Monday, December 21, 2015

Mozart: Quartet in D, K. 499 (Budapest Quartet)

As I have mentioned before, this year I came into possession of four or five Budapest Quartet sets from the ensemble's vintage period (1933-35) in superb early Victor pressings. Here is one of those, a Mozart recording from 1934:

Mozart: Quartet in D Major, K. 499
The Budapest String Quartet (Roisman-Schneider-Ipolyi-Schneider)
Recorded April 5, 1934
Victor Musical Masterpiece set M-222, three 78-rpm records
Link (FLAC files, 67.87 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 40.13 MB)

It's interesting to note that the records of this set were issued in Victor's lower-priced 12" Red Seal series (9000 and up), priced at $1.50 per disk, as opposed to the $2 series (6000 and up, skipping to 14000 when 8999 was reached). Only in 1935 did the Budapest Quartet "graduate" to the higher-priced series; of course, such distinctions were erased when, in 1940, Victor dropped the price of almost all Red Seals to $1 per 12" record. (The exceptions were the operatic ensembles - Lucia sextets and Rigoletto quartets - which remained $3.50 as before.)

My best wishes to everyone for a Merry Christmas and a safe, prosperous 2016!
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11 comments:

  1. BryanDecember 21, 2015 at 6:17 PM

    Alternate links:

    FLAC:
    http://www.mediafire.com/download/7ghbhgk9gpze64n/Budapest_SQ_-_Mozart_K499_FLACs.zip

    MP3:
    http://www.mediafire.com/download/vxcah8dh389ctlp/Budapest_SQ_-_Mozart_K499_MP3s.zip

    ReplyDelete
  2. centuriDecember 22, 2015 at 3:37 AM

    MERRY CHRISTMAS, JOYEUX NOËL dear Bryan !!
    And many thanks for all musical treasures you share with us.

    ReplyDelete
  3. nicolasDecember 22, 2015 at 4:22 AM

    Thanks for the gift, Bryan, and merry Christmas to you too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. NickDecember 23, 2015 at 5:27 AM

    Dear Bryan, As always, thank you very much indeed for your kind generosity, and warmest wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Nick

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousDecember 23, 2015 at 4:23 PM

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  6. coppinsukDecember 24, 2015 at 1:50 PM

    Hello,

    Greetings from Shropshire, England.

    Thank you for all your efforts that you have expended in sharing your love of music with us – I really appreciate your generosity.

    There is much that I have been exposed to that I would not have otherwise been aware of.

    All the very best for the Festive Season and for 2016.

    Cheers,

    Douglas (UK)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Danny BoyDecember 24, 2015 at 2:01 PM

    Dear Bryan,

    Thanks for this & all of your generous & skillful work over the past years.

    I wish you the very best in 2016!

    ReplyDelete
  8. DFDecember 25, 2015 at 11:23 AM

    Dear Bryan,

    Thanks so much for transferring this wonderful recording so beautifully, and thanks for all the other treasures you've shared in 2015. May the coming year be joyful and fulfilling.

    Merry Christmas to you and yours,

    Daniel

    ReplyDelete
  9. DrRay3December 28, 2015 at 11:26 AM

    Dear Bryan, many thanks for this fine Mozart K.499. It sounds better than many of the later versions in my collection.
    Ray Pratt(DrRay3)

    ReplyDelete
  10. La Danse de PuckDecember 29, 2015 at 7:48 AM

    Dearest Bryan.... Do you have Harriet Cohen doing the Elgar Piano Quintet with the STratton??? my e-mail is ladansedepuck@gmail.com Bless you darling Bryan... Haven't been in touch for ages. Love, Maria

    ReplyDelete
  11. AddisonJune 12, 2020 at 1:27 PM

    I will go on saying thank you as long as the files are available, so thank you once again.

    It seems impossible, but according to a consumer price calculator at dinky town.net (https://www.dinkytown.net/java/inflation-and-consumer-prices-calculator.html), $1.50 in 1934 was the equivalent of $28.62 in 2019 or close to $86 for a three-record album.

    ReplyDelete

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