MAHLER
Symphony No. 9

SIR JOHN BARBIROLLI conducts
THE BERLIN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

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Original English 1964 HMV LP recording - 2 LP Records ASD 596 & ASD 597

FIRST RED/BLACK SEMI CIRCLE LABEL: Probably the ultimate first stereo pressing of these records.

Record 2 has music on side 3 only, on side 4 there is the wonderful "His Master´s Voice" logo stamping - rare!

Regarded as one of the great performances of this work and extremely rare and hard to find in such a magnificently sounding stereo recording.

A BEAUTIFULLY PRESENTED 2 LP SET IN WONDERFUL NEAR MINT CONDITION

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A wonderfully well looked after set - this is the stereo pressing of a legendary recording in the best possible condition - both records and covers look almost new.

The two records show very little sign of being played at all, still retain a very bright sheen and are visually graded NM (see below). They both plays faultlessly with a quiet background and in wonderful clear stereo sound.

The picture gives a good impression of the original front laminated flip-back sleeves, very clean, robust and fully intact,  with very little shelf wear at all: NM (see below)

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Satisfaction guaranteed - a full refund of the purchase price (excluding postage & packing costs) will be given for any item which does not comply with my description/grading and is returned to me within 14 days of receipt.
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POSTAGE DISCOUNT GIVEN ON MULTIPLE PURCHASES

My postage charge covers only the cost of postage/packing - a discount will be given for each additional LP purchased.

Vinyl Grading/Condition

Essentially I use a visual system for grading the condition of LP records, because it is just not practical to listen to every LP I have for sale, but where I have played a record I comment on how it plays and sounds.

I do not clean the records I sell so it is important to remember that because a record may not have been played in many years, it is likely to play with occasional surface noise, which will often go away after cleaning and/or repeated playing.

MINT (M): Perfect! This record looks like it has just left the manufacturer, with no flaws what so ever. It looks as though it had never been handled. No scuffs or scratches, blotches or stains. No stickers address labels, writing on the covers or labels. No tears or seam splits. No wear to the cover or record at all

NEAR MINT: NM or NM-: The record appears virtually flawless. A very minor scuff (if any) or very light paper marks (from the inner sleeve) may be acceptable but very little else can appear on the vinyl. Any such minor flaw is very hard to see and the record should play without any noise over the flaw. The cover looks close to perfect with only minor signs of wear and or age. Minor impressions to the cover (due to the outer edge of the vinyl resting inside) may be acceptable, however the artwork has to be as close to perfect.

EXCELLENT: EX or VG++ : The record will have minor scuffs/marks which are visible on close inspection. There may be more than a few such scuffs/marks, but they would not be expected to cause anything but the faintest and very occasional light surface noise. There must be no scratches. The cover artwork is still as close to perfect as can be, with perhaps a little discoloration, some slight wear/creases to the corners, but not wrinkled and obtrusive to the eye. The corners can show some white, indicating slight shelf wear. No seam splits or obtrusive writing on the cover or taped repairs will make this grade.

VERY GOOD: VG+, or VG: The record shows wear and surface scuffs. The vinyl still has a luster, but the flaws will be noticeable to the naked eye. As long as the flaws are unlikely to give rise to repeated or significant surface noise, the vinyl can make the VG+/VG grade. The cover will be clean with slightly more aging or discoloration, with some minor wear to the seams or spine, perhaps some laminate lift, but no tears or rips. The corners may be slightly dog eared but there should be no defacing the artwork.