DECCA RING 1-22 Wagner Der Ring des Nibelungen - GEORGE SOLTI - VPO (ED1)

$

216

FULL DESCRIPTION OF THIS ITEM:

RING 1-22: First released by Decca in 1968, this is a twenty two record box set of Wagner’s: Der Ring des Nibelungen;Georg Solti conducts the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Regarded by many as THE definitive performance on vinyl of this epic series of operas, it was recorded over a ten year period in the Sofiensaal, Vienna and produced by John Culshaw, renowned as being one of the finest producers of classical LP's 

In this box set are included:

Das Rheingold (Recorded 1958)

London, Flagstad, Watson, Wachter, Kmentt, Svanholm,

Madeira, Neidlinger, Kuen, Kreppel, Bohme, Balsborg, Plumacher, Malaniuk

Die Walkure (Recorded 1965)

King, Crespin, Frick, Hotter, Nilsson, Ludwig,

Schlosser, Lindholm, Fassbaender, Watts, Dernesch, Little, Hellmann

Siegfried (Recorded 1962)

Windgassen, Nilsson, Hotter, Stolze, Neidlinger, Bohme, Hoffgen, Sutherland

Gotterdammerung (Recorded 1964)

Nilsson, Windgassen, Neidlinger, Frick, Watson, Fischer-Dieskau, Ludwig, Popp, Jones, Guy, Watts, Hoffman, Valkki

Vienna State Opera Chorus

Introduction to The Ring (1968) 

This is a unique three record set narrated by Deryck Cooke, providing an explanation and analysis of Wagner's system of leitmotifs with 193 music examples either extracted from the complete recording or specially recorded for this production. 

This set also incorporates two additional works which draw on the musical material of 'The Ring' - Siegfried Idyll and KinderKatechismus.

This is the most luxurious set of records ever produced by Decca encased in a carved wooden presentation box with gilded front panel. 

Each opera is in its own separate wooden ended partition with full size libretto booklets (colour coded for each opera) containing synopsis & full transcription for the operas.

(Stereophile Review)

"The unsurpassed quality of singers and orchestra, Solti's astonishing ability to tell a dramatic story in music, the epic scope and sweep of work and performance -- and the sound, as much a wonder for our own time as half a century ago -- make these recordings seem more precious, their combinations of qualities less likely to ever be repeated, with every passing year. This deluxe set . . . contains what Decca claims is the "definitive" edition of the recordings . . . But it contains much more . . . In short, it's everything the serious lover of this work and this recording could want, all in one place, beautifully organized and designed"

VISUAL CONDITION OF THE VINYL: (EX+)

On all 22 discs, the vinyl is shiny and glossy as one would hope it to be. That said, there are some visual imperfections to note:

Das Rheingold: Side 5 has a visible scratch

Die Walküre: Side 1 has a light mark; Side 7 has a light non-sounding scratch

Siegfried: Side 10 has a non sounding mark

Gotterdämmerung: Side 5 has a visible scratch

Introduction to the Ring: On Side 2 there is a non sounding line that runs across the entire disc

The LP's sit beautifully flat on the turntable with no signs of warping. 

BOX / SLEEVE CONDITION: EX+ (see pictures)

The exquisite presentation box is in terrific shape with just a touch of wear visible to the top right hand corner

There is some wear clearly visible to the spines of the individual wooden partitions. (see pictures)

Outer Cardboard Sleeves: on some of them the glue has failed and they could therefore do with a little glue to secure the sleeve

Booklets: these are in stunning condition. There are a couple of instances where the middle pages of the booklet have come loose from the stapled area

SOUND QUALITY: EX+ (+)

A realistic assessment is that most of this amazing box set plays in near perfect condition. That said, there are some audible defects that have been noted as follows:

Very occasional passages of light surface noise

Das Rheingold: Side 5 has five barely audible light ticks 

Die Walküre: On side 1, just over half way through, there are 8 light consecutive pops

Gotterdämmerung: Side 5 has 15 light consecutive ticks that correspond with the scratch described above and there is some light surface noise on Side 11

Welcome to Classic-Choice, a long established, international dealer in rare previously owned Classical LP's who, after considerable thought, have decided to make their rare items available to the wider audience offered by eBay. The previous success we have enjoyed is entirely due to the longstanding, incredible loyalty of those who are on our catalogue mailing list, the personal referrals from existing clients, together with our unique pricing promise for catalogue items. The latter is an irrevocable, no nonsense guarantee, (which can be viewed on our website) which assures buyers that not only are the items listed in the catalogue accurately described, but has the added advantage of clients knowing they are are obtaining true value for money.

The LP’s which we will be offering for sale over the next 12 months are mainly early mono and stereo original British pressings from labels including Decca, Columbia, HMV, RCA as well as a host of other labels including DGG and Philips. These records come almost exclusively from private collections, including many from recording engineers and reviewers. The following grading of LP’s is based on 20 years experience and also in accordance with strict collectors guidelines. 

Please Note: All records are cleaned with a professional VPI Record Cleaning machine - this forms part of our service.

Grading is nearly always a combination of visual and aural inspection and for rarer items we will listen to the entire LP on a Garrard 401 turntable (unless the item is sealed/unopened). An inaudible paper scuff or a very lightly worn corner will lead to the record/sleeve being graded as NM-. If a record has any defects, we will let you know in the description. Records in less than EX condition are generally not listed unless we estimate their value, had they been NM, to be £100 or more.

LP Grading:

Mint  - This is a sealed record.

NM (Near mint):  Exceptional condition and sound fidelity, with minor (if any) visible signs of use. Record appears virtually unplayed.

NM minus (NM-) : Almost NM. There may be 1 or 2 inaudible paper scuffs or barely visible marks. There are no ticks, no surface noise or audible signs of wear

Ex plus (Ex+) : Visually, a few light, hairline marks may exist, as well as paper sleeve marks or other signs of incidental handling that will not cause intrusively audible surface noise. The sound may be ever so slightly affected by intermittent surface noise and the occasional light tick, but the music retains its full spectrum of fidelity, with no mistracking and no distortion of any description.  Audio quality far outweighs any marginal appearance flaws

Ex :   A few more hairline and light marks. May be a few moderate ticks during play and one or two passages of occasional surface noise in places. In essence, the sound is only lightly affected and the music retains its full spectrum of fidelity, with no mis-tracking.

Ex minus (EX-) : A few more hairline and light marks still. There may be several passages of light background noise over the course of the LP, and/or slightly more pronounced ticks.

VG plus (VG+) :  There will either be quite a few marks, a light scratch accompanied by more noticeable noise. This will be 

described in detail. Vinyl may appear somewhat dull and grayish. There may be wear or deformation of the spindle hole. We only list records in this condition if they are very rare.

VG : Well-played, dull, grayish vinyl with deeper scratches and wear causing distracting surface noise. The record will 

still play through without any skips. Labels may be significantly defaced or damaged.

Sleeve/Jacket Grading

Mint  - This is a sealed record.

NM : The cover is virtually perfect, showing little or no wear, with no marks on front or back. Seams, spines, corners are not worn to any degree. Lamination completely intact 

NM- : The cover is vitually perfect with only very tiny marks, scuffing, creasing, but no handwriting, splits or tears. It is almost as new

Ex+ : The cover may have some slight marks, scuffs, creasing or ringwear. There may be slight laminate peel but no handwriting, no splits or tears and no seam or edge damage. 

Ex: As above but there may be some handwriting or a small split or tear to the cover. Possibly more laminate peel and small repair may be seen.  However, it still retains its structural integrity 

VG+ : More obvious signs of overall wear with larger tears or splitting of the edges, some creasing or scuffing of the seam. However, the jacket is structurally sound and is still worthy of collectibility. (See photo for clarification)

PAYMENT TERMS:

•At the close of the auction, PLEASE WAIT FOR THE INVOICE TO BE SENT TO YOU BEFORE INITIATING PAYMENT

•Receipt of payment for each individual item purchased is required within 5 days. 

•PLEASE NOTE: If you have won an item and wish to bid on further items,  in order to help you to keep postage costs down, we will be delighted to hold your initial purchase until other auctions in which you are bidding come to a close, but  AS LONG AS PAYMENT FOR EACH SUCCESSFUL ITEM IS RECEIVED WITHIN 5 DAYS. Once you advise us to send the items to you, we will provide a final invoice including the amended postage costs. 

•For eBayers with zero or excessive negative feedback, we will require you to send an email stating your intention to follow through with this transaction if successful.

METHODS OF PAYMENT

1) Paypal: In order to use this payment method, please click on the link or visit www.paypal.com

2) Bank Transfer: 

Monies sent must be received in £ Sterling. Please ask for details

3) Bank Draft or IMO: payable to Jonathan J. Kustow, in £ Sterling, and drawn on an English bank. 

4) Cheque: (for customers with an English bank account) or Postal Order made payable to Jonathan J. Kustow. 

5) Cash: For those who prefer to pay by cash, please send £'s Sterling, and by Registered Mail. 

•Our phone number and e-mail address will be provided after completion of the auction.

•We submit invoices within 24 hours following completion of a sale.

REFUND POLICY: 

In more than 20 years of dealing in over 50000 classical LP’s, in all this time, only a handful of items have ever been returned. That said, we are human - mistakes may happen and defects can occasionally be overlooked or too small to detect.

So if you do feel misled in any way with the description of the item purchased, please let us know within one month of receipt.  We will always do our best to resolve any problems, so please do not return any records or leave negative feedback without having contacted us first. 

If at this stage you still wish to return the LP, a replacement (if available), full refund or credit against future purchases will be made without question, as soon as the item has been safely returned to us.

(The item must be returned by signed for registered post and return postage cost is to be covered by buyer)

SHIPPING INFORMATION & COSTS:

•We ship worldwide and aim to ensure that all purchases are shipped within 48 hours once payment has been received.

•Please provide us with details of your delivery address and phone number (for delivery purposes only)

•All records are sent in dedicated LP cardboard boxes with heavy duty cardboard stiffeners or styrofoam chippings as required. The vinyl is removed from the outer cover to avoid seam splits

**IMPORTANT**  

Please note that Classic-Choice is located in the UK and not in the USA

The $4  shipping price that automatically appears is INCORRECT as eBay does not understand that sellers on ebay.com may be located abroad! 

The $110 international shipping price that automatically appears is for parcels travelling to the Far East.  Please see below for correct prices shipping to the USA, Europe and within the UK

Due to the rarity of this particular item, we strongly recommend that it  be signed for and adequately insured 

against possible loss or damage whilst being shipped.

The correct postage & packaging costs are therefore as follows:

UK - $23 (£15) - 1st class signed for and fully insured

EUROPE - $50 - international signed for registered airmail and fully insured

USA - $75 - international signed for registered airmail and fully insured

REST OF THE WORLD - $110 - international signed for registered airmail and fully insured

•All the above come with a tracking number for extra peace of mind

(Please Note: we do not ship international items by surface mail)

IN MOST CASES, ESTIMATED DELIVERY TIMES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

UK: 1-2 DAYS 

EUROPE: 3-5 DAYS 

REST OF THE WORLD: 5-8 DAYS 

And finally, if you have recently won an item at one of our auctions or ‘Buy it Now’  and are delaying payment as you are hoping to purchase this item, we would refer you to our PAYMENT TERMS section on how best to proceed 

We would be delighted to hear from you, should you have any questions

Thanks and happy bidding!

Jonathan Kustow (Classic-Choice)

+44 208 450 9698