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Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77
Christian Ferras, violin
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
conducted by
Carl Schuricht
1954 recording. My transfer from vinyl. Fully restored scans included. FLAC Level 8.
https://mega.co.nz/#!x0olVbja!1zNBPh2pIv9eik4yyyfpMupZw4LUKAtMRXFn1Z3 b5xg
Christian Ferras’ 1954 recording of the Brahms Violin Concerto with the Vienna Philharmonic and Carl Schuricht remains popular to this day. Copies of this LP are regularly changing hands on eBay for as much as �200. A digital re-issue in 2011 by Hallmark was made, like all of their releases, from worn vinyl on poor quality equipment, as is best avoided. Testament’s re-issue is light years ahead, but only decent, whilst Decca’s own is inexplicably muffled and lifeless. Every remastering attempt has its strengths and failures – on balance I think mine is at least as good as the others, and probably better.
I have kept this record in my collection for more than twenty years, and despite having acquired countless other recordings of the Brahms concerto, it’s this one I find myself consistently coming back to. Perhaps there is some nostalgic connection there, but I do believe this is genuinely something very special and obviously record collectors agree with me.
This transfer is from a 1958 re-issue on Decca’s budget "Ace Of Clubs" label. The "Ace Of Clubs" pressings were (and still are) very highly regarded and are arguably superior to the first (full price) 1954 pressing.
The record itself was in fairly good condition; not bad considering the age, but not perfect. The sleeve was in bad shape; yellowed, ripped, scratched, and crumpled. Therefore, significant effort was expended in preparing scans.
The transfer was preceeded by a thorough three-part cleaning with the PVA glue method. I found that side B responded better to a slightly higher tracking weight than side A. Light, non-destructive noise reduction was employed to deal with surface noise and tape hiss, which was particularly obtrusive at the beginning of the second movement. Minor EQ tweaks were made (using Anne-Sophie Mutter’s 1981 recording as a guide) but in the end… this is simply an outstanding recording to which very, very little needed to be done!
There is some occasional high-end and inner-groove distortion audible during orchestral tutti’s, which I have been able to soften slightly, and the change in background noise level between side A and B, despite crossfading, is conspicuous.
Occasional flaws notwithstanding (we are dealing with a vinyl record nearly sixty years old, after all) we have a delightful performance of the piece, by a first rate soloist and one of the world’s finest orchestras at the height of their powers. It is somewhat depressing to learn that the VPO of 1954 still held in its ranks a number of former members of the Nazi Party and the SS… but the war was over, and music has the power of healing…
Enjoy! 🙂
TT
Classical/JB-VC-1954-FLAC.rar
https://itsssl.com/wrBET
The password is "Thank you so much Tangotreats!" (without the ")