern - Elgar: Enigma Variations/ Vaughn Williams: The Wasps/ Greensleeves

Product No: AREF 2508
Available: InStock
Category: 45 RPM Vinyl Record
Label: Reference Recordings

Underwhelming

2 Stars
Posted Thursday, February 6, 2014 by MVBC It is remarkable that in the 1950s and 1960s sound engineers knew how to record a symphonic orchestra. Obviously in the XXI century, they don't. This recording is a sonic soup. It is not precised on what speakers this bouillon was mixed, but I can guarantee they were not JBL professional studio monitors! These guys should embark on a Mercury Living Presence experience for ear opening. Do not believe the grandiose reviews from the media. As for the musical value, riding on a famous name does not cut it: it's anemic. I truly feel that I wasted $50 on the half speed mastered 45 RPM version.

Eiji Oue - Respighi: Belkis, Queen Of Sheba Suite, Pines Of Rome

Product No: AREF 1509
Available: InStock
Category: 200 Gram Vinyl Record
Label: Reference Recordings

Another brilliant RR release

5 Stars
Posted Thursday, January 30, 2014 by Jonathan I have waited decades for a recorded performance of Belkis with true, audiophile pretensions. The only other LP I have heard of this work was an early era digital Chandos release from the 80s, but this new RR release was well worth the wait. This new RR LP release retains all the hallmarks of this label - a monumental dynamic range and as true a depiction of true concert hall sound and perspective as possible. This recording in particular will torture even the most esoteric LP playback chains to the limit, since apart from anything else there is quite simply no option other than to have the playback level set to emulate the same sound pressure levels as heard at a live performance - such is the extreme dynamic range inherent in these two Respighi works. So far as the Belkis work is concerned, if you are unfamiliar with it, I am not sure what will astonish you more - the fact that it is so seldom heard or performed, or the excellence of both the performance itself and the recording.

Eiji Oue - Exotic Dances From The Opera

Product No: AREF 1505
Available: InStock
Category: 180 Gram Vinyl Record
Label: Reference Recordings

The Perfect

5 Stars
Posted Thursday, November 8, 2012 by Jonathan As vinyl lovers we always dream of that "perfect" record. Perfect sound, perfect packaging, a perfect pressing and a great performance. This recording has all of these qualities and even writing as a very pedantic audiophile, I don't hesitate to give it 10/10 for everything.

This is the closest recorded sound to what I hear in a real concert hall and the pressing is flawless. Even notwithstanding the demand for realistic high volume listening (due to the extreme dynamic range), the noise levels on account of the vinyl medium are still sufficiently low as to be all but inaudible. You really might as well be in the concert hall since there is virtually nothing at all to give away the fact that you are actually listening to a vinyl record at home.

Given the high price of audiophile vinyl these days, to think this is so reasonably priced simply adds the icing onto an already very tasty cake. I certaintly won't hesitate to purchase future classical titles in this range.

Eiji Oue - Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances; Vocalise

Product No: AREF 1504
Available: InStock
Category: 180 Gram Vinyl Record
Label: Reference Recordings

Perfect

5 Stars
Posted Monday, April 9, 2012 by Anonymous

Eiji Oue - Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite/ The Song of the Nightingale

Product No: AREF 1502
Available: BackOrdered
Category: 200 Gram Vinyl Record
Label: Reference Recordings

Better Than Ever!

5 Stars
Posted Tuesday, October 11, 2011 by Scott Wilson Though the spectacular first release from Quality Records, Cat Steven's "Tea For The Tillerman" grabbed most of the attention this month, the news that Reference Recordings has teamed up with Quality Records for it's new series of vinyl releases is just as exciting. If the first Reference Masrercut is any indicator, we are going to be spoiled superb 200gm pressings of recordings from the great Reference Recordings catalog. This has quickly become one of my favorite recordings of Stravinsky's masterpiece "The Firebird", and is right up there with Dorati's on Mercury. The sound is incredible, the pressing is perfect. Definitely recommended!