# Classical music on vinyl



## Kopachris (May 31, 2010)

Does anyone still collect vinyl records? I've recently begun after inheriting a box full of them from my wife's late father. There's a scant selection of used classical records at my local record store, and I've found it difficult to find anything reasonable on Amazon. Thus far I've only got a few classical works on vinyl: Mahler's 1st symphony, Tchaikovsky's 6th symphony, Scheherazade, Pictures at an Exhibition, Night on Bald Mountain, Rachmaninov's 2nd piano concerto and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

I'd rather avoid trawling Discogs for used records from random people. If you collect vinyl, where do you find it?


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

If you want vinyl, you're welcome to my remaining collection anytime! I sold a huge amount some 20 years ago, but kept about a 1000 of them. Some really good stuff, too.
Prokofieff Romeo and Juliet Maazel/London
Sibelius Symphonies Davis/Philips
Dvorak Symphonies Kubelik/DG
Tchaikovsky symphonies Rostropovich/EMI
Mahler symphonies Abaddo/DG
...

Come and get it! Free! They should all be in good shape; I always used high end Grado carts.


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## Kopachris (May 31, 2010)

That's a really tempting offer! It's kind of a long drive to Arizona, but would you be willing to send a few my way if I pay for shipping? I'm thinking like 10 records every two weeks until I have too many, to keep costs down.

Thank you for the offer!


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

I'm afraid I de-accessioned several thousand LPs a few years back to keep the house from exploding. Only kept 50-60 that had for me musical or sentimental value, that I didn't want to spend the money to duplicate digitally. Sorry. The ones mbhaub mentioned are really good.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I remain a vinyl enthusiast.

I also remain, or so I'm often told by family members and friends, a dinosaur in other ways.

Still, that unique effect I call the "Wow" Factor has hit me only on occasions while listening to vinyl, never CDs. What I mean is that sense that the sound one is hearing from speakers in the listening room is actually the sound of a live instrument or ensemble directly in your presence. Sure, I have a fairly good stereo set-up and CDs come across with texture and body and a strong sense of instrumental timbre, depth and "realism", but the few times over the years when I have absolutely been _startled_ by a moment of sheer sound emanating from the speakers has come while the turntable was spinning a black vinyl disc. And those are moments to treasure!

My current holdings include at least 2500 vinyl discs (likely more, split largely into classical with a couple hundred jazz and a few less rock/pop. But a lot of good stuff. Over the years I've cared for my vinyl and I can play 50 year old records (that have been played dozens of times) that look and sound like they've just been opened. Most folks out there are rather surprised by the sound that a vinyl record can achieve when well-cleaned and played back on high quality equipment, including cartridges that are so embarrassingly expensive I wouldn't want to talk about it in fear of seeing the arrival of the white-coat squad called upon by some caring person concerned about my sanity. I may be a dinosaur, but I'm not yet ready for the funny farm, and I have plenty more music to hear, especially in vinyl.

The core of truly enjoying a vinyl record has little to do with playback equipment, however. If you like the music, you'll likely enjoy it even on the least discriminating rigs. But if one truly wants to invest in vinyl today and acquire a large collection, I would strongly suggest putting part of one's investment fund into equipment: a quality turntable outfitted with the best cartridge one can afford, and a high-end step-up transformer (or phono pre-amp). You'll likely also need a record cleaning machine, especially if you are picking up discs from second-hand shops and yard-sales. Be careful about trusting your multi-thousand-buck cartridge/needle to an uncleaned yard-sale purchase. It's even advisable to clean a new record prior to playing for the first time, though one might do this with less rigor than will be tended toward a visually "dirty" yard-sale buy.

Two strong reasons for a quality turntable are for rotation stability and for vibration free playback. A good rig will spin at a steady 33 and 1/3 speed, cutting down on wow and flutter and whatever else happens when music is not running at a stable pace. Too, a solid running rig cuts out extraneous vibes that don't belong in the grooves. One still often has to deal with "hum", and this electrical issue can be notoriously difficult to pin down. Try what grounding methods you can, even the best of rigs will sometimes hum. Ground loops prove inexplicable, my friend the electrician told me once when I was attempting to resolve a hum problem that had moved into the annoying range. Hum can come and go without seeming cause. But there are things that can be tried that often help. I find that my rig sounds especially good on humid days, rainy days. Don't know why. But I take advantage of the good days and will run the rig all day long, greatly enjoying a variety of discs beyond the usual level. There's nothing like when the rig is running silent at the highest volume. Tweaking remains an important part of the dedicated vinylist. But it's part of the fun, too.

So, good luck with your vinyl collecting. Caveat! Just don't move out of the residence you currently have if you have thousands of records in a prized collection. I just did that recently, and moving the dozens of boxes of packed records (and CD discs) was the most taxing part of the project. I currently have most of my vinyl still sitting in boxes in the new garage space. I have unpacked about a quarter of it, and most of the CDs. But moving presents dynamics that prove problematical on the best days.

Still, I wouldn't want to be without my turntable and black discs. When some esteemed philosopher finally figures out the actual and true "meaning of life," I'm sure that the word "vinyl" will appear somewhere in the answer.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

I'm not a vinyl enthusiast but have about 50 in my collection. I am still amazed how many recordings there were that never came back on CD or digitally. Just to mention a couple:

-- Rossini's *Messe di Gloria* from Herbert Handt et al from 1976 never returned in any format.

-- Ditto the German LP *Kammermusik fur Blaser* produced by (please pardon my translation since I don't speak German) the Essen School for the Arts (Folkwang Hochschule Essen) with the best renderings I've ever heard of Strauss's *Serenade Op. 7*, Hoffmeister's *Echo Partita in D* and Zimmermann's *Rheinische Kirmestanze*. This LP, long out of print and hardly available anywhere, is a wind music enthusiast's delight.

-- The Angel LP Wagner *Great Scenes from Tannhauser and Gotterdamerung* with Gottlob Frick and Elisabeth Grummer never made it to any other format either. The Tannhauser bleeding chunk is magnificent, to put it mildly.

-- William Bolcom's* Black Host*, a Halloween-ish piece of modern music for percussion and other noises, came from a Nonesuch recording of the 1960s that never arrived in another format.

-- In more mainstream music one of the best recordings ever of J.S. Bach's *Magnificat* linked to Purcell's *Funeral Music for Queen Mary* by the Geraint Jones Singers and Orchestra and famous soloists, once on an Angel LP, never came back any other way.

There was once a belief anything ever recorded could be found digitally. That belief becomes more myth daily. Therefore, LPs of the past still have value.

There are also some new productions of classical music on LP I occasionally read about. I don't know any by name but I know one of the technologies today is to record at the 45 RPM speed to heighten the signal and playback possibility.


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