Winifred
Atwell
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Stanford Robinson Released
in 1955 as Decca LF1026
Download ID: 162613/432815
Duration 30'36"
Play
sample movement:
Grieg's
only Piano Concerto is one of the best known pieces in the classical repertoire
- perhaps only the opening few notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony could
possibly be more familiar than the opening bars of this piece. As such
it requires little introduction.
However,
this particular recording is of note for two reasons. First and foremost
for the soloist - there can be few serious classical recordings made by
instrumentalists who went on to top the pop charts, but despite her great
talent and training in the classical world, it was for her British boogie-woogie
hits of the late 1950's that Trinidad-born Winifred Atwell (left)
became best known, whilst playing her "other piano", a deliberately
battered 'honky-tonk' instrument, and in another world to this recording.
The
second point of interest in this recording is that, although it was released
as a standard mono record (the first stereo LPs appeared in 1958), it
was among the first classical recordings made in stereo in the United
Kingdom.
Decca
began experimenting with a three-microphone system known as the 'Decca
Tree' for their Kingsway Hall recordings in May 1954. The system, designed
by Roy Wallace, used 3 directional cardioid-pattern Neuman KM-56 condensor
mics suspended eleven feet above and slightly behind the conductor's platform
on a cross-bar, pointed 30 degrees down to the orchestra and clustered
tightly together to exclude reflected sounds from the sides and rear.
The mixed signal was recorded on an Ampex 350-2 recorder at 15 ips. This
further enhanced the reputation of Decca for superlative sound reproduction
that arguably began with their first ffrr recordings of the mid-1940's.
Alas
the music-buying public's interest in Winifred Atwell was short-lived
and concentrated largely on her popular output - our research suggests
that the issue remained in its original mono format, and it is that recording
which we present here. We have yet to trace a stereo issue of this recording.
Download
our Full Discography Printable text listings of all Pristine Audio historic releases
Restoration
by Peter Harrison:
ADVERTISEMENT
Pristine Classical - bringing you DRM-free historic classical FLAC and MP3 download music since 2005
FAQ
FLAC downloads use lossless compression - when replayed or transferred to disc they are bit- identical to original recordings.
16 BIT files are at full CD resolution, identical to our CD masters.
24 BIT files are at higher, studio master resolution, identical to our finished master files.
Please ensure you can play our 24 bit FLAC files before purchase - try our test files here.
Not all media players support FLAC yet, so you may need to convert to WAV or AIFF before playback. See our FLAC help guide
FLAC downloads come as a series of tracks in a ZIP archive file.
Our MP3 files are encoded at very high variable bitrates using the LAME encoder or at a constant rate of 320kbps.
Each recording is presented as a single, long MP3 which can be split using the CUE sheet at the bottom of the page, adding track titles and other information.
CD writing programs such as Nero and Burrrn can write these files directly to CD with all track information added using MP3+CUE - see our tutorial
Alternatively a cue splitter program can automatically cut and name the MP3 into individual MP3 tracks
There are also media players which use the MP3+CUE system, allowing gapless playback of all long MP3 files - essential for opera and many other classical works
Save money when you buy several downloads together by using the following discount codes in the shopping cart:
Buy 5 or more - save 10%: Code: 85187052
Buy 10 or more - save 20%: Code: 12W07104
How To Use: Once you've made your selections, copy the correct code into the space marked Discount or Coupon Code in your shopping cart, then click the Update Cart button to apply the discount before heading to the checkout.
N.B. These discounts apply to all our FLAC and MP3 downloads only. Discounts do not apply to CD purchases
Our CDs are made to order on highest quality Taiyo Yuden Watershield CD-R discs, recorded directly from our master files
CDs are shipped worldwide by Air Mail from France. The price here includes all shipping costs - there are no hidden extras
Standard and Premium CDs hold the same quality of audio - the Standard CD comes in a slip case with no covers, the Premium comes in a jewel case with printed covers
Each music page has PDF covers for printing out at home
They can be found by clicking on cover artwork or scrolling to the bottom of the page
Always deselect any resizing options in the print dialogue of Adobe Reader before printing to ensure correct cover sizes
All payments are processed by PayPal, one of the world's biggest and most reliable global online payment services
You can pay by credit card directly with PayPal acting merely as a secure card payment processing facility
You can use a PayPal account for quicker, easier and totally secure payments
We do not recommend using the e-check option for download purchases as there is always a delay of 3-4 working days between purchase and receipt of goods while the check clears
Payments are charged in Euros and will be converted from other currencies at the current PayPal exchange rate
However,
this particular recording is of note for two reasons. First and foremost
for the soloist - there can be few serious classical recordings made by
instrumentalists who went on to top the pop charts, but despite her great
talent and training in the classical world, it was for her British boogie-woogie
hits of the late 1950's that Trinidad-born Winifred Atwell (left)
became best known, whilst playing her "other piano", a deliberately
battered 'honky-tonk' instrument, and in another world to this recording.
