Heifetz Box Set (Classic Records audiophile reissue) - 9 sealed LPs (200g) + box

$

550

ITEM DESCRIPTION:

This handsome and rare 9-LP box set – all 9 LPs are still sealed – from Classic Records (US pressings, stereo) entitled “Heifetz Box Set” features the very finest audiophile re-issue of legendary violinist Jascha Heifetz’s great concerto recordings for RCA Victor, each LP a truly perfect facsimile – in every way – of the original late 1950s and 1960s albums.

In fact, these albums – pressed on 200g virgin vinyl – are arguably superior to the originals. Not only are the LPs heavier (the extra weight really makes for a different feel), but they boast smoother surfaces and truer sound from the “golden age of stereo”. Even the jackets themselves are heavier. For this listener, Classic Records represents the “gold standard” for audiophile re-issues. There is nothing else quite like them – these are truly works of art.

All 9 LPs are still sealed and are housed in very attractive and sturdy box – a real collector’s item now out-of-print.

Included are the following Heifetz albums:

(Please note: Below I have provided more detailed discographic information for some, but not all, of these titles).

LSC-1903: Brahms’s Violin Concerto in D Major Op. 77 with Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

LSC-1992: Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D Major Op. 61 with Charles Munch and the Boston Symphony Orchestra

LSC-2129: Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major Op. 35 with Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

LSC-2314: Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor Op. 64 & Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor Op. 63 with Charles Munch and the Boston Symphony Orchestra

LSC-2435: Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor Op. 47 with Walter Hendl and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

LSC-2603: Bruch “Scottish Fantasy” in E-flat Major Op. 46 and Vieuxtemps Violin Concerto No. 5 in A minor Op. 37 with Sir Malcolm Sargent and the New Symphony Orchestra of London

LSC-2652: Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor Op. 26 & Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 in D Major K. 218 with Sir Malcolm Sargent and the New Symphony Orchestra of London

LSC-2734: Glazunov’s Violin Concerto in A minor Op. 82 (with Walter Hendl and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra) and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat Major K. 364 (with violist William Primrose and conductor Izler Solomon and the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra

LSC-2767: Rózsa’s Violin Concerto (with Walter Hendl and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra) & Benjamin’s Romantic Fantasy (with violist William Primrose and conductor Izler Solomon and the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra)

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CONDITION:

The gradations of condition I use are as follows: MINT, Near-Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.

The condition of the box is EXCELLENT. There is mild sheflwear, but that is all. There are no corner breaks, seamsplits, bends, tears, or owners’ markings. The box remains solid, bright, and highly attractive – overall, an excellent collector’s copy.

The condition of the 9 LPs is MINT throughout. These are still-sealed, unplayed copies – the ideal collector's copies.

PLEASE NOTE:?

Unless sealed, LPs are carefully cleaned using a VPI-like cleaning machine. All LPs are provided with a new Nagaoka (or Nagaoka-style) inner sleeve. The images I've provided are of the actual item you are potentially bidding on - these are not stock images or images I've taken from other sites. Bid with confidence!??

PAYMENT:

Payment by PayPal is greatly preferred. Payment should be made within 5 days.??

SHIPPING:?

Shipping is free to anywhere in the world; this is true regardless of the number of LPs you buy, be it 1 or a 100. All LPs will be sent via standard airmail (7-10 days delivery). Note: There is no tracking number provided with standard airmail. Should you wish to have your item(s) sent via certified airmail (i.e., with a tracking number), please contact me.??

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REFUNDS:?

Returns are honored, and any buyer you makes a return will be refunded in full. Please contact me before making a return. ??

Please see my other classical LP and CD auctions, and feel free to write with any questions, I'll be glad to help.

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Fuller descriptions of some of the Heifetz albums included in this deluxe box set:

LSC-1903 features Jascha Heifetz's Olympian account of Brahms's Violin Concerto in D Major Op. 77, recorded with Fritz Reiner and the mighty Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the fabled acoustics of Orchestra Hall, Chicago in February 1955, still very much a landmark performance in this work's discography even over a half-century on.

Of this Brahms recording the critic T.H. wrote in his September 1985 review for The Gramophone:

“You may think that Reiner starts the opening tutti at an extraordinarily quick speed—until you remember that he is going to accompany no less a virtuoso than Heifetz, so he is merely taking it to match his soloist's performance. You will like this if you think, as I do, that this concerto is too often played in the kind of 'autumnal' manner often attributed to Brahms's compositions but which really should not apply to many of them. With Heifetz it is played with respect but without any kind of reverent hushed awe.

“I have often commented on the way soloists play that passage in the first movement at bar 349, just as if they were pedestrians picking their feet gingerly through puddles (and Belkin is another of them). Heifetz shows that such passages can go in tempo without the slightest hesitation and in one of them, at bar 223, he even positively presses on. Yet there is never any lack of feeling in the music. Reiner accompanies faithfully if without any particular distinction. The slow movement is lovely and the finale is a winner, the playing of an exuberant young man, yet, Heifetz was over 50 when he made this record. It is entirely confident throughout—and just listen to his real staccato, a rare thing from violinists.”

Incidentally, the reverse side of the jacket carries liner notes by Claudia Cassidy, famous music critic of the Chicago Tribune.

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LSC-2314 features Jascha Heifetz's incomparable accounts of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor Op. 64 and Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor Op. 63, both recorded in February 1959 with Charles Munch and the resplendent Boston Symphony Orchestra on brilliant form.

Wrote the wonderful author and critic David Hurwitz for ClassicsToday:

"These classic recordings need little comment from me on artistic grounds. Heifetz's account of the Mendelssohn never has been bettered for sheer dazzling virtuosity.... Besides, you also get Munch and the Boston Symphony, no mean bonus."  Both the Mendelssohn and Prokofiev are landmarks in the discographies of these works and the sound is of demonstration quality.”

Incidentally, the superb liner notes (in English) were written by noted violin authority Joseph Wechsburg. The striking cover portrait of Heifetz was executed by Herschel Levit.

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LSC-2435 features Jascha Heifetz's stunning account of Sibelius' Violin Concerto in D minor Op. 47, recorded at Orchestra Hall, Chicago in January 1959 with Walter Hendl conducting the mighty Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

It was Heifetz who gave Sibelius' Violin Concerto its Gramophone debut (recorded for His Master's Voice with Beecham and the LPO on 26 November 1935), putting it firmly on the map and in the central repertoire where it has remained ever since. Even Heifetz's harshest critics would be hard put to dismiss this remarkable recording, which is shot throught with a cool beauty (quite appropriate) and dynamism that leaves most rivals far behind.

Of an RCA CD re-issue of this performance, the wonderful critic David Hurwitz wrote for ClassicsToday:

“Put on the Sibelius first. Heifetz owned this work and always will as long as recordings endure. His fiery precision, narrative cool, and stupefying virtuosity have yet to be equalled. Here and elsewhere Heifetz’s burnished sonority pulsates with life, and his intonation budges not one iota from dead center.”

Produced by John Pfeiffer and engineered by Lewis Layton, this is one disc that truly epitomizes the "Golden Age of Stereo" – amazing.

There are fine liner notnes (uncredited) on the reverse side of the jacket, printed in English only. The striking cover photo of Heifetz is similarly uncredited.

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