JOHANNA MARTZY BACH VIOLIN SONATAS 100% ORIGINAL B/G UK COLUMBIA 33CX 1986-88

$

5,680

Okay, people! Here we have one of the biggest holy grails of record collecting: The original set of Johanna Martzy’s recordings of Bach’s Unaccompanied Violin Sonatas. I have dreamt of just seeing this set of records for years now in real life and I must say, that the legend is true: The sheer beauty of these recordings is absolutely stunning. This is my favourite piece of classical music and this is the definitive recording in my humble opinion.

Everything from sleeve to inner sleeve to the records is 100 % original. Blue and Gold Columbia Mono pressings from the 1950’s, 33CX flip back sleeves, Emitex inners.

Below I will give a detailed description of each record. Overall the condition is Excellent and since you will have a hard just finding originals you will have an even harder time finding them in a condition as good as this. Before playing them the records were cleaned twice on a professional Audio Desk machine. They were tested on a Luxman PD310 with Fidelity Research FR64 tone arm and a Denon DL103 stereo cartridge, Audio Innovations Series500 amp and Tannoy Berkeley speakers. All were played with volume loud volume to make sure everything is revealed.

The violin sounds alive, sharp and there is no distortion – when you close your eyes and listen, you will get a deep feel of when the original recording took place. Martzy shines and I can’t stress how amazing the sonic quality is!

The records were pressed in the 50’s which means that some surface noise/rustle as well as the odd tick even on the cleanest surface is evident. However, I would consider it minimal having the pressings in mind and more importantly: In no way does it overshadow the true beauty of this masterpiece. I have seen people selling NM copies but are these truly NM playing? I seriously doubt it. The records presented here show little signs of playing in terms of spindle marks and the jackets are also very well preserved.

Please note that these were tested with a stereo cartridge. If you play them with a mono cartridge instead you will get an experience closer to the original recording and any surface noise/rustle will be less evident. As I’ve mentioned they were cleaned using the Audio Desk cleaner twice. While this is certainly one of the best machines on the market, some might argue that even further cleans and subsequent plays might lessen the light surface noise even more.

Everything is checked under bright light and everything is documented in the pictures. I have tried to photograph the lables from different angles to give you an idea of how beautiful and clean they are. I will send complete pictures of back as well as spines at request.

*IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE DESCRIPTION AS WELL AS SHIPPING INFORMATION BELOW BEFORE BIDDING* 

Enjoy!

Titel: J.S. Bach ‘The Unaccompanied Violin Sonatas’ played by Johanna Martzy 

Record 1

Partita No. 1 33

33CX 1986

Blue/Gold label, Made in Great Britain, X T code near spindle

Matrix: XAX 744-1N (R)  & XAX 731- 1N (M)

Cover:
Overall very sharp considering the age and how fragile they are. Light signs of ageing, light wear to seams, a little rubbing, light bent corner, light traces of ring wear and a small file sticker on the back, e.g. just small imperfections. Spine is sharp and can be read and as you can see on the pictures it looks great. Inner has browning but looks like it hasn’t been handled much and probably had little human contact.

Record:
Both sides look superb, amazing luster, super shiny with just light sleeve whisps. I see no indications of spindle marks on either side. Plays with very light static noise/rustle and the odd light tick throughout both sides. The record has a very light warp which does not affect play in any way. Since all 3 have this, I suspect that it might be the pressings.

Side A has a few super light inaudible hairlines and a small blemish spot on A2 which causes 4 ticks. Not disturbing in terms of enjoyment of the music.

Side B has a few super light hairlines has a small blemish spot in the vinyl on B2 that causes 7 very low and soft ticks. Not disturbing at all.

There are no deep marks, no skips etc. A prime example!

Record 2

Partita No. 2

33CX 1987

Blue/Gold label, Made in Great Britain, E T code near spindle

Matrix XAX 732-1N (R) & XAX 615-3N (H)

Cover:
Overall very sharp considering the age and how fragile they are. Light signs of ageing, light wear to seams, a little rubbing, light traces of ring wear and a little browning on the back along the spine, e.g. just small imperfections. Spine is sharp but there is a little crackling near the middle text (see picture).  Inner has browning but looks like it hasn’t been handled much and probably had little human contact.

Record:
Both sides look superb, amazing luster, super shiny with just light sleeve whisps. I really don’t see any indications of spindle marks on either side. Lables are sharp and clean looking.

Plays with very light static noise/rustle and the odd light tick throughout both sides. The record has a very small warp, which does not affect play in any way. Since all 3 have this, I suspect that it might be the pressings.

Side A has a few small inaudible hairlines and super tiny imperfection the the begging of A2 which causes a few ticks in the beginning and a few super low frequency ticks that can hardly be heard at all. Again the experience is still good.

Side B has a couple of light inaudible hairlines as well one that causes light clicks on B3 and one with ultra soft ticks as well as some clicks during the B5. Not super disturbing at all.

There are no deep marks, no skips etc. A prime example!

Record 3

Partita No. 3

33CX 1988

Blue/Gold label, Made in Great Britain, E T code near spindle

Matrix: XAX 614-3N (R) XAX 764-1N (H)

Cover:
Overall very sharp considering the age and how fragile they are. Besides light signs of ageing, light wear to seams, a little rubbing, light traces of ring wear there is a little staining on the front near the top seam. Spine is sharp and reads clearly (see picture).  Inner has browning but looks like it hasn’t been handled much and probably had little human contact.

Record:
Both sides look superb, amazing luster, very shiny with just light sleeve whisps. I see no indications of spindle marks on either side. Lables are sharp and clean looking.

Plays with very light static noise/rustle and the odd light tick throughout both sides. The record has a very small warp which does not affect play in any way. Since all 3 have this, I suspect that it might be the pressings.

Side A: Has a hairline which causes moderate ticks during the second part of A3. Still not damaging the enjoyment of the music at all.

Side B: Tiny inaudible blemish spot and few super light inaudible hairlines.

There are no skips etc. A great example.

Overall: 

A great example of this very rare set. Great excellent shine on all records, only light imperfections as described, little handling and a super sharp tone!

Grading:
I grade strict. I have more than 10 years experience in selling classical records and I pay great attention to detail. I do not use the NM grade for anything but new looking, 100% clean sounding records – e.g. very, very rarely.

For a beauty like Martzy a totally thorough description is needed.

Shipping:

Obviously it is not 4usd. 

This will be sent via UPS at the buyer’s expense. The postage depends on where you live and can be calculated via UPS. On top of that price it will also include full insurance (which costs roughly 1% of the final price). I have made a rough estimation of 250usd for international shipping. For an exact quote please get in touch.This record will be packed extremely careful. All records will be placed in protective inners and put in new cardboard sleeves. These will then be placed between cardboard inners. The sleeves will be placed in protective outer sleeves and then placed between cardboard inners. Every record will be packed in an individual box. These 6 boxes will be wrapped in bubble wrap and then placed in the sturdiest cardboard box I can obtain. NOTHING will happen to it in transit. This will be safe. However, I am willing to pack it any way you desire.

If you wish to have it shipped any other way please get in touch before bidding as certain conditions would apply. I will gladly accept a local pick up. 

Photos of the back as well as spines.