Stephen Kovacevich is still playing, I'm glad to say - I heard him at a friend's house play Beethoven's Op. 110 last autumn. Brendel has definitely retired, but it was a thrill to see him in the audience at the Wigmore Hall just before Christmas, at a recital given by my brilliant young friend Ariel Lanyi.
Just discovered your wonderful channel. Nice job on the Philips survey. While the sound is a little on the polite side, there are MANY beautiful recordings. I have always loved the Quartetto Italiano and I have seen the Beaux Arts Trio and Haitnik/Conertgebaouw live. My personal theory on Philips sound is that classical music is much more widely enjoyed in Europe and thus more likely to be played on modest systems in the average home. Just a thought.
Thank you so much for the kind words, Robert. Agreed on the Philips-so many great artists. As for the modest systems, good for thought. All the very best. Hope you can join us on our livestream. Cheers, Anthony
I bought a bunch of Philips LPs from ebay that were listed as Mint or Near Mint. And not only were the pressings great, the records sounded new after I cleaned them with my US cleaner. I got around 45 Lps for around $2 per LP.
Have been big collector Philips vinyl and quality and orchestras very good , was very available in Australia in the day, I have nearly all the records u show, thanks Antony !
I collect a lot of Philips pressings because, I’m a big fan of Alfred Brendel. I know he’s not everyone cup of tea. But I do enjoy his work and must of his albums are on Philips
Excellent video Anthony. I remember I used to know an audiophile in New York whose record collection was heavily weighted with the Phillips label. I think he was a music fan first, and perhaps sound was secondary. I always wondered if I was missing something. Maybe I have been. I have very few from this label.
What about the box set of Beethovenn violin sontas with Arthur Grumiaux and Clara Haskil? Definitive performances imo. Hard to find I know, but if you do find it, you're in for a treat. Grumiaux and Haskil ...2 of my all time favs. Clara's my gal. :)
Love this! A couple of years ago I got a few Philips out of your chamber music survey. Side note: many Dutch Decca pressings are excellent (and wonderful value). From Arthur Salvatore (who can be divisive, I know): "Most Dutch pressings will rival the finest Late British and, in a few rare instances, are "The Best". The Dutch pressings, which were actually mastered in England, almost always equal, or prove superior to, the Late British in immediacy, purity and transparency. Their sonic advantages over the even earlier pressings are that much more pronounced."
One should reissue all the Philips/ Hague Philharmonic( Residentie- Orkest) under Willem van Otterloo and Antal Dorati and also the Rotterdam PO recordings under Edo de Waart and David Zinman. There were some really excellent recordings among them. Notable the v. Otterloo Symphonie Fantastique was for years one of the best in the catalogue and a long time not surpassed! Grt from Holland!
great review of some really nice Philips titles. I have a lot of the Philips Holland pressings and quite a few of the Philips Nippon Phonogram pressings. Philips Holland pressings (and the Philips -Japan titles pressed by Nippon Phonogram) sound a ton better after US cleaning. Much deeper sound stage, greater imaging etc. The Philips chamber works on vinyl are pretty tough to beat. Philips used great artists with good recordings and quiet vinyl. No way to confirm this but the Philips vinyl sounds like Philips - Holland used more compression on their tape to lacquer transfers (like DG in Germany was well known for) than did Decca, EMI or RCA or Mercury. On the Philips orchestral works pressings, they do not exhibit the big crescendos the EMI, London/Decca (British or King Record Japan pressings - some of these King pressings are better than their Decca UK pressing counterparts), RCA or Mercury - Indy pressings do so much better on the same work. As a small side note, after the PolyGram buyout of Decca, Philips and DG, the Decca pressings were pressing in Holland as you noted. Before the buyout, Philips titles for the Japan market were pressed by Nippon Phonogram. After Polygram buyout Philips titles were pressed by Polydor KK for the Japan market. Sometime in the early 1980s with the advent of CDs coming on the market, the Philips jackets were still printed in Japan but the vinyl was pressed in Holland. A small sticker on the OBI stated "Imported Pressing".
Was the lack of "sparkle" caused by the use of QUAD ESL's as their monitors. I disagree with the lack of sparkle Phillip's for chamber works and piano is a pretty good thing.
I recently found Brendel's Bach: Italian Concerto, Chromatic Fantasy & Fugue LP at a local record store. That was my first contact with Brendel. Absolutely gorgeous music! It prompted me to buy 7 of his Schubert LP's as a set shortly after that for a very good price. As an aside, Kovacevich is a Croatian name (Kovačević). Stephen Kovacevich was born in San Pedro, California, which had a significant Croatian population in the 1st half of the 20th century and to this day as well.
Excellent video. I’ve been picking up loads of Phillips releases as they are plentiful, usually very clean and $3 a pop! I agree they do have a “house sound” to them, imho the Phillips sound Is a little more full/dynamic than the Dgg sound.
Agreed. I think u posted on the show last week but I thought ur screen name was a troll lol Apologies. Post up again and I’ll be sure to highlight ur comment 👍👍
@@AudiophiliaChannel lol. No troll here. Just a music lover with a recently ignited passion for classical musical. I really enjoy your videos and livestreams. Keep up the good work!
Beautiful video . Philips must start . again music systems . Emplifires. Home theatre . Made in Holland. . Really we all r missing.
Stephen Kovacevich is still playing, I'm glad to say - I heard him at a friend's house play Beethoven's Op. 110 last autumn. Brendel has definitely retired, but it was a thrill to see him in the audience at the Wigmore Hall just before Christmas, at a recital given by my brilliant young friend Ariel Lanyi.
Just discovered your wonderful channel. Nice job on the Philips survey. While the sound is a little on the polite side, there are MANY beautiful recordings. I have always loved the Quartetto Italiano and I have seen the Beaux Arts Trio and Haitnik/Conertgebaouw live. My personal theory on Philips sound is that classical music is much more widely enjoyed in Europe and thus more likely to be played on modest systems in the average home. Just a thought.
Thank you so much for the kind words, Robert. Agreed on the Philips-so many great artists. As for the modest systems, good for thought. All the very best. Hope you can join us on our livestream. Cheers, Anthony
I bought a bunch of Philips LPs from ebay that were listed as Mint or Near Mint. And not only were the pressings great, the records sounded new after I cleaned them with my US cleaner. I got around 45 Lps for around $2 per LP.
Mazel!
The Quartetto Italiano are beyond compare
Agreed. Magnificent artists. And the Ravel/Debussy record gets their tone perfectly. A gem.
Have been big collector Philips vinyl and quality and orchestras very good , was very available in Australia in the day, I have nearly all the records u show, thanks Antony !
Great stuff. Philips can be such good value. Cheers.
I collect a lot of Philips pressings because, I’m a big fan of Alfred Brendel. I know he’s not everyone cup of tea. But I do enjoy his work and must of his albums are on Philips
Excellent video Anthony. I remember I used to know an audiophile in New York whose record collection was heavily weighted with the Phillips label. I think he was a music fan first, and perhaps sound was secondary. I always wondered if I was missing something. Maybe I have been. I have very few from this label.
The Arrau Novelleten and the Italiano Debussy/Ravel albums are really worth looking out for. Audiophile quality and the very best performances. 🙏
What about the box set of Beethovenn violin sontas with Arthur Grumiaux and Clara Haskil? Definitive performances imo. Hard to find I know, but if you do find it, you're in for a treat. Grumiaux and Haskil ...2 of my all time favs. Clara's my gal. :)
Love this! A couple of years ago I got a few Philips out of your chamber music survey. Side note: many Dutch Decca pressings are excellent (and wonderful value). From Arthur Salvatore (who can be divisive, I know): "Most Dutch pressings will rival the finest Late British and, in a few rare instances, are "The Best". The Dutch pressings, which were actually mastered in England, almost always equal, or prove superior to, the Late British in immediacy, purity and transparency. Their sonic advantages over the even earlier pressings are that much more pronounced."
One should reissue all the Philips/ Hague Philharmonic( Residentie- Orkest) under Willem van Otterloo and Antal Dorati and also the Rotterdam PO recordings under Edo de Waart and David Zinman. There were some really excellent recordings among them. Notable the v. Otterloo Symphonie Fantastique was for years one of the best in the catalogue and a long time not surpassed! Grt from Holland!
great review of some really nice Philips titles. I have a lot of the Philips Holland pressings and quite a few of the Philips Nippon Phonogram pressings. Philips Holland pressings (and the Philips -Japan titles pressed by Nippon Phonogram) sound a ton better after US cleaning. Much deeper sound stage, greater imaging etc. The Philips chamber works on vinyl are pretty tough to beat. Philips used great artists with good recordings and quiet vinyl. No way to confirm this but the Philips vinyl sounds like Philips - Holland used more compression on their tape to lacquer transfers (like DG in Germany was well known for) than did Decca, EMI or RCA or Mercury. On the Philips orchestral works pressings, they do not exhibit the big crescendos the EMI, London/Decca (British or King Record Japan pressings - some of these King pressings are better than their Decca UK pressing counterparts), RCA or Mercury - Indy pressings do so much better on the same work. As a small side note, after the PolyGram buyout of Decca, Philips and DG, the Decca pressings were pressing in Holland as you noted. Before the buyout, Philips titles for the Japan market were pressed by Nippon Phonogram. After Polygram buyout Philips titles were pressed by Polydor KK for the Japan market. Sometime in the early 1980s with the advent of CDs coming on the market, the Philips jackets were still printed in Japan but the vinyl was pressed in Holland. A small sticker on the OBI stated "Imported Pressing".
What fantastic, detailed information. Thank you so much. This information adds so much to the video. All the very best and thanks again, Anthony.
Was the lack of "sparkle" caused by the use of QUAD ESL's as their monitors. I disagree with the lack of sparkle Phillip's for chamber works and piano is a pretty good thing.
Claudio Arrau ❤
Agreed.
I recently found Brendel's Bach: Italian Concerto, Chromatic Fantasy & Fugue LP at a local record store. That was my first contact with Brendel. Absolutely gorgeous music! It prompted me to buy 7 of his Schubert LP's as a set shortly after that for a very good price. As an aside, Kovacevich is a Croatian name (Kovačević). Stephen Kovacevich was born in San Pedro, California, which had a significant Croatian population in the 1st half of the 20th century and to this day as well.
Great info, as always Dan.
Those Brendels u can find for a buck each. Crazy good value.
Hope to see you on the show.
@@AudiophiliaChannel absolutely
Excellent video. I’ve been picking up loads of Phillips releases as they are plentiful, usually very clean and $3 a pop! I agree they do have a “house sound” to them, imho the Phillips sound Is a little more full/dynamic than the Dgg sound.
Agreed. I think u posted on the show last week but I thought ur screen name was a troll lol Apologies. Post up again and I’ll be sure to highlight ur comment 👍👍
@@AudiophiliaChannel lol. No troll here. Just a music lover with a recently ignited passion for classical musical. I really enjoy your videos and livestreams. Keep up the good work!
Have u got the Fantasiestucke by Arrau a desert island lp imho
No. I’ll look for it. Thx 🙏
Phonogram pressings where the best in the world.