In 1997 APR brought out unissued live broadcast performances of the Tchaikovsky First and Rachmaninov Third Concertos featuring pianist Vladimir Horowitz, with Barbirolli conducting the New York Philharmonic. The Tchaikovsky sounded quite good for off-the-air acetates; the Rachmaninov less so. But sonics schmonicks: Horowitz was captured at the zenith of his pianistic genius; and Barbirolli’s sympathetic yet strong accompaniments speak for themselves. Urania’s transfers sound like the APR release put through an extra layer of CEDAR noise reduction. Accept no cheaper substitute, and buy the original APR. After all, APR’s Bryan Crimp took great pains to make the recalcitrant source material listenable. Bryan Crimp is APR, and that’s where your hard-earned gelt should go. Furthermore, APR’s notes by Michael Glover are a universe removed from Urania’s balderdash.
