Out of almost idle curiosity I clicked onto the orchestral RING excerpts conducted by George Szell.  Like many others, I had grown up with the 1968 stereo re-makes.  But over the years, after the exciting "Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla"  I could never fight off a growing sense of  disappointment with the other tracks...Little did I know that, on November 1 & 2, 1956, Szell and his Clevelanders had recorded a fuller selection of  the  RING excerpts which, in  terms of nuance and phrasing, overall orchestral detail, energy and FEELING, simply blow the re-makes out of the water.  THIS kind of music-making justifies the miraculous legend of Szell & his Clevelanders.  THIS is the forgotten Szell who regularly conducted German opera in Prague between the World Wars, and occasionally at the MET until 1946 - not the later Szell who allegedly had ice-water in his veins. 

True, the "Entrance into Valhalla" was not recorded in  '56 -  and so one must hang onto the '68 for that reason alone...But here we get Wotan's Farewell flowing into the Magic Fire Music (which the '68 lacks).  Taken together, the '68 "Valhalla" and the other tracks from '56 comprise perhaps the most satisfying orchestral tour of the RING from anyone, at any time. 

 Your transfer is clean, clear, and warm as a cello in a wood-panelled hall...I had to remind myself  (although, come to think of it, why should I?) that "This is mid-Fifties mono."  And there is none of that dynamically "pinched" sound which even later stereo engineers were getting in Severance Hall...A  true winner.  Congratulations !  

Mark F.   Syracuse, NY  1/18/10

Thank you so much for your recent shipment. The Kubelik/Tchaikovsky is every bit as good as your other Kubelik/CSO/Mercury issues, which is to say it sounds almost as good as those Kubelik/CSO performances that Polygram/Mercury transferred from the master tapes. But the real achievement is the Dorati/Minneapolis Bartok Concerto for Orchestra. You've outdone yourself on this one, either per the mono tracks or the very tastefully achieved ambient stereo version. For decades folks have told me that Dorati never matched, let alone outdid, his early mono recording in subsequent stereo remakes for Mercury and others. So true! There is a grittiness and vibrancy in this performance that quite puts in the shade every other Bartok Concerto recording by Dorati. It is a great realization of Bartok's masterpiece and your transfer does it full and complete justice. A triumph!
T. B.
11/16/09

RE: Wood / Harty Haydn CD
J'ai seulement reçu votre CD Historical Haydn ce mardi 10. Je l'ai écouté hier et je suis très (très) satisfait de votre transfert. Il existe une réelle ouverture du message sonore et une dynamique vraiment impressionnante pour des enregistrements aussi anciens. Votre idée de terminer le 3ème mouvement de la symphonie 101 se justifie parfaitement considérant la durée des 78 tours qui imposaient de ne pas faire de reprises et d'adopter un tempo souvent très rapide. La symphonie de trouve maintenant mieux équilibrée.
J-F. L.
Belgium
11/10/09

10/24/08
I've purchased a number of CD's from you. All have been wonderful. But, I wanted to make special mention of the Munch Tchaikovsky 4 and Francesca da Rimini release. This is an outstanding release in every way! The sound is unbelievable. The performance, also. I just wanted to pass along some good Karma. Thanks for your work and I look forward to your future releases.
E. R. 

10/18/08
Haydn House,
Thanks for making these available. CDs arrived Oct 14. Kurtz' Gayaneh is among the treasures of my lifetime, especially Lezghinka and the Russian Dance.
L.P.
Glenndale, CA

10/17/08
Just received the 12-disc CD package yesterday from HH. Have only had time to review half the discs, but of the ones I've heard, the Vivaldi by Hermann Scherchen ("Cimento dell'armonia dell' inventione") was the real standout. I've never heard a Four Seasons like this -- it even tops the Marriner & St. Martin version I've had for years. Plus there're other great concertos, and I haven't even gotten to the second disc yet! Congrats on reissuing this awesome set of performances. 
P.K. 

I just wanted to compliment your organization on tremendous transfers. They are excellent in quality and far superior to the ones I have endeavored to do myself (especially Graffman/Munch in Brahms 1st piano concerto in listening to the mp3 excerpt on your website). I thank you for your excellent work and providing a real service in making long out-of-print recordings available again on CD.
S.L. 
AZ
3/28/08


Greetings.
Thanks for sending the NYP/Szell CDs that arrived yesterday. They sound fantastic!!!!  Unbelievable! The Beethoven 6th is pure gold and the Weber overtures are white heat! Keep up the great work! Still looking for some BSO/Leinsdorf Brahms symphonies (1 & 3, and 4) if you find them.
All the best.
G.D. 

 
I have received the Woldike Haydn symphony discs, along with my order. The performances are even better than I remembered, and I am very pleased to have them back in my collection. (It has been many years since I've had the LPs.) Your transfers are excellent. Again, thank you very much. Best regards from Atlanta. 
J.B.

4/9/09
RE: Widor Organ Symphonies 1-10
Received the CDs today. The transfers are superb. Many thanks for your work and to the person who supplied the LPs. I am listening to the Widor 3rd as I write this and I think I have died and gone to heaven. Thank you very much.
C. B.
Jacksonville, FL

Y’all:
I recently received my order of “Historic Organs of Italy and Spain” and “Organ Music of Portugal and Spain”. Like everyone else, I, too, wish to sing praises for the quality of your LP transfers – simply spectacular! …but you probably don’t actually want to hear me, uh, ‘sing’….
Also, I just about swear I read it somewhere on your website, but durned if I can find it now. I ‘recall’ reading that if we (customers) have a request to have one of our LPs transferred to CD, write to you for details. Unless I’m just about completely daft and imagined I read about it, please let me know your policy about having that done. Of course, I envision it would have to be an album that would be of interest to others. But, I’d like to know the particulars – again – if I in fact read that you do that. Thanks!

Yes, I live in the South….
B. W. 
8/30/09

Greetings, all -
I just received your CD transfer of the Dorati Copland 3rd - marvelous! Having worn out three LPs of this recording, listening to your CD made me feel fifty years younger. I was especially amazed at your achieving such clear and quiet sound in those "deadly" high pianissimo strings which open the first and third movements - every detail, in fact, of the whole work seemed perfectly defined. I hope that you will also be able to release Dorati's tumultuous Bartok Concerto for Orchestra sometime in the future - another of my youthful favorites (icing on the cake might be the Gershwin/Gould recording of the previous year). Anyway, thanks for the fine job and the quick delivery. I know I'll be ordering from you again soon.
Regards,
J G 
9/1/09

I have enjoyed the CDs that I have purchased from your website, especially the Max Rudolf/Cincinnati Symphony series. I was studying at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music during the final years of Dr. Rudolf’s tenure with the CSO, so the CSO/Decca LPs have a special significance to me. Thank you for the expert restoration of those difficult-to-find LPs and tapes.
Thanks – C T,  Oklahoma
2/21/08

After reading all the great reviews of the LP recordings transferred to CD, I knew I had to finish my Kubelik/CSO recordings. Well, they arrived, were played, and I was completely blown away by the flawless transfers to CD's. Talk about reliving one's past. The sonic results are spectacular. I only have the Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet left to order. 
VM Shorewood, IL  11/30/07

RE: Piston Symphony No. 3 and Hanson Symphony No. 4 / Four Psalms p. 22
How do you do it???!!!  These transfers sound absolutely superb!!  I never thought I'd live to hear these wonderful performances in such fine sound. The Hanson Four Hymns from the USA/Mercury pressing sounded MUCH better than I ever thought they would!  Absolutely gorgeous works. Thank you so much for the copies and kudos for a cooperative effort done well. 
B.F.  9-25-07 

Happy Day!!  The package arrived safely yesterday. I've only had a chance to  sample 2 of the discs, but they are both remarkable. Thank you for the wonderful job of saving these marvelous performances and presenting them in such spectacular sound quality-probably even better than the original version. I look forward to doing business with you in the future. 
B. P., Chandler, AZ  06/28/07

I just wanted to let you know that since receiving my recent order, I have been able to listen to several of your copied CDs and must comment on the very unbelievable And remarkable sound you are able to achieve on these very ancient recordings. My Friends were likewise impressed. 
Sincerely yours,
R.B. 

Dear Haydn House: - 2/5/07
I just received my copy of the CD of E. Power Biggs playing Reubke and Liszt at the Methuen Memorial Music Hall. It is simply stupendous! I have two copies of the original LP (scratches and pops included!) and this pressing is nothing short of remarkable. Perfectly quiet background. It sounds like it was recorded yesterday. If only it were in stereo! Too bad Biggs never re-recorded any of these works in the stereo era, but this recording shows what great sound Columbia was getting in the early 50s.
Many thanks!
J.S. 

Dear Sir: 
Thank you so much for the Scherchen Beethoven overtures and the marvelous Ormandy recording of Albeniz's Iberia.  The Scherchen transfers are a miracle: solid, impact-ful, three-dimensional mono sound that completely belies the fact that they derive from source Lps.  I have no idea how you accomplish such wizardry with such fallible material (my Westminster and ABC/Westminster LPs always came afflicted with an unbelievable amount of surface noise).  The Ormandy is a real gem and your transfer completely does justice to the original recording.  I've always regretted Ormandy did not re-record Iberia in stereo later on for Columbia or RCA, but your CD transfer is so good the issue is really moot: certainly it's one of the very best-sounding recordings I have ever heard of the Philadelphia Orchestra in its glory years.
T. B. 
Arlington, VA

Dear Sir:
Been busy lately but got my self together and listened to the lot of CDs I  bought from you. Some are really great and the sound quality is very pleasing especially the CDs with Charles Munch and his version of Schubert 2nd is truly superb. The Baryllis are
wonderful too. The old heroes are still unsurpassable!  I will most certainly be back to buy more soon.
Best regards
GS  (Sweden)

Dear Haydn House,
Have just gone through the Boston/Munch Schubert 2nd and companion pieces. What enchanting performances...The Schubert had last been available on a on a poorly-pressed LP with wretched fake stereo & reverb; we'd never hear how this performance SHOULD sound without this treasurable disc. (Did you really get that sound off vintage 45s?) Likewise with the companion pieces....The mono La Valse is far more seductive and sinister, with a much more go-for-broke finale, than the polite stereo remake...
The Beatrice et Benedict Overture is fleet in its textures and incisive in its "attacks." The Jeunne Princesse Overture out-Beechams Beecham in its naughty-charm-encased-within-a-border-of-disciplined-refinement. And for those who can "get a life" and see beyond the strict confines of "authenticism," the arrangement of Water Music ("Ham Harty's High Cholesterol Handel") is an epicurean pastiche (like Richard Strauss's Couperin & Lully). Such performances of unself-conscious richness, gusto and sense-of-occasion are long gone. For those of us who were born too late to ever hear such things "live," SPOSIBA for bringing these life-enhancing records back from the dust of a thousand garage attics.
Mark 
Albany, NY

Dear HH,
I just received your CD of the Dorati 1953 Pines/Fountains of Rome, and it is excellent.  Not only do you do at least as good a transfer job as the major labels, you obviously have a great collection of mint-condition 1950s LPs to work with.  I could never get as good a result with my own LPs.
R.O.
San Antonio, TX

Dear Haydn House, 
I recently received your transfer of the Charles Munch /BSO performance of Piston’s Symphony No 6 and I am simply blown away by the quality of your restoration.  In direct comparison to my LP, I find it hard to believe your transfer is from the same source!  Beyond the freedom from surface noise and distortion, you’ve managed to extract ambiance and musical detail that I cannot hear from my LP, despite a fairly high-end turntable/cartridge and associated electronics.  Many of my “all digital” CDs don’t sound nearly as good as what you’ve achieved. 
DMK

Dear Haydn House:
Thanks for your recent shipment (Van Beinum Bruckner 9 & Britten; Goberman Brandenburgs); all items are completely wonderful. I had in fact ordered the Van Beinum Schubert 9th, but the 1941 Bruckner is so completely marvelous that I will gladly keep it and re-order the Schubert 9th another day! The Britten performances are outstanding. I owned an old Richmond Lp that contained the Young Person's Guide (coupled with an outstanding Van Beinum Prokofiev "Peter & the Wolf") and had forgotten how beautifully accomplished Van Beinum's Britten performances are; they quite eclipse every performance recorded since, and the sound quality is astonishingly good. 
Most of all, thank you for your transfer of the Goberman Bach concertos, which finally allows me to appreciate recordings that were lavishly praised by an old and dear friend, now many years deceased. The Odyssey Lp transfers of 40 years ago (!) provided enough "information" to allow me to at least sense some of the magnificence of Goberman's Bach, but your wonderful work allows me to enjoy the performances as living music. I can't think of a finer tribute to Goberman or to the memory of my friend's enthusiasm. Many, many thanks! 
T. Beechroft
Arlington, VA

Dear Haydn House,
I received this order an few days ago and just finished listening to the CDs. Words fail me in expressing my delight with the quality of your transfers. Your Kubelik/CSO transfers are a special revelation. I'm too young to have bought the early Mercury's when they first came out; but, although they have always had an audiophile cachet, I always found, on subsequent LP and CD reissues, that the recordings sounded thin and overly bright, like a 1950's caricature of "high fidelity". Your transfers, on the other hand, have weight, body, presence and superb tonal balance. It has literally changed my entire impression of the quality of the engineering on those early Mercury's!  The Kubelik Mozart Symphony No 34, always a favorite performance of mine, sounds particularly stunning. It is also wonderful to have the Martinon items on CD as well. I have personally struggled for several years now to make an acceptable transfer of the CSO/Bizet, Lalo, Massenet disc. That recording has always been regarded by many as sonically problematic. But, again, I regard your transfer as a triumph and I will now happily throw my own efforts in the trash!  Your transfer of the Roussel Bacchus from a reel-to-reel source also sounds appreciably better than my original LP. (Any plans to do the Martinon/CSO Bizet Symphony, Mendelssohn Midsummer Night's Dream record?)
Again, thank you very much for letting me be the beneficiary of such superb work!
A.N.
Chicago, IL

Hi!
 I just came across, on the internet, your comments about the "center channel" information on the RCA Living Stereo SACDs. I did my own similar experiment and totally agree with your observations. I have always suspected that RCA engineers recorded in three channel more as a convenience for later mixdown adjustments than for any other reason. When listening to the Cliburn/Reiner Rachmaninov2, for instance, I find it particularly amusing how the centrally located woodwinds get pushed off to the left or right whenever the piano is playing! 
Just wanted to let you know that in browsing thru my collection today I discovered that you and Tahra, who I think have done much good work with their transfers - at least compared to so many others - have each done the 1949 Munch Beethoven 7th. so I a-b'd them. No contest. Yours blows the Tahra away, much fuller and less brittle and way more dynamic. Just thought you'd like to know (and I'm probably not the first to make that discovery).
A. P.
CA

TWIMC:
Have just received the Steinberg/Boston Bruckner 6th...As an ardent Brucknerian I know Jochum's two 6ths (Bavarian Radio & Dresden); the ballyhooed 1964 Klemperer; and the 1970 Haitink Concertgebouw 6th (my favorite until now)...But I have to say that the 1969 Steinberg/Boston is the greatest I've heard - for mood, structure, spirit, and mastery of all those potentially awkward transition points (possibly more of them in this symphony than any other of Bruckner's ). Steinberg and his Bostonians float them all as if they were Mozart. The transfer is beautiful, rich, clear and honest. Grab it soon, since the chances of BMG/RCA ever re-releasing this are about as good as immediate peace in the Middle East.
M. E. F. 
Albany, NY

Hello ........What a joy it was to hear the early Minneapolis Pines and Fountains again, and sounding better than I've ever heard them before. I came of age musically at a time when so many of the recordings I most wanted to hear were long since gone from the record store shelves. I had these along with Festivals and Church Windows on badly scratched LPs that were given to me when my high school eliminated its Humanities curriculum; Pines and Fountains were on a Mercury Wing LP and in really bad reprocessed stereo as well. Yet, through all the muck, I could tell that these earlier versions were more powerful, more evocative than Dorati's Minneapolis stereo remakes, as good as those recordings are. I'm looking forward to future releases, especially from the early Mercury catalog.  Thank you for doing what you do!
JR
Hollywood, CA

A published review that has not gone unnoticed:
After such an exhilarating and inspiring first half, Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony was somewhat of an anticlimax. This was a pedestrian and bromidic performance of dumbed-down Beethoven for easy listening, totally bereft of the gravitas demanded by this revolutionary and galvanic work.The Allegro con brio was lack-lustre and lightweight, devoid of drive and dynamic contrasts, with woodwind and timpani being barely audible. This may have something to do with the layout of the orchestra with divided strings and eight double basses placed along the back of the platform. The ’cellos and double bases lacked body and weight and therefore robbed the music of its expressivity, darkness and throbbing drama.The Funeral March was particularly uninspired and hollow, missing any sense of drama, tension or despair and for once Gatti’s pacing was flat-footed. The all-important writing for the timpani went for nothing, with the RPO’s timpanist sounding somewhat ineffectual. (To hear how the timpani should sound, listen to Antal Dorati’s celebrated Mercury recording with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra.) With the Scherzo things at last took fire with Gatti securing rhythmic bite from the violins despite the blurred and brittle playing from the horns. The Finale: Allegro molto was rather rushed, producing congested orchestral textures, with the woodwind passages especially sounding smudged. Although taken at full speed, the concluding passages were lacking in exhilaration and exaltation. This was certainly the dullest Beethoven I have heard for a long time, which is a great pity as the first half the evening had been so memorable.
Alex Russell

A review by Rob Barnett: 
   Once again Haydn House produce an audio revival that is acoustic triumph even if the packaging is unimpressive. However do not get too fixated on the appearance of these releases. In any event they are more colourful and polished than some who operate in the third party reissuer sphere.
   Piston's stern and grave manner predominated in the symphonies and there was more of it as the years went by. The Sixth is past the midway point in his symphonic mountain range yet there is enough lyric liberation to draw the listener in. The first movement lightens for a winsome and sensitive vulnerability. The Leggerissimo second movement is playful with violins skittering from left to right in this early stereo recording. Has anyone since Munch delivered the brilliance he did with the Bostonians. Cellist, Samuel Mayes takes centre-stage for the Adagio sereno (III) which he plays, languishing in ease, both at the start of the movement and as it closes. The lyrical singer in Piston is to the fore here but the open-hearted and guileless singer of the second and fourth symphonies is not quite present. The oboe in the third movement at 2.43 recalls the characteristic sounds of Munch's orchestra in their classic version of Ibert's Escales. The Allegro energico snaps into action attacca after the peace of the preceding movement. With a long suave melody, rhythmic punch from percussion balanced very close and the crisp clatter of the tambourine this sounds at times like Shostakovich. However the raucous fair-time recalled from the explosive finale of Piston’s Second Symphony is also present. An invaluable premiere recording lent new life.
    The Schelomo of Piatigorsky and Munch is a thing of twilight and darkness accentuated by the bass-emphatic recording. Indubitably this is raw and savage stuff - the most barbarously exciting I have heard (try the woodwind maelstrom at 8:04). Solo lines emerge with gripping close-up impact. Try the oboe's soliloquy at 9.31 onwards. However the hothouse quality of the recording, which sometimes sounds muffled when the textures and dynamics are piled high, militates against an overwhelming recommendation.  
     Jeu de Cartes is in Stravinsky's stripped-down, cut-glass neo-classical style. It is memorable for the brusque fanfare gesture that opens each of the three movements or 'deals'. This score provides ample opportunity for the Boston woodwind players to dazzle ... and they do. Listen for example to the woodwind flicker and flitter at the close of the second movement.
    These recordings are resurrections from 1950s LPs. From an audio viewpoint these transfers have been accomplished with great skill by Pierre Paquin and Wilfrid Biscaye Pryckre. Haydn House have done some extremely high quality work from secondary material and the results are astonishingly good. Their work on the Menotti Violin Concerto and the Ormandy’s 1950s Sibelius is a triumph. You have to forgive the lack of programme notes. You would be denying yourself some fine musical experiences if you let the lack of an essay prevent you buying this.
Rob Barnett   (This reviewed much CD can be found on Page 5 of the main catalog )

Dear Haydn House,
Once again, thanks for your superlative work. The Demus/Rodzinski Schumann CD sounds marvelous, in fact, every bit as good as the Westminster Rodzinski CDs Deutsche Grammophon has developed from the master tapes. Thank you for rescuing a wonderful performance DGG should not have overlooked.  The Badura-Skoda/Scherchen 'Emperor' concerto is an even more impressive achievement, given my memory of the very thin-sounding, even shrill, Westminster Lp. The Munch/Graffman Brahms First Concerto I owned courtesy of RCA's 'Victrola' Lp reissue back in the mid-sixties.  I remembered it as very exciting, but harsh and congested-sounding. You have worked a small miracle with this recording, which sounds completely captivating on your CD transfer. In fact, it's been many a year since I've so much enjoyed listening to a recording I thought I knew very well.  Music lovers live for lovely surprises like that!
Merry Christmas, and Best Wishes for the New Year. May Haydn House richly prosper therein!
T.B.
Arlington, VA

Received the CD last week ... kudos on the superb transfer ... it's all it used to be minus the clicks, pops and distortion: bravo!
M.E.
Teaneck, NJ 

Received my last order yesterday; the CDs are the best of their kind I've heard.  So I've just ordered more at the website.  I do not understand why there is no commercial recording available of Piston's third symphony.  I wish you would put out the mono Mercury by Howard Hanson.  I have a copy of the UK Pye pressing (MRL 2549); I don't know if it would be good enough for your purposes, but I'd send it to you if you wanted it.
There was a mono Westminster LP that included Rimsky's Russian Easter Overture conducted by Scherchen; it deserves reissue.  Everyone else plays that piece too fast; his is unequaled in dramatic power. Angel 35101 is the only one of Jascha Horenstein's studio recordings that has never been reissued (Strauss: Metamorphoses; Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms).  It was a prize-winner in its day and the JH cult is waiting. None of the Tatrai Quartet's Beethoven has ever been ressued, as far as I know; No. 10 Opus 74 "Harp" is a great record (Telefunken TCS 18025).
Just my two cents, adjusted for inflation . . .
D. C.
West Des Moines, IA

Very many thanks for the CD of Scherchen conducting Beethoven's Egmont, which has safely arrived here in the UK. I am delighted by the rich, full quality of the transfer, as I knew this recording as a very bad pressing by London Ducretet-Thomson, who issued the LP over here. It is a most exciting performance, with lovely singing from Magda Laszlo. Thanks again.
Best wishes
P. U.

Dear HH:
On Sept.18 I received the first 2 CD's I ordered from Haydn House, Scherchen's Haydn Military Symphony and Beethoven's Egmont. I was astonished to hear the quality, far better than I expected. Indeed, I don't know how you were able to accomplish it.  They are incredible. I owned the LPs and I'm familiar with their sound on LP.   
N.T.
Commack, NY

I just wanted to let you know that I received my recent order Monday. The first disc I played was the Dorati/Minneapolis Nutcracker. Thank you for such a wonderful transfer. Memories flooded my living room as I listened to a recording I first heard nearly forty-seven years ago! I can't tell you how much I enjoyed hearing your great restoration of this historic recording. I shall keenly anticipate hearing the other discs that I ordered during the rest of this week.
As I look over your wonderful website catalog, I shall be ordering more shortly.
Thank you again,
C. R. 
Detroit 

I am still listening to my 20 CDs and don't believe my ears. Most of them I had on LPs and had them transferred to CD but your job is hard to beat. I am amazed. All CDs sound wonderfully and I listen and listen and have found again my old treasures. Please accept my sincerest congratulations and gratitude. People like you keep music alive and give our cherished older recordings a new life.
Best regards,
A. P.    BEARAC LP to CD Transfers
Greece 

I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed the 21 CDs I have already ordered.
C.T.
Rochester, NY

There are some few records that you remember hearing for the first time. One of them was Decca ACL 162 which was my copy of the Van Beinum Peter Grimes. It had very good sound and the performance is riveting. The reason I raved so much over the Mendelssohn 4th is because I always considered it to be the finest recording of orchestral string playing ever. On listening to your work on the Grimes I can say that it is the greatest example of orchestral brass I've ever heard. It is simply astounding.  The sound of this disc is absolutely glorious! Thanks. Best, 
J.P.
Norwich, CT