How good are recordings on the Melodiya label? Communist drek or uncorrupted?

caesar · Nov 9, 2016

Are there any worthwhile recordings on the soviet / russian Melodia label?

is it as good as pretty much anything a commie would do? or did they avoid bad habits of western labels?

Mike Lavigne · Nov 9, 2016

caesar said:
Are there any worthwhile recordings on the soviet / russian Melodia label?

is it as good as pretty much anything a commie would do? or did they avoid bad habits of western labels?

there are many great performers and performances, the sound is very good to only ok. pressing quality is not the very best but good....a little dry sometimes....might be the vinyl formulas....inconsistent would be the word I would use.

Richter has many great performances on this label.

there are other 60's, 70's and 80's Eastern European labels such as Hungaroton that have some great sound and great sounding pressings because they kept their production very simple and analog. and the quality of the playing is many times outstanding. string quartets and solo piano are particularly good.

I've purchased 'lots' of 10-20 Lps from Hungary of classical records that have been wonderful and cost about $5-$10 each....plus shipping. I play them often.

Folsom · Nov 9, 2016

I have a few as well. I find that albums they released I seem to enjoy. As I see more I won't hesitate to grab them.

microstrip · Nov 9, 2016

Great performances by great artists - at a glance I think about the Borodin and Prague String Quartets, Emil Guilels and Heinrich Neuhaus. Some of their CDs re-issues also sound great, they have a very natural balance, sometimes a little noisy for a pure audiophile.

Just listen and enjoy, forget about the equipment.
Harmonia Mundi (France) re-issued several of their recordings.

Folsom · Nov 9, 2016

I wish there were more Harmonia Mundi's around, big time. They're consistently good to listen to so far that I've heard. But I don't see many at records stores and such (I like going to record stores and such). It's criminal! No shortage of budget discs of stuff I don't care about though where I live.

astrotoy · Nov 9, 2016

EMI had a very long time relationship with Melodiya, issuing hundreds of records, beginning in the mid-late '60's (IIRC), on their main ASD label. Lots of top artists, Oistrakh, Gilels, Richter, and conductors like Svetlanov, Rozhdestvensky (doing this from memory!), and even a few albums conducted by Mravinsky and his Leningrad Symphony. One or two made the Absolute Sound Super Disc List. There are are some operas also. I think I have a complete collection of all the analogue issues on vinyl - there were some digital ones that I don't have. EMI remastered all of the albums and pressed them in the UK. They all have a combined Melodiya/EMI logo. Not sure whether there was a reciprocal arrangement for Melodiya issuing EMI's in the Soviet Union. My experience with the EMI issued Melodiyas has been very positive, although not quite at the level of the best engineering by the two Christophers or Stuart Eltham of Previn and the LSO or Fremaux and the CBSO.

Larry

Folsom · Nov 10, 2016

You totally lost me on the last line.

Altanpsx · Nov 10, 2016

I had many titles form re-issue's, most of them are very very good in sonic terms, i can recommend to buy. You may see some of them,

http://www.audioavm.com/index.php?do=catalog/results&q=

bonzo75 · Nov 10, 2016

I have their Winterreise with Richter on Piano which is superb

853guy · Nov 10, 2016

caesar said:
Are there any worthwhile recordings on the soviet / russian Melodia label?

is it as good as pretty much anything a commie would do? or did they avoid bad habits of western labels?

Tatiana Nikolayeva's 1987 recording of Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues remains the high water mark for me of not only the three versions she herself released, but of all the others I've heard, including Ashkenazy, Jarrett and Mustonen. The one she did for Hyperion in 1990 lacks the fluency she displays in the Melodiya release, and although the 1962 version is probably her best recorded performance with some really expressive playing, it's not as consistent overall, and the Doremi release was apparently taken from the LP itself and is not a great transfer sonically.

853guy · Nov 10, 2016

bonzo75 said:
I have their Winterreise with Richter on Piano which is superb

Hey Bonzo,

Is the Philips Digital Classics and Eterna version all the same recording (Dresden 1985)?

bonzo75 · Nov 10, 2016

853guy said:
Hey Bonzo,

Is the Philips Digital Classics and Eterna version all the same recording (Dresden 1985)?

I am referring to this one https://www.discogs.com/F-Schubert-Peter-Schreier-Sviatoslav-Richter-Winterreise/release/5536919

853guy · Nov 10, 2016

bonzo75 said:
I am referring to this one https://www.discogs.com/F-Schubert-Peter-Schreier-Sviatoslav-Richter-Winterreise/release/5536919

OK, cool, thanks!

astrotoy · Nov 10, 2016

Folsom said:
You totally lost me on the last line.

The best EMI producer/engineers were Christopher Bishop and Christopher Parker - known as the two Christophers. Among their most famous recordings were ones they did with Andre Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra. Another great EMI engineer was Stuart Eltham who recorded Louis Fremaux and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Combined they had many Absolute Sound Super Discs for EMI. Melodiya engineers were not up to their level.

Hope that helps. Larry

asiufy · Nov 10, 2016

I have a few Melodyia LPs, from the mid 70s to early 80s (not classical, though), and almost all of them are incredibly noisy and crackly. On the surface they look OK, but I guess the vinyl quality was simply not a concern there back then...

I agree with Mike on Hungaroton, some good pressings on chunky vinyl. The covers were usually flimsy, though... The Czech Rep. also had some good labels/pressings.

marslo · Nov 13, 2016

I bought Beethoven Symphonies under Paul Kletzki in early 80' , a box set of 8 vinyls . Czech or rather Czechoslovakian pressing by Suprahon. It was impossible to get western pressings under this time in normal shops , we had some Polish brands like Muza and Polskie Nagrania.
Supraphon vinyls were quite good, my sons grew up with this music, I still listen to them often.
https://www.discogs.com/Ludwig-van-...ra-Symphonies-Coriolan-Egmont/release/4773831

SCAudiophile · Nov 14, 2016

Folsom said:
I wish there were more Harmonia Mundi's around, big time. They're consistently good to listen to so far that I've heard. But I don't see many at records stores and such (I like going to record stores and such). It's criminal! No shortage of budget discs of stuff I don't care about though where I live.

HM does an amazing job on what they put out; +1 on wishing for more!

SCAudiophile · Nov 14, 2016

astrotoy said:
EMI had a very long time relationship with Melodiya, issuing hundreds of records, beginning in the mid-late '60's (IIRC), on their main ASD label. Lots of top artists, Oistrakh, Gilels, Richter, and conductors like Svetlanov, Rozhdestvensky (doing this from memory!), and even a few albums conducted by Mravinsky and his Leningrad Symphony. One or two made the Absolute Sound Super Disc List. There are are some operas also. I think I have a complete collection of all the analogue issues on vinyl - there were some digital ones that I don't have. EMI remastered all of the albums and pressed them in the UK. They all have a combined Melodiya/EMI logo. Not sure whether there was a reciprocal arrangement for Melodiya issuing EMI's in the Soviet Union. My experience with the EMI issued Melodiyas has been very positive, although not quite at the level of the best engineering by the two Christophers or Stuart Eltham of Previn and the LSO or Fremaux and the CBSO.

Larry

+1 on the original Melodiya or EMI-remastered Melodiya recordings by Mravinky+Lenningrad (Shostakovich 5, 8, 10 and 11 in particular) and Svetlanov, Rozhdestvensky...have the CDs and even with
the occasional noise artifact the performances themselves are among the best on my shelves for sheer authenticity, raw power and true-to-original-form nature of the interpretations!

caesar · Nov 17, 2016

marslo said:
I bought Beethoven Symphonies under Paul Kletzki in early 80' , a box set of 8 vinyls . Czech or rather Czechoslovakian pressing by Suprahon. It was impossible to get western pressings under this time in normal shops , we had some Polish brands like Muza and Polskie Nagrania.
Supraphon vinyls were quite good, my sons grew up with this music, I still listen to them often.
https://www.discogs.com/Ludwig-van-...ra-Symphonies-Coriolan-Egmont/release/4773831

Hi Marslo, thanks for sharing. When Poland was a Soviet satellite state, where did most of the records come from? Were there many Russian Melodiyas or were there many other sources?

marslo · Nov 17, 2016

caesar said:
Hi Marslo, thanks for sharing. When Poland was a Soviet satellite state, where did most of the records come from? Were there many Russian Melodiyas or were there many other sources?

As I already mentioned we had Polish firms like Muza and Polskie Nagrania( Polish Recordings) .
The imported vinyls came mainly from USSR ( like Melodia) Czechoslovakia and also from Bulgaria ( I have forgotten the brand, will check my Bulgarian vinyls after I am back home). My first Ray Charles vinyl was from Bulgaria, it was the only available but of rather poor quality.
P.S Google helped

- the Bulgarian pressings were made under Balkanton brand.

How good are recordings on the Melodiya label? Communist drek or uncorrupted?

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