Chopin 19 Nocturnes - the Connoisseur Society LPs mystery

There are very few things perfect in this world. Moravec’ Chopin Nocturnes recorded in 1965 for the Connoisseur Society must be one of them. You may wonder: so many great pianists having tackled these works in concert and at the studio – in fact everyone! – how can you say that? Well, hearing is believing. I had remained for decades attached to my two Rubinsteins (pre-stereo & stereo), Guiomar Novaes (on Vox – thankfully available still), Samson Francois and Moura Lympany, and a host of others (Harasiewicz also a great favorite) and came very late to the shivers sent down my spine from Moravec. Dr. Duffy, an American friend, sent me his own transfers he made direct from the CS LPs and I was hooked. I acquired the set from ebay and wallowed in the sound of the Boesendorfer Imperial Grand (8 full octaves, 97 keys! manufactured at Busoni’s behest by the German piano makers) and the unbelievably realistic – and atmospheric – recording by E. Alan Silver’s team.

A few years after the set sold handsomely and earned the pianist adulatory reviews and the Connoisseur Society a good turnover, it was withdrawn! Dr. John L. Duffy, is a psychiatrist, whose violon d’Ingres is to make transfers from 78s, piano rolls and LPs. He knew a close friend of Alan Silver’s and had the story – allegedly explaining why the precious LPs were withdrawn.

The set of 19 was recorded in 1965 – the first batch in April, at St Paul’s Chapel, Columbia University, N.Y. and the second with the company’s personnel moving to Vienna, at the Konzerthaus, during November. Now rumor has it that just before moving to the studio set up at St Paul’s, that day in New York, the pianist and the producer had partaken in company of some "elegant wine”, and Moravec found himself a little more disinhibited than his usual.

Rumor has it also that this was the reason he later pressed Alan J. Silver to withdraw the records. This done, the recording continued selling in the form of chrome Dolby C tapes, which were, it seems, stocked in profusion (in those days this format reigned supreme in the market). Then they disappeared completely. A CD transfer done by a commercial company was found unsatisfactory to many collectors who knew the vinyl discs. The unique 30"/sec tape recorded from E. Alan Silver proved a tough nut to crack. Whether this was due to the absence of Connoisseur Society’s hardware to run them on or whether it has been a recording engineer’s decision to trim the sound – the result for some was disappointing. The only way then to get closer to the sound of Silver’s tape would be the commercial LPs, guarded by collectors like the Holy Grail.

Dr Duffy (himself deeply dissatisfied with the available commercial CD transfer) grappled for years with the LPs of the Nocturnes. His latest effort, of May 2009, was entrusted to bearac_reissues for making this treasure available more generally.

We thankfully accepted the offer. We have respected the huge trouble he undertook to restore the magnificent piano sound and so we left tape hiss (and some mild surface noise) intact in order to let the extreme bass and highs free from any interference. We cleaned a few clandestine clicks left on the matrix files and secured some seconds of absolute silence between tracks. If you do get them, it is recommended that the CDs are played at realistically high volume settings to experience the terrific sound reproduced.

P.S. A friend sent a comment to point that Connoisseur Society is still going strong under its founder E. Alan Silver and have issued a set of the Beethoven Sonatas in their usual exalted tradition. The comment was discarded by my mistake and I apologize to its sender. I hasten to repeat his points and thank him. (HL)