Gioconda de Vito: Brahms Violin Concerto Op. 77 - HMV/RCA LHMV-5

$

135

ITEM DESCRIPTION:

This beautiful, and very rare LP box set from HMV/RCA (LHMV -5, US pressing, silver circle shaded dog label, mono – there was no stereo issue, inserts included) features the extraordinary Gioconda de Vito in one of the supreme performances of Brahms’s Violin Concerto in D Major Op. 77, recorded in 1954 with Rudolf Schwarz and the Philharmonia Orchestra. 

She’d performed this work under Furtwangler’s baton in Torino, Italy on March 7, 1952 (a doublebill which included Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, op.64), a broadcast performance which enjoyed circulation in the LP era on Rococo 2027, and was subsequently issued in a 4CD Music & Arts set (CD 804), but this later rendition offers the finer orchestra in demonstration quality sound. One might regret Schwarz’s installment on the podium, but direct comparisons with the competing Furtwangler Torino broadcast are not entirely to his disadvantage and his draws richly upholstered playing from the Philharmonia players, the woodwinds, particularly in the slow movement (is it Gareth Morris exquisite reposte to de Vito’s second entry?) and finale – hers remains one of the supreme accounts of this remarkable work.

The production values of this issue are quite impressive, consisting of a nice box with a die-cut center containing a print ("At the Concert"), printed on fine paper, by Raoul Dufy. Also included is a 4-page full-size booklet with illustrations and liner notes (in English only) by Wallace Brockway.

CONDITION – PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

The gradations of condition I use are as follows: MINT, Near-Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.

The condition of the box is EXCELLENT. There is some discoloration and aging, but that is all. There are no bends, seam splits, owners’ markings, or other defects, and the box remains solid, bright, and highly attractive – overall, an excellent collector's.

The condition of the Dufy print is NM-. Really, there are no flaws to speak of. The booklet shows some discoloration and is rated as VG.

The condition of the LP is EXCELLENT. Surfaces are not CD silent, but any noise is quite minimal. Nonetheless, if you must have flawless surfaces, then please do not buy this LP – overall, this rates as an excellent collector's copy, and really about as fine a copy as one is like to find nowadays.

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