Heifetz 6 CD EMI box set

[MartyJazz]

As one who has a few of the RCA Victor Red Seal CD reissues of Jascha Heifetz's marvelous mid-1950s renditions of the great violin concertos by Beethoven, Bruch, Brahms, Mendelssohn, etc., I went to the CD Now site (Amazon) hoping I could find a box set of these recordings to give as a birthday gift to a dear relative. However, the only reasonably priced box set I could locate was a 6 CD issue by EMI. I was all set to purchase it when I realized that as great as these recordings undoubtedly are, I would first like to know around when they were recorded, i.e., pre-HiFi or subsequently. I don't care about a lack of stereo as the Red Seal hi-fi recordings fidelity-wise are excellent. I'm concerned whether the EMI recordings are from a far earlier period where audio fidelity might be an issue. So I'd appreciate any knowledgable feedback about this.

EMI box link

Edited January 10, 2010 by MartyJazz

[Quincy]

As one who has a few of the RCA Victor Red Seal CD reissues of Jascha Heifetz's marvelous mid-1950s renditions of the great violin concertos by Beethoven, Bruch, Brahms, Mendelssohn, etc., I went to the CD Now site (Amazon) hoping I could find a box set of these recordings to give as a birthday gift to a dear relative. However, the only reasonably priced box set I could locate was a 6 CD issue by EMI. I was all set to purchase it when I realized that as great as these recordings undoubtedly are, I would first like to know around when they were recorded, i.e., pre-HiFi or subsequently. I don't care about a lack of stereo as the Red Seal hi-fi recordings fidelity-wise are excellent. I'm concerned whether the EMI recordings are from a far earlier period where audio fidelity might be an issue. So I'd appreciate any knowledgable feedback about this.

EMI box link

EMI's site says "His earliest recording in this set was made for The Victor Company in 1925 and the latest for EMI in 1949."

[MartyJazz]

EMI's site says "His earliest recording in this set was made for The Victor Company in 1925 and the latest for EMI in 1949."

Thanks. Obviously I should have looked at the site more carefully.

[J.A.W.]

I don't know what your opinion is on the use of noise reduction, but I'd be careful; EMI boxes with older material often suffer from excessive noise reduction - their Artur Schnabel Beethoven piano sonatas box is a prime example.

Edited January 10, 2010 by J.A.W.

[MartyJazz]

I don't know what your opinion is on the use of noise reduction, but I'd be careful; EMI boxes with older material often suffer from excessive noise reduction - their Artur Schnabel Beethoven piano sonatas box is a prime example.

Point taken. I've decided not to go for this set even though it can be had new from a private seller at a fraction of Amazon's asking price. Sure wish Victor would box their '50s Heifetz material.

[Quincy]

EMI's site says "His earliest recording in this set was made for The Victor Company in 1925 and the latest for EMI in 1949."

Thanks. Obviously I should have looked at the site more carefully.

The print was small and the copy was dull. My attention faded but I got lucky and spotted it just before closing the page.