About Dvorak: Symphony No. 8 (Speakers Corner) by Antonin Dvorak:
In comparison with Dvorák’s cyclical Ninth Symphony, the Eighth always seems to fade into the background somewhat, although it is actually far more venturesome as regards its formal structure than its later sister-work. The wealth of poetic mood paintings, heartfelt melodies and seemingly improvisational episodes were described by the composer as unique ideas upon which he elaborated in a completely new way, and which were intentionally far removed from his other symphonies.
In spite of the highly individual movements, the whole composition is full of airy, lyrical contrasts. The transitional passages are gentle and flowing, as for example in the chorale-like opening which leads into the disciplined, spirited main theme of the first movement. This is followed by a rhapsodic slow movement and a waltz-like Allegretto, and finally a strangely interwoven amalgamation of sonata form and set of variations.
During the course of his short career, István Kertész championed Dvorák’s Symphonies in that he was the very first to record the complete works for the DECCA label. For this reason alone, the recording constitutes an excellent performance by the London Symphony Orchestra led by its Hungarian principal conductor.
Recording: February 1963 at Kingsway Hall, London, by Arthur Lilley
Production: Ray Minshull
About Speakers Corner
At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.
During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.
A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.
We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.
We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.
To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.
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