Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18
Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30

Since its first release in 1945 (on 78 rpm records!), the Vox record label name, as well as its various imprints Allegretto, VoxBox, Candide, Turnabout & Cameo, have stood for artistic quality along with good consumer value. From its creation by founder George Mendelssohn, its discovery (as well as re-introduction) of great artists, performing both standard and rare repertoire at the highest calibre, and reputation for musical and technical innovation, early adoption of new formats, etc., has resulted in a vast legacy of catalogue excellence. Today the Vox catalogue begins a new chapter in its history. Its acquisition by the Naxos Music Group will soon allow the music lover and consumer to reacquaint themselves with the enormous number of performances in its archive, and a comprehensive series of reissues will begin soon. {Vox Classics}

Those of us of a certain age fondly remember our early encounter and exposure to classical music through the first enterprising record labels to hit the market. Record labels like Vox, Vanguard, Pye Golden Guinea, Mercury, Everest, etc ... at a time when record players were considered a technological breakthrough in home entertainment, and made it possible for everyone to experience the sound of a symphony orchestra in the privacy of their own living room. This was also the time when new recordings weren't released in order to outdo the competition, or to inflict personal mannerisms on the music or even for monetary gain. It was first and foremost, as mentioned in the quote above, to discover and introduce great works of classical music to the general public, using the latest recording techniques and an efficient and affordable distribution system. Many improvements as well as setbacks have occured within the music business since then. Advances along the way helped to improve on audio quality, which unfortunately, in my own subjective opinion, were nullified and ruined by the implementation of digital recording technology.

This year (2023) the Naxos Music Group have set out to reissue, in 192 kHz high definition transfers of the original analogue master tapes, some of the best recordings within the Vox catalogue. This 1979 recording presents two of the most impressive Piano Concertos in the repertoire, both by Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943). The highly popular Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, admired for its deeply romantic style, and the Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, respected for the highly difficult technical demands it imposes on the performer. Pianist Abbey Simon who came onto the scene in the 1940s quickly established a reputation as one of the best musicians at the time. His interpretations of these two warhorses of the repertoire are refined, clear headed and devoid of any exaggerated mannerisms or hyperbole so common these days. Nonetheless, they prove highly sensitive to the emotive aspects of the music. There have been so many recordings of this music in the interim 45 years or so since then, that new pianists feel the need to impose their own personal stamp on the music in order to stand out from the crowd, to the detriment of the music itself.

Kudos to Naxos for embarking on this project which they describe as such: "The recordings of American orchestras produced for VOX by the legendary, GRAMMY-Award winning Elite Recordings team of Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz are considered by audiophiles to be among the very finest sounding orchestral recordings ever made." The irony within all this is the fact that they've had to resort to digital technology to bring the originals in line with today's formats and standards, which proves that had we stuck with analogue all this time, the music business would be in much better shape than it is today.