Julian Allen wrote:

>Dear All, Have just purchased the above 50's and 60's recordings of
>the three Rach symphonies.  The performances are literally superb.
>
>The whole perception of these works is transformed.  Never heard
>anything like it!!!

At the time these recordings were made, the often underrated Ormandy was
one of the leading interpreters of Rachmaninoff, and his Philadelphia
Orchestra may have been the greatest in the world.  What hurt these discs
was the Columbia sound, particularly many of the American vinyl pressings.
In many cases the tapes have been much better, which means that there are
good foreign pressings and certainly that good CD remasterings can do
justice to them.

Many of Ormandy's recordings from this period are as good as these.

Roger Hecht