Stravinsky Music - Antal Dorati London Symphony Orchestra

This program captures Igor Stravinsky in his brilliant neoclassical and modernist veins. Recorded during Antal Doráti’s celebrated 1960s tenure with the London Symphony Orchestra, the release pairs concise character pieces—including the exuberant Scherzo à la Russe, the dazzling Fireworks, the coolly distanced Tango, and the masterclass instrumental economy of the Four Études for Orchestra—with the vivid theatrical canvas of The Song of the Nightingale. Captured in June and July 1964 at Watford Town Hall by producer Harold Lawrence and engineer Robert Eberenz, these historic recordings are a cornerstone of the legendary Mercury Living Presence catalogue. Renowned for transparent microphone techniques without artificial compression, the sessions paired Doráti’s rigorous interpretive precision with the peerless virtuosity of the London Symphony Orchestra, delivering astonishing transient speed, dynamic range, and spatial depth. Artist(s): Conductor – Antal Dorati Orchestra – London Symphony Orchestra Recording Info: Recorded at – Watford Town Hall June & July 1964 Producer - Harold Lawrence Engineer - Robert Eberenz Sourced from a 4-track tape Components used for Transfer: This transfer leverages precision analogue playback and mastering-grade digital conversion. The signal path begins with an extensively modified Nagra 4SJ Reel-to-Reel with Flux Heads, fed through a Custom Tape Pre-amp designed by Victor Khomenko of Balanced Audio Technology for accurate NAB equalisation. The analogue signal is converted via a Merging Hapi converter, powered by a Teddy Pardo dedicated linear power supply synchronised to an Antelope Audio 10MX atomic clock for temporal accuracy. All components receive isolated power conditioning through a Shunyata Research Everest 8000 with Shunyata Sigma-X power cords, while grounding infrastructure utilises Shunyata ALTAIRA hubs to minimise noise floor and preserve sonic detail throughout the transfer chain. 1 Scherzo À La Russe 3:52 2 Fireworks 3:58 3 Tango 3:23 Four Études for Orchestra 4 Danse 0:49 5 Excentrique 2:01 6 Cantique 3:38 7 Madrid 2:33 Song Of The Nightingale 8 Introduction 2:15 9 Chinese March 3:32 10 Song Of The Nightingale 3:47 11 The Mechanical Nightingale's Game 12:10 Please Note: This release was edited in DXD PCM from a DSD256 Master then the DXD edited master was used to generate the final DSD files using Merging Technologies Album Publishing. DXD (352.8KHz 24/32 bit PCM) is one of the best and least destructive formats for post-processing DSD originated digital recordings Copyright © & ℗ High Definition Tape Transfers 2026, including all compilation, transfer, remastering, and restoration aspects Play Sample Tracks