España - Ataúlfo Argenta - The London Symphony Orchestra
Ataúlfo Argenta’s España! is one of Decca’s most celebrated early stereo recordings, capturing the London Symphony Orchestra in a dazzling program of Spanish-inspired orchestral showpieces. At its center is Chabrier’s exuberant España, joined by Rimsky-Korsakov’s brilliantly colored Capriccio espagnol, alongside lyrical and dance-infused works by Granados and Moszkowski. Though written by composers from across Europe, each piece reflects a vivid, stylized vision of Spain, rich in rhythm, contrast, and orchestral flair, brought to life with exceptional energy and precision.
Recorded in London’s famed Kingsway Hall in the late 1950s, this album is prized not only for its performances but also for its demonstration-quality sound, a hallmark of Decca’s pioneering stereo engineering. Argenta’s natural affinity for Spanish repertoire gives these performances a distinctive authenticity and vitality, while the orchestra responds with brilliance and color. The result is a timeless recording that remains both an audiophile favorite and a cornerstone of the orchestral showpiece repertoire.
Artist(s): Conductor - Ataulfo Argenta
Orchestra - The London Symphony Orchestra
Recording Info: Engineer - Gordon Parry
Producer - Erik Smith
Recorded 31 Dec 1956 & 1 Jan 1957 at Kingsway Hall
Sourced from Decca Wide Band original pressing
Components used for Transfer:
This transfer leverages precision analog playback and mastering-grade digital conversion. The signal path begins with a VPI HW-40 Anniversary turntable paired with an Ortofon MC Anna cartridge, fed through a Custom Tape Pre-amp designed by Victor Khomenko of Balanced Audio Technology for accurate RIAA equalization. The analog signal converts via a Merging Anubis converter, powered by a Teddy Pardo Linear Power Supply, synchronized to an Antelope Audio 10MX atomic clock for temporal accuracy. All components receive isolated power conditioning through a Shunyata Research Everest 8000 with Sigma-X cords, while grounding infrastructure utilizes Shunyata ALTAIRA hubs to minimize noise floor and preserve sonic detail throughout the transfer chain.
This Title is in the Vinyl Record Restoration Series. You can find information about the series in this Blog Post HERE
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
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