Steve Schwartz wrote (re Wild-Horenstein Rachmaninoff):

>The sound is gorgeous.  Chandos has transferred performances originally
>made for a Reader's Digest "club," which I never heard, so I have no idea
>what the originals were like.  On these CDs, you hear everything.  Detail
>normally lost in a miasma of orchestral sound comes through almost like a
>slap in the face, simply because I never knew it was there.  For me, this
>is the great stereo set.

The originals are legendary audiophile LPs, and are by far the scarcest box
set of the much-sought-after Gerhardt produced, Wilkinson-engineered RPO
Walthamstow sessions for Reader's Digest.  Just for the hell of it, I did
a quick comparison of the LP original and the Chandos CD, concentrating on
the 3rd (which coincidentally I had just heard beaten to a pulp by Bronfman
and the St. Petersburgers) and the Rhapsody.  LP-CD comparisons like these
always should be taken with plenty salt, but what I heard:

CD: Big hall sound, warmer, bassier, piano more prominent in the mix, less
focused, extraneous noises (key clatter & pedal kicking, or maybe podium
stomping) much more prominent (in the Rhapsody).

LP: Focused, better balance between piano & orchestra, leaner sound,
somewhat pinched dynamics (attributable to Dynagroove, no doubt).

Summary for busy exec.: For analytical listening, LP; for a good old
sonic wallow, CD.

Incidentally, the LP set includes a bonus -- The Isle of the Dead.

-- Art Scott
Livermore, Cal.