Classical Record Labels and Recording Engineers...


Off and on we've had discussions about classical music record labels and recording engineers who reliably make great recordings with good performances. Some recent conversations in our local audio group here prompted me to offer the following thoughts from my experience. Please share your experiences/recommendations...


Record Labels...

On the classical side of things, I've found the following classical music labels consistently reliable for the engineering of the recording itself, for the pressing of the vinyl, and the generally high quality of the performances:

Accent
...(Some of the most natural sounding Baroque chamber recordings in my collection!)

Archive

Argo
...(A Decca label - see below.)

ASV

BASF

BIS

Calliope

Columbia (U.S.) ...only if Bruno Walter, Copland or Stravinsky are involved, otherwise watch out and buy for the music, not the sonic quality. The mastering quality is very often indifferent with dynamics being highly compressed, both ends of the frequency spectrum rolled off, and often fairly congested sounding. Chamber music typically fares a bit better than orchestral. Too bad there have been so many great artists recorded on this label.)

Columbia SAX (England)
...(An early British EMI label, highly valued on the collectors' market and scarce.)

Decca (SXL, SPA, STS, SDD, ECS, JB-Jubilee)
...(If I had to choose just one recording label around which I would build a classical music library, it would be Decca/London. In the '50s and '60s, Decca had the best engineering of any of the labels, together with wonderful artists. Many of the best of the vaunted RCA Shaded Dog recordings were actually recorded by the Decca recording team under contract for Decca. (If an RCA label LP says "recorded in England," you can assume it's a Decca contract recording.) And, no reason to shy away from the Decca reissue labels: Stereo Treasure STS -, Ace of Diamonds SDD-, and Jubilee JB-. These often are excellent, if different than the originals. Also see "London" below.)

EMI (HMV, ASD, SXLP)
...(The "Made in England" and "Made in Germany" EMI pressings are far superior to the Angel label pressings that were distributed here and manufactured by Capitol in the U.S. The EMI/Angel digital and digitally remastered LPS also are best avoided. Some of the very earliest Angels with the red label were actually pressed in England or were pressed from metal work that originated in England . These are quite good. After the red label came a blue label with lesser sound quality, and then the brown label with clouds that most of us know. Buy the brown label Angels for the music, not the sonics.)

Harmonia Mundi
...(including Black Label, USA Label, and original French - outstanding!)

Hungaraton
...(Consistently good sonics at least through the '70s. Digital Hungaratons are a mixed bag.)

Hyperion
...(Always reliable and worth a risk if you think you'd like to try the music.)

Gimmel
...(for the Tallis Scholars)

Gothic
...(For organ. Due to using a variety of recording engineers, there is some variability but overall quality is good.)

L'Oiseau Lyre
...(A Decca label, for early music. The analog recordings are better than the digital recordings. Early digital and period instruments just do not mix well.)

London (CS, OS)
...(London is the name used by Decca in the U.S. where the Decca name was controlled by another company. Made in England or Made in Holland only. Avoid the made in U.S. pressings (usually a pale yellow label).)

Lyrita (SRCS)
...(British composers. Recorded by the legendary Decca recording engineer Kenneth Wilkinson.)

Mercury (SR or SRI reissue)
...(The Mercury Golden Imports label was used for the reissues made in Holland after Mercury was acquired by Philips. These SRI- pressings are typically inexpensive and they often have excellent sonics. I never shy away from a SRI if I see one. The biggest downside with some of the SRI reissues is that Philips often crammed too much music on a side, resulting in some compression and sometimes rolled off bass to get more space for all the grooves. The SRIs are typically on quieter vinyl with a lower noise threshold and often have superior inner detail.)

Opus 3
...(A small privately owned Swedish label dedicated to acoustic music of all genre, very simply recorded with all the benefits coming from that.)

Meridian

New World
...(American composers)

Nimbus
...(I like their recordings, but some folks don't because of their reverberant acoustic)

Northeastern
...(American composers)

Pierre Verany
...(Excellent, but very pricey these days)

Philips
...(very reliable)

Proprius
...(primarily their analog recordings; their choral and organ recordings are among best recordings of choral groups and organs one may find)

Pure Pleasure (reissue label, popular and blues)

RCA (LSC, VICS plum)
...(RCA can be variable. The later ARL1 series is often not as good as the earlier LSCs. As a general rule, shaded dog and white dog labels can sound great. Red Seal labels can be quite variable. Of the Victrolas VICS-, the plum colored labels are often very good, and the pink labels are highly variable, often bright and edgy.)

Speakers Corner (reissue label, Decca, Mercury, Verve)

Telefunken

Testament (reissue label, EMI)

Valois

Vista
...(for organ, British)

Wilson Audio
...(Excellent recordings but the catalog is small)


There are other record labels that did a great job of recording, but a lousy job of manufacturing the LPs. In this category I would place as examples Command and Everest (except for the very earliest Everest pressings, the "purple mountain" labels).



Recording Engineers...

I will always look to see if the jacket tells who the recording engineer was for the record. My preference is for a "natural-sounding" recording that captures the performers and instruments in a real acoustic space where the performance occurred, and that gives me a sense either of looking through a window on the performance or bringing the performance into my room. I'm looking for natural soundstaging in width and depth, without artificial highlighting of instruments. I'm also looking for believable instrumental timbre and capturing the harmonic overtones of the instruments. Just like a stereo system, for me a recording must first capture the midrange accurately, then the frequency extremes, then the inner detail and micro-dynamics, then the macro dynamics, and then the acoustic space. With these priorities in mind, the recording engineers whose work I most highly value are (alphabetically):

Kavi Alexander (Water Lily Acoustics and free lance work)

Marc Aubort (free lance, often seen on Nonesuch with producer Joanna Nickrenz – a great recording team and on Vox/Turnabout)

Bob Auger (free lance, Hyperion, ASV , CRD)

Mr. Bear (pseudonym used by EMI engineer Mike Clements for his free lance work for Hyperion, Gimmel and other labels)

Mike Clements (see Mr. Bear)

Tony Faulkner (Hyperion and others)

Antony Howell (Hyperion and others)

David Jones (particularly his piano recordings for the Connoisseur Society label)

Peter McGrath (the Harmonia Mundi USA series)

Jean-Francois Pontefract (Harmonia Mundi, HM- series)

Tryggvi Tryggvason

Roy Wallace (Decca, '60s)

Kenneth Wilkinson (legendary Decca engineer, I'm particularly fond of his pre mid-'70s work for Decca. Starting in the early to mid '70s, Decca started dictating much more multi-miking. Contrast his mid-'70s recordings for Decca in Chicago with the work he was doing for Lyrita at the same time, where he retained full artistic control. Wilkinson is responsible for the wonderful sonics in the Readers Digest series of "Treasury of Great Music" with producer Charles Gerhardt, reissued in part by Chesky.)



So, what are your favorite labels? And what recording engineers make a difference for you?

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128x128rushton
Thanks to all the thoughtful Audiogon members who have already registered their impressions.

Being a "senior citizen" chronologically, I've had the opportunity to experience virtually the entire evolution of high fidelity recordings for home listening.

In terms of recording labels and engineers, starting with vinyl, my large collection was built on many excellent Columbia CS360's from the late '50s and early 60's, as well as RCA Living Stereo LSC categories. The pressings were far more reliable on Columbia than RCA, in terms of general surface noise, thumps, pops and the like. I too, loved the Mercury SR releases, especially because of the plethora of American composers, and particularly the work of Frederick Fennell and the Eastman Wind Ensemble.

Imported records were hard to find in those days of the '50s and early '60s, even in NYC where I lived and had access to big stores like Sam Goody, The Record Hunter and the like. But superlative EMI's and early DGG European pressings were occasionally very rewarding purchases (at the generally lofty price of $5.98, rather than $2.99 for domestic labels on frequent sale!) I agree that the Decca/Londons were often wonderful, as well. I have many fine recordings from Ernest Ansermet and the Suisse Romande Orchestra on that label. Later, the Phase 4 series emphasized somewhat "gimmicky" audio quality, but for their time, they were great demonstration records.

Philips came in the late '60s and early '70s, and perhaps produced the finest massed-produced disks in terms of superlative, noise-free pressings. Of course, having Sir Colin Davis, Bernard Haitink, with the London Symphony and Concertgebouw orchestras respectively made for some incredible listening, particularly Davis' beautiful intepretations of Berlioz works, that in my opinion, are yet to be exceeded.

Direct Disk recording- a brief entrance and exit from the audio arena, but I still think my Doug Sax-produced and engineered Sheffield recordings compete with the very best of my CD's. A very limited repertoire to be sure, but the revitalization of this pre-tape recording technique makes for some very special listening, particularly with a turntable/arm/cartridge combination worthy of these rarities (which I now own). Bert Whyte made a few amazing Direct Disk recordings on Crystal Clear records with Virgil Fox, after his pioneering engineering work on Everest Recordings.

In terms of recording engineers specifically, I agree with many readers in treasuring the following masters' work:

Lewis Layton- simply amazing RCA recordings, often done with just a few (two or three) Telefuken mikes. Beautiful balance and thrilling dynamics. Check out the following vinyl recordings- Alexander Nevsky- Reiner, and Chicago Symphony, as well as Daphnis and Chloe complete ballet with Munch/BSO (not issued on CD). His murder in the the Port Authority Bus Terminal in NYC was a tragedy for those who appreciated his unique skills. Thanks to Lew, long live analog, in my opinion!

Edward "Bud" Graham- a very versatile Columbia engineer, who could bounce from Broadway to Gabrieli, and delivered gorgeous Philadelphia Orchestra recordings, NOT in the acoustically dead Academy of Music which was home to this orchestra, but in other sonically kinder venues, including Manhattan Center. One of my favorites- works of Frederick Delius, from 1962, including Brigg Fair.

C. Robert Fine- A legend, period. Made Mercury an early audioiphile's dream label. Countless superb recordings, that live on, through the kindness of his late wife and producer, Wilma Cozart. Many fine engineers today consider Bob their adopted "father."

Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz- agree completely that their work, which propelled Nonesuch to greatness, stands as landmark efforts for a then-new niche budget priced label, Nonesuch.

Kenneth Wilkinson- Fabulous recordings made in Kingsway Hall in London. Did a masterful job on the Charles Gerhardt series of movie score recordings for RCA. Of course, his many wide range, highly musical recordings include the famous "Kingsway rumble" of the nearby London Underground trains, at no extra charge!

Enter the digital age, and the explosion of work from around the world available in the first music megastore- Tower Records, and later Virgin Records (pre-internet shopping was more physically demanding, but fun in its own way).

Telarc Records- founded by a professional musician, and audiophile giant- Jack Renner. Unlike some of the other commentators in this thread, I greatly admire and own dozens of his CD's- my particular favorite is "Uptown," with Andre Previn, Mundell Lowe, Ray Brown. It is as natural a sound as you can get, in my opinion. I am honored to have Jack now as a personal friend, and he has given his "thumbs up" to my system, as well! His wife, Ms. Barbara Pease, is a top piano technican (who cares for my own Bosendorfer), and prepared the pianos for many of Jack and Andre's recordings. Having also met Mr. Previn in person, he echoes my great respect for Jack and Barbara. Jack used the minimalist mike technique, wherever possible, and pioneered by Bob Fine, whom he admires greatly, and has won over 20 Grammy awards. Now in retirement, but still with one of the keenest set of ears on earth, and a warm, witty persona to boot. He has said simply that his goal was to make a recording that put the listener "in the best seat in the house," by no means easily accomplished in such a consistent fashion!

Reference Recordings- Keith Johnson. Another extraordinary figure in audio. You can't go wrong with virtually any of this label's 100+ recordings, ranging from Jazz to Classical, to brass ensembles and pipe organ recordings. Keith, like Jack, is a recording genius, and has pioneered major developments in the field, including the HDCD system, as well as a fine line of high end audio gear, named Spectral.

Hyperion Recordings- Antony Howell- amazing liturgical recordings, including pipe organ, from massive British cathedrals, with exemplary sound clarity, despite the challenges of a huge, reverberant recording space. Also, Tony Faulkner- many fine recordings for the same label. Admired greatly by Jack Renner, for whom Tony did special modifications of the Sony digital recorder that succeeded the Soundstream machine that launched the digital era.

Delos Recordings- John Eargle- was a master at recording pipe organs, but did many fine orchestral and solo piano recordings for this label. Also favored minimalist mike work. Check out this wonderful label. Sadly, one of its founders, Ms. Amelia Haygood, passed away recently. Her co-founder, Ms. Carol Rosenberger, has made many fine piano recordings for the label.

Gothic Recordings- for those who love the pipe organ, this label is a treasure trove of fine CD's. Eugene Kimball, Joe Bellamy and Harry Munz have made fine recordings of pipe organs from all over the USA, including Hawaii. You will be rewarded with beautiful performances and recordings to complement them.

Chandos Recordings- A nearly 30 year record of countless fine recordings, many engineered by Brian Couzens. The uncanny sense of space that many of these performances provide make it a very consistently rewarding listening experience. The sound is usually crystalline, without being harsh. Many lesser known British composers finally found a deserved place on modern recordings, thanks to this wonderful label.

DGG- A gigantic repository of memorable recordings, but with variable recording quality. Some will overwhelm you, in terms of sound quality. Rainer Mallard is a particularly fine recording engineer.

John Newton- an award-winning free lance engineer, who owns Soundmirror, here in Boston. He knows the acoustics of Symphony Hall intimately. Won the Best Recording Grammy for his Daphnis and Chloe recording with James Levine and the Boston Symphony. Has made many fine recordings elsewhere, for Philips, Naxos and other labels.

For now, that's what I can recall, but perhaps other participants will reawaken memories of other worthy people in the field to be recognized and remembered.

Enjoy your listening!
Jonathan Kleefield, MD
Your post is a wonderful Christmas gift to us all, Jonathan (Slew43). Thank you!

Best wishes,
Just to clarify: Earlier Lyrita pressings, produced by Decca, are thicker and sound better balanced than later pressings by Nimbus, which tend to sound a bit bright.
And the Lyrita Nimbus pressings tend to be more transparent and resolving through the midrange, with a bit more clarity and detail. I certainly have never been disappointed with a Nimbus pressing, as I have with some of the Decca pressings. YMMV.
Thanks so much, Rushton, for your very kind words, and Happy New Year!

Another recording engineer deserves recognition, though not in the audio-only world- Sean Murphy. His work is heard in many "blockbuster" movies, and John Williams has the highest praise for him, as does Jack Renner. Sean did some wonderful recordings of Williams and the Boston Pops in the 80's and 90's in Symphony Hall. A particularly spectacular recording is "Summon the Heroes," released as a CD on the Sony label in 1996. It is a collection of music, some composed by Williams as Olympic fanfares, and quite familiar to any sports devotee. Other compositions are included, some of which are rarities and most worthy of a listen. Mr. Murphy captured the Symphony Hall ambience superbly, and the recording has wide dynamic range, yet excellent instrumental clarity- a recommended demonstration-class recording.

Historically, though, check out some of the work of Murray Spivack, a drummer, who had a major influence on recorded film sound, beginning with his landmark engineering for the original, 1933 version of King Kong. One of his last projects was West Side Story, in 1961, made for United Artists, in multitrack stereo, and wonderfully restored on DVD. Quite a career, indeed.

Happy listening, fellow Audiogoners!