Reviews
ICA Classics (ICA5164) Boult: Vaughan Williams Symphonies Nos 5 & 6
“The sound quality is remarkable for the time, especially thanks to the meticulous restoration work of one of the most acclaimed sound restorers of our day, Paul Baily, not only allowing Sir Adrian’s fastidious balancing of the score’s intricate details to emerge remarkably transparently but also preserving the massive dynamic range and ferocious impact with striking clarity.” Jon Tolansky, Vaughan Williams Society journal
SOMM Recordings: Sir Adrian Boult conducts Berg Wozzeck (Complete), Stravinsky Capriccio, Vaughan Williams Symphony No.4
“The sound has become spatially three-dimensional in the way that it would have sounded in the Royal Albert Hall – it could almost be stereo. I have heard some superb restorations in my time, but this beats them all. A great and extraordinary triumph – this is restoration in the true meaning of the word, as everything sounds so natural and live in the Hall as it really originally was.” Jon Tolansky
ICA Classics (ICA5180) Great Recordings from the BBC Legends Archive (6 CDs)
“Paul Baily’s new remasterings could hardly be bettered” Rob Cowan, Gramophone, July 2024)
“Throughout, Paul Baily has done a marvellous job with the recorded sources – some of the Legends’ transfers were very poor; however, they all sound great now.” Colin Anderson. www.colinscolumn.com
ICA Classics (ICA5179) Boult conducts Beethoven, Schubert etc.
“Paul Baily’s remastering, again, makes the recording sound light years younger than it actually is.” Rob Cowan, Gramophone, July 2024
“Another very welcome Boult collection from ICA that brings with it glorious music-making, all in excellent stereo courtesy of transfer-engineer Paul Baily.” Colin Anderson, www.colinscolumn.com
JANUARY 7 2025: ICA Classics releases Yevgeny Svetlanov – in London conducting Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Rachmaninov/Respighi, and Prokofiev.
“Svetlanov souvenir-hunters needn’t/shouldn’t hesitate especially with excellent sound (remastered by Paul Baily) throughout.” Colin Anderson, www.colinscolumn.com
Frankly Speaking, with Leopold Stokowski (SOMM Ariadne 5035)
“…it is Paul Baily who has supervised the ‘French polishing’ of the sound-textures, delivering astonishing clarity from a 1952 recording from the San Francisco Opera House.” Stuart Millson, Endnotes – The Quarterly Review
MARCH 14 2025: ICA Classics issues Leopold Stokowski: Great recordings from the BBC Legends archive. Volume 2. (6 CDs)
“The sound is variable, usually good, and always in expert and discerning transfers by Paul Baily.” Colin Anderson, www.colinscolumn.com
TESTAMENT RECORDS: Leonid Kogan in Paris – Violin Concerto in D Mozart: Violin Concerto No.5 in A
“Paul Baily’s splendid transfers have brought us as close to the actual 1950s sound of the Salle de la Mutualité or the Salle Wagram as we are ever likely to get.” Robert Layton, Andante magazine
