Buying Classical Records, Decca, London, Philips

Click pics to enlarge. Left, for the audiophile, likely the most famous Decca LP ever, followed by the Espana below. Forget about finding these in the dollar bins.

Talk Vinyl: Buying Classical Records, a Beginner's Guide, Part II
Labels: Decca/London, Philips

Update 2/20/20: Karl Munchinger added to Decca/London; 2/18/20: In Philips section, Baroque Music added. Oistrakh and Rostropovich/Richter added.

Please Read Part I for Basic Pointers, Resources, and the Deutsches Grammophon, EMI and Columbia Labels. In Part II, we move on to two more major labels. Again, this is not meant to be exhaustive.

Attention: 1) I have already made several amendments to Part I (like adding Karajan and Kempe to EMI). As I go along, I recall some important omissions - this is going to persist, so re-visit sometimes ; 2) I have discovered another valuable (albeit pop) vinyl site cvinyl.com that has useful inner label info; 3) This shall be a long-running series. To facilitate your viewing all Parts and all Record Labels, I have created a blog label Talk Buying Classical Music. Just click and all posts so far in the series shall appear. The blog label is also in the sidebar (roll down).

Decca/London

Although most labels have recordings of great sound, for most audiophiles Decca remains the best known and best loved. For the history of Decca (UK) (wiki) and what their Inner Labels look like, read Watson Records (UK).

• London Almost all Decca recordings were released in the US on London. The London LP's were pressed in the UK, allegedly using the same masters, though affixed with a different label. Audiophiles swear there is a difference in sound. It seems to me the vinyl used for the US is a little thicker and not as shiny; I do think the UK Decca pressings also seem to be sonically a little sharper. As London LPs are ubiquitous, they are a lot cheaper than Decca LPs. For me, the sound of London is superb and I don't go out of my way to hunt for corresponding Decca's for the records that I like, which is a lot. By now, you know I am a Decca/London fan. London's recording technique was (is) so good and so reproducible that they obtained excellent results in more halls than any label, and also transitioned smoothly into digital recordings (unlike their rivals, including EMI and DG). This all started with one man (actually, maybe two). See below. Record Sleeve Although for the vast majority of issues, the London LP sports the same artwork as the Decca, the difference is great. The Decca is lacquered, with a thin spine, and looks quite a bit sleeker than the cardboard and heavier London. the artwork is more sharply etched for Decca, more diffuse for London. The liner notes are not always the same, with the London again not as spiffy. The London also sometimes have different sleeve designs, most prominently around the times of the "Bluebacks". I cannot go into it here, but the US collector had a thing for the Blueback, which I am not sure is totally justified, although do remember here the older the pressing is the likelier better it is (the pic shows a stunning recording by the unsung Peter Maag, also available on later budget STS).

• Kenneth Wilkinson (wiki, Independent) has long been revered by audiophiles, indeed regarded as the patron saint of stereo recordings. Just google his name (add "Decca to exclude other namesakes) and there will be a lot of piecemeal info on him and his work. The number of recordings he did is VAST, and you will go crazy hunting for them. But imho, one should not get too hung up on this, as it is not necessary, because most of the other recording engineers of Decca, many trained by Wilkinson, were no slouch (James Lock, John Dunkerley, Colin Moorfoot, Stanley Goodall etc, to name a few). More than any other label, most Decca/London recordings are likely excellent in sound, and there is no question this is due to the way Decca used its microphones, developed by Roy Wallace and Wilkinson, and it was the foundation of everything (here is a great article on this subject most important to audiophiles, and it talks about the various venues too). Famous Recording Venues Almost as much as Wilkinson's name, the favorite Decca recording venues almost guarantee good results: 1) Kingsway Hall (link) is the most famous of them all and Decca recorded here more than at anywhere else, though this hall was also used heavily by EMI; 2) Walthamstow Town Hall (link) First used by Wilkinson (see his wiki link above), it was also used often; 3) Victoria Hall (official) This Hall in Geneva was used to record what are probably my favorite Decca recordings, those made by the Orchestre de La Suisse Romande under Ernest Ansermet. Mind you, Wilkinson never recorded here, but they all sound great; 4) Decca obtained great results in Vienna, Chicago (Solti) and Cleveland (Maazel) too, and many of those recordings made it to TAS list, so that testifies also to their prowess in general. The Producers Decca had great producers, such as the great John Culshaw; together with engineer Gordon Parry they recorded the most iconic Decca recordings of all times, Wagner's Ring cycle with the VPO under Solti  (highly thrilling indeed). RCA and Reader's Digest Recordings Some of the best sounding recordings of those Labels were made by Wilkinson (more on that later).

• Artists  Although not quite at the level of EMI, London has depth and breath. Early On in the late mono (a lot of Decca mono recordings are superb sounding, and coveted) and early stereo era, Decca had conductors Erich Kleiber (Beethoven), Clemens Kraus (Strauss), Adrain Boult (Vaughn Williams), Josep Krips (Schubert), Peter Maag (Mendelssohn), Georg Solti, and in particular, my favorite, the prolific Ernst Ansermet (known for his authoritative ballets, Stravinsky, Debussy and Ravel, but his records are generally of very high standard in interpretation, even in German works such as Beethoven and Brahms). And there were fine works by Schmidt-Isserstedt (Beethoven cycle), Pier(in)o Gamba (my favorite Rossini overture), Karajan and Raphael Kubelik with the VPO (for Karajan, many better than his later BPO work) and let us not forget Willi Boskovsky in his extensive survey of Strauss waltzes (believe me, there is nothing more enjoyable than a suavely performed and superbly recorded Viennese waltz). In terms of soloists, violinist Alfred Campoli, Ruggiero Ricci (although often over-the-top, I like his many recordings), pianists Wilhelm Kempff, Wilhelm Backhaus (Beethoven cycle), Julius Katchen (Brahms survey, many romantics and chamber music), and Clifford Curzon (Brahms, Schubert, Liszt). In the realm of chamber music, Decca also in this era made the greatest series of chamber music with Viennese musicians from the VPO, named the Vienna Octet, Quartet, what have you. Not a dud among them, they represent the highest point of Decca chamber music. When it comes to Baroque Music, basically the early Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra recordings by Karl Munchinger held sway early on, until Decca got their Argo and L'Oiseaux Lyre catalogue going. Their recordings were old world, well played but a little heavy. Later On I'd say things became even more interesting (EMI is to me the other way). Georg Solti became the house conductor, and recorded an even more all-encompassing repertoire than Ansermet (including complete Mahler and Brucker, which the latter did not do). Earlier, he made many recordings with the VPO, then some excellent recordings with the LSO (Russian warhorses, Bartok, Mahler 1 and 2), then a huge number with Chicago (of these, I like the Beethoven and Brahms Symphonies) and a few with the LPO (excellent Elgar). With Solti, as with Karajan, the earlier recordings are usually better, and avoid the digital recordings. Many other conductors are worthwhile of investigation: young Claudio Abbado (Prokofiev, Bruckner 1st), Istvan Kertesz (a renowned Dvorak series, Bruckner 4th), Walter Weller (Prokofiev series, some Rachmaninov), Horst Stein (Bruckner 6th, Sibelius), all made worthwhile recordings. Composer Benjamin Britten not only recorded definitive versions of his works, but was also a very good conductor (e.g. Mozart). Lorin Maazel, generally not a favorite of mine, recorded very early on a semi-successful Sibelius cycle with the VPO, and a lot later with the Cleveland Orchestra (a few were deservedly rated high by audiophiles (Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet, Gershwin Porgy and Bess, Respighi). Another conductor that was extensively recorded was Zubin Mehta, a few early on with the VPO, and a large number with his own LAPhil and Israel PO. In general, Mehta is not my favorite, but he was definitely better here than later on with the NYPhil and on Sony. I collect his LAPhil recordings because I particular like the sound of this orchestra, said by some to have a Viennese quality and, of course, because they usually sound excellent, but then I collect most things Decca! The Israel PO recordings were basically less good (a Schubert series was good though). When it comes to violinists, Kyung-Wha Chung left many memorable recordings, not matched by anyone who came later. The piano literature was dominated by the reliable (but only at times truly inspired) Vladimir Ashkenazy (Prokofiev Concertos), but I like more the more eccentric and grimmer Radu Lupu (Brahms, Schubert). And let's not forget the one and only, petite and classy Alicia de La Rocha who was not only the reigning queen of Spanish music (Granados' Goyesca) but fluent and elegant in almost everything, particularly works of the classical era (pristine Mozart, Bach, Handel). Straddling the Digital Age I made a mention of this because Decca/London issued many worthwhile digital LPs, in much better sound than rivals. Bernard Haitink, the house conductor of Philips for a long time, recorded a great Shostakovich cycle that stretched into the digital age. Ashkenazy became also a conductor by now, and made some memorable recordings (great Rachmaninov symphonies with the Concertgebouw; a very good Sibelius cycle with the Philharmonia - I have the LP of the 4th recorded by Wilkinson and it is a sonic stunner). Another is Charles Dutoit, who put the Montreal SO on the map with his stunningly recorded series of Ravel works, and some good Stravinsky. It can safely be said the excellent sound of Decca promoted the careers of some of their artists! Antal Dorati also made some fine and unjustly neglected recordings with the Detroit Symphony.

• STS (Stereo Treasury Series) This is the budget label of London, and the best budget label ever, bar none, because, just as London, most of them were pressed in the UK also! The quality is very high, well nigh indistinguishable from London. For many earlier recordings, you'd see tens of STS before you spot even one London. Earlier STS have a white sleeve, bold black letters and a generic artwork; later ones have better and more colorful artwork. Many are found in the dollar bin, and buy with confidence. Say, just buy every Ansermet STS you see, and you will have a library! Richmond This is the early, mostly mono, budget label of London, pressed in the US, and inferior in quality, liner notes, artwork, everything. Basically, there is no need to buy them, just wait for the STS counterpart.

• Phase 4 (wiki) This is a crazy series unto itself. In terms of recording technique, it deviated very far from the Decca norm and this is reflected in the sound. For many recordings, you can easily hear the multi-miking, highlighting and level manipulation that were more ubiquitous in the pop arena. However, not all recordings are bad. Leopold Stokowski and others recorded quite a few under this label, and some were quite good (like Stoki's Beethoven 7th), but the greatest of them all must surely be Bernard Hermann's fantastic movie scores conducted by himself, collector's items (I only have the CD's).

• Argo Not to be confused with the American jazz label, this is one of the two Decca Labels specializing in Early Music. Being a Decca company, sound is superlative. Best selling and hence ubiquitous were Neville Marriner and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF), the most famous (and very good) recording of which is Vivaldi's Four Seasons, beloved by audiophiles (and easily available). ASMF actually were pioneers in the Historically Informed Practices (HIP; gut strings and original instruments, vibrato-less playing, lower tuning, small orchestra) movement but less draconian in style than many later ensembles. Many of the players went on to found other famous HIP ensembles. The ASMF recorded a lot of later classical and even romantic chamber orchestra material, usually to good effect (Stravinsky's Pulcinella is one example). Argo is also very strong in choral and organ (they go hand in hand) material. I am not a big choral person, but I love the sonorous Haydn Masses, recorded to perfection, quite stirring. Another is Allegri Miserere (aside: the Argo version is very good, but my desert island choice is the one by the Tallis Scholars on Gimell, goosebump galore - I was shopping in Tower Records when I heard it overhead, and I just had to buy it right there and then.). Choral stuff are worth nothing and Dollar Bin material generally. Argo also recorded smaller scaled modern British music, not of concern to the general public.

• L'Oiseau Lyre This is the second early music (again, not exclusively) label, and to me the more important one, with more worthwhile artists. Based on what came later, one can largely forget the earlier work of Thurston Dart. Instead, concentrate on Anthony Hogwood and Academy of Ancient Music. This ensemble recorded even more early music than ASMF, with a style that is more "advanced" than ASMF, closer to current HIP practice, and that means a leaner sonority that some old-school folks might not like, but I think they did very well in almost everything they recorded, not only Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Haydn, but also Mozart (complete symphonies!) and Beethoven. Worthwhile box sets, such as Bach works, Mozart symphonies and Vivaldi concertos, can often be found in dollar bins. This label also recorded many early chamber music, among which I like most Viol (older strings) Music, by the likes of Purcell.

• Inner Labels Please refer to vinylbeat's London page for the following comments. Many of the labels shown there are for pop records that do not concern us. London Talking only about classical stereo, for London LPs, greater than 90% of what you'd encounter would be 5B (there is actually a similar earlier variant that is not shown), with a smattering of a red equivalent of the earlier 1H (the shown black one is for opera/vocal works, not covered here). Later on, the label got less contrasty, as in 5D, and this persisted into the early digital age, when the LPs were no longer pressed in the UK, but in Holland. Later Dutch pressings have labels like 8, but in silver color with a Decca blue and red rim (the shown one is STS). STS All of the UK pressings have labels like 5E. Later on, STS were mostly pressed in the US, and the label is yellow, kinda like 7. Phase 4 Most of the ones would be like 2A.

• Sound Although Decca is significantly more valuable than London, personally I'd just stay with London and STS. Two Pointers: 1) Dutch pressings are inferior to UK ones, but still decent (inner label is usually blue color like the Sibelius pic); 2) For unknown reason, German Decca just do not sound good to me.

• Decca (US) Despite the name, this early US label did not issue Decca recordings, and shall be dealt with later.

Philips (Holland) (wiki) Like EMI, the history of Philips in the US is convoluted. Aside from the wiki entry, two UK sites (here and here) give detailed history and show many inner labels, as does cvinyl.com. However, again, keep in mind that all these sites are pop-oriented, and the label colors are different for classical records.

• Early On in the US Select Philips recordings were first issued by Epic, a Columbia subsidiary, which also issued some of their own on this label. For classical issues, the inner labels would be gold, like those pictured, later 1D (but blue) and 3D. It is slim picking, except perhaps for some early Arthur Grumiaux recordings, and forget those no longer competitive Felix Ayo and I Musici reccordings. Later came Philips (US), which is more interesting, as it issued many early and excellent recordings. The labels would look like 1A, 1E and 4. Keep in mind a lot of LPs around this time were issued in Mono, even stereo recordings, and Philips US are much more often seen in mono.

• Later On Philips started to import their Dutch Pressings, of much higher quality, and the rest is history. Basically, unless you know what you are doing, just buy Philips Holland. The Inner Label had stayed largely the same; for stereo recordings, it would be like a red version of UK5 or German 3 in this cvinyl.com link. Once in a while, one also comes across Fontana, another of Philips early budget labels (label like shown, different from US Fontana, which is of no import to us).

• Artists Philips had been remarkably consistent in this regard, possessing breath and depth. What has always been a little puzzling to me is that, while audiophiles usually like Philips recordings, they are usually more excited by Decca/London, EMI and even DG. My guess is, as audiophiles are into sensational if superficial stuff (witness HP of TAS), perhaps because they recorded more bon bons? And Philips is a very continental company with good taste. Orchestras and Conductors As Holland had (has) many good orchestra, the Dutch label naturally records mostly Dutch Orchestras and Maestros. Even dating back to early mono Wilhelm Mengelberg days, and up to the present day, the conducting of Dutch Maestros could mostly be characterized as "serious" and belonging to the "objectivist" school - not much distorting and pulling things around; not much podium antics either. Earlier on, meaning starting from the late mono era, there was Wilhelm van Otterloo, Eduard Van Beinum and Eugen Jochum. Then came the 30 (!) year reign (lasting into the digital age) of Bernard Haitink at the helm of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO), one the very best orchestras, and together they recorded a huge amount of material, many of which are worthwhile. Some people may sometimes find Haitink a little plain, but more sophisticated listeners will likely find his balance and subtlety highly satisfactory (essential are Bruckner, Mahler, and shimmering Debussy and other French music, even Tchaikovsky). A great orchestra, under an excellent conductor, well recorded in one of the world's acoustic marvels! What is not to like? With the RCO, Josef Krips did an enchanting Mozart Symphonies series (essential) and Eugen Jochum a solid Beethoven series. In comparison with the RCO/Haitink, other orchestras like the Rotterdam and Hague, and conductors like the Dutch Edo de Waart and American David Zinman were just also-run's. Because Philips, Haitink and Jochum all had close relationship with the UK, Philips also recorded quite a bit with the London Symphony (LSO), usually under Colin Davis, most well known for his Berlioz series (also a good Stravinsky series with both RCO/LSO, and very good Haydn and reasonable Dvorak with the RCO). While we are on the LSO, it must be mentioned that two older complete symphony cycles are still amongst the best ever - Igor Markevitch's Tchaikovsky and Witold Rowicki's Dvorak. As for the LPO, Philips recorded some with Haitink, but as a rule they are not particularly memorable. Before we leave this section, what is it with Dutch conductors? van Otterloo had 5 wives; de Waart and Haitink are with their fifth and fourth wives, respectively! :-) String Players There is bounty galore here! Just collecting violinists Arthur Grumiaux and Henryk Szeryng, two of the greatest violinist ever in my opinion, will take a long time. Every one of their recordings is worthwhile, and many are top choices. The excellent concertmaster of the RCO, Hermann Krebbers, also recorded a few memorable LPs. Salvatore Accardo and others can be dismissed under their shadows. For cellist, Philips had the great Maurice Gendron, but his LPs are early and not so plentiful, so grab them as you see them. Later, there is the attractive American Christine Waleska, whose recordings are all very good (but pricier). Pianists Early Philips pianists like Ingrid Haebler (Mozart, Schubert), the great Clara Haskil (Beethoven, Mozart etc), Nikita Magalof and Adam Harasiewicz (Chopin) etc are only seen piecemeal on the early labels and Dutch re-issues. A few of the great Sviatoslav Richter too (essential: the sonic spectacular Liszt Concertos; Beethoven, etc). Into the stereo era, basically the Philips piano literature were dominated by two pianists, Alfred Brendel and Claudio Arrau. Both recorded the complete Beethoven Sonatas. Brendel has always been lighter in tone, intellectual, but quite reliable, recorded most of the classic works, like Mozart Piano Concertos, and Schubert Sonatas (essential). His records are so ubiquitous as to be often found in the dollar bin. Arrau was in a later phase of his career, when his playing became heavier, more probing but also more ponderous sometimes. His tone is sometimes described as "bronzen". And so he recorded a lot of the romantics, a lot of Chopin, Brahms, Schumann, Liszt and Debussy. You should at least sample some of those (I'd pick Chopin and Debussy). Another pianist often seen is Steven Bishop, younger and more interesting than he later became. He recorded sparkling Beethoven and very good Bartok concertos with Colin Davis. Chamber Music Philips again recorded just about everything here. Earlier on, Arthur Grumiaux recorded the Beethoven and some Mozart Sonatas with Clara Haskil (a must, but not often seen). And the wonderful Grumiaux Trio, often in conjunction with other artists, recorded a lot of chamber music, particularly those of Mozart. Every LP is worthwhile. Henryk Szeryng also recorded an excellent set of Mozart Violin Sonatas with Ingrid Haebler. Richter and Rostropovich recorded an essential set of Beethoven Cello Sonatas, whereas David Oistrakh and Lev Oborin recorded a good set of Beethoven Violin Sonatas. The evergreen Italian Quartet recorded a huge repertoire and are generally recommendable. Their beauty and smooth blend are very pleasant to listen to, but some may want more drive at times. And then there is the equally long lasting Beaux Arts Trio, who recorded everything too, even complete Haydn Trios. But here, I have a distinct preference - I prefer their original violinist, the subtle Daniel Guilet, to the later, more pedestrian Isidore Cohen, so that disqualifies a lot of their recordings for me. Baroque Music Philips This is Philip's achilles' heel. Despite Holland being a hotbed for the HIP movement, those early activists instead recorded for other labels. Instead, Philips for the longest time offered I Musici, which, aided by stunning cover artwork, sold tons of records. However, despite their high polish, a lot of it just sounded routine, not spritely, as we now expect baroque music to sound. I'll largely avoid them, except perhaps in Italian music by Vivaldi and Corelli etc, where you can sample a few if found in the dollar bin. A reasonable one is again Vivaldi's Four Seasons, with Roberto Michelucci as soloist (earlier, much less often seen version sported Felix Ayo). The same can be said of Raymond Leppard and the English Chamber Orchestra - avoid! They sound hopelessly out-dated now. Better are the recordings that straddled the digital age, by the ASMF, first under Neville Marriner and then Iona Brown and they (re-) recorded a lot of Bach. However, all of their work do not sound as fresh as when they recorded for Argo (above). So, not much in this department.

• Festivo and Universo are Philips Budget Label, and just as good. In fact, many of the earlier artists can only be found in these re-issues. A few of the Mercury recordings were also re-issued under these labels, such as the AWESOME LP pictured on the right. 

• Golden Import After Philips acquired Mercury, they re-issued them under this label, which has a golden strip on the sleeves (see items pictured in link). As the original Mercury's are scarce and expensive, many are worth collecting (details will be treated later under Mercury). People always say the sound is different and less desirable, meaning less exciting (or piercing), which is why these are not expensive usually.

• Sound and Pressing Almost always, the sound is excellent and the surfaces impeccable. One does come across Philips pressed in other countries. French pressings are excellent. One thing I know for sure: UK pressings are inferior, and noisy, avoid.

After this, I think I shall take a short rest and write about some other
small things before resuming this series. Part III shall be RCA

and maybe another label.