Vinyl: Music Of Old Russia - Nathan Milstein - STEREO Original. 1st. UK SAX 2563 Red

This is an original UK Stereo pressing in very nice overall condition! It has a heavyweight front laminated flipback sleeve which has a mid sized "Stereo" on the front. The record is pressed on thick vinyl & has red "Semi Circle" Columbia labels. These have the "Sold in UK..." text.

I have had this album for a long time.

Strangely, it is in better condition since I had it (cleaned)

I purchased it from a library and so it had stickers on the cover and slight ink stamps on the labels (still just seen)

I cleaned the vinyl and it brought it up much better and clearer.

I can quite easily grade the cover.

I have put it as 'Worn' (although Discogs rate this year as Good) due to the various marks and tears that can be seen in the photos.

There is also a rather ugly sellotape patch on the back where it will have been falling apart at some point.

The label has the numbers 8 0 0 2 on both the back and the front.

The front is actually laminated and does show some surface creases where that cut is.

I will let the visuals speak for themselves as for the grading.

The inner sleeve is in rather worn condition too. You can see where the library labels were.

The earliest entry seems to be February 1973.

As this is a rare album, I will have to be extra careful in my grading. Grading is so objective but I will be very clear with what I notice in playback.

First of all, the labels are essentially good but have the remnants of the library ink stamp and rubbing. This can be seen in the photos.

The vinyl shows various surface scratches which I have tried to show in the photos (although it is a little bit difficult to do for the minor ones) of those that stand out.

It plays through nicely enough for a classical dynamic sound vinyl.

There are some crackles at various points throughout (heard more in quieter areas - I guess classical music is always dynamic). At the very loud points, some harmonic distortion can be heard sometimes.

Occasionally, some of the scratches manifest in a light click, whereas some might be a little bit more pronounced (although I only noticed the more pronounced about four times for several revolutions)

At the very end of side one, there is a loud one-vinyl-track click (which will cause a jump if the arm is set light). I can see the very small mark where this happens. It is 5 seconds before the end of the final track of side one.

Side two plays through nicely but again has light clicks at times and towards the end (as the volume increases for the finale) there is a bit of harmonic distortion.

I have always listened to the album through my speakers (Mission) and can say it is a very nice recording of these classical pieces. I intend to find it on CD, if available.

Going by Discogs grading system, I would say this is a 'Good+' based on those clicks, when they happen, and the other things mentioned.

It might even pass as a VG but I will rate it Good+ to be safe.

The album will be sent well-packed.

If you require any further pictures, please do not hesitate to request them. I can only upload 24 pictures and the quality is reduced by eBay.

A genuine UK Stereo 1st pressing of this extremely desirable 1960's UK Classical LP.

This is one of Milstein's rarest UK LP releases.

https:/www.discogs.com/release/4027791-Nathan-Milstein-Music-Of-Old-Russia

A1 Vocalise, Op. 34 No. 14

Composed By – Rachmaninov*

A2 Gopak

Arranged By [Transcribed] – Rachmaninov*

Composed By – Moussorgsky*

A3 Meditation, Op. 32

Composed By – Glazunov*

A4 Valse Scherzo

Composed By – Tchaïkovsky*

"Souvenir D'Un Lieu Cher", Op. 42

B1 No. 1 Meditation

Composed By – Tchaïkovsky*

Orchestrated By – Glazunov*

B2 No. 2 Scherzo

Composed By – Tchaïkovsky*

Orchestrated By – Glazunov*

B3 Fantasy On Russian Themes, Op. 33

Arranged By – Kreisler*

Composed By – Rimsky-Korsakov*