06/05/2026
This is a long one, kids.
One of the ways we get "new" lp's in the store is that once a year I cull things from my private stash. Let's just say that I used to have about 13K lp's but now I only have a fraction of that.
Brings to mind that I listened to some stuff today, in the "S" section, from Schubert , Schumann, Schutz and Shostakovich.
As supposedly a composer one piece I listened to today that I wish I had written was the 3rd movt. of Shostakovich Sym. No. 5, the Largo. The incessant, yearning, incredibly slow movement is then shattered by the 4th . When Bernstein played this fast version of movt. 4 for Shostakovich he (Shostakovich) was amazed, he had never thought of blasting through it like Bernstein did. The contrast, the granduer, just amazing.
Well that is the recording of Shos. 5 I grew up with along with this rarity (the rarity is the lp).
As I teenager I would walk the one block to Nepil's Market at Ogden between Euclid and Oak Park, and they always had a $1 record bin at checkout. I scored a few gems, mostly from Supraphon (Czech) originals, that I still have today.
And todays point is this:
I was told circa 1972 to get the best turntable I could afford, because with care my records would sound great 50 years from now.
Fast forward to 2026. I played this one Shostakovich lp many nights to fall asleep to, and just listened to it now, and OMG. It still sounds great! Thank you Duane Lundeed (head of the dept. I worked for at Morton College circa 1972) who taught me about records, live recording, and we even played Schumann songs together (he was a fine singer).
BTW, the first good table? Dual 1215S, and I would still own one today!
