The Decca Ace of Diamonds Series, starting in 1965, reissued the earlier Decca SXL Classical series. It featured revamped sleeve artwork and maintained original sound quality at a lower cost. Typically, when an Ace of Diamonds release entered the market, the corresponding SXL release had already been removed.
The grooved label, common to Decca releases, was discontinued around 1968. In the 1970s, certain Ace of Diamonds releases were original 1st label releases rather than reissues (like SDD 510 Schumann String Quartets and GOS 642-5 The Snow Maiden). Initially, the 1st label SXL issues released on the grooved label before 1967 were only available in SXL as an ED1 (wide band grooved "Original recording by" at 10 O'clock). This limited availability in the SXL catalogue explains the perceived rarity of the 1st release. Consequently, as the first Ace of Diamonds label, they became the second available label for the recording.
Many 1st label Ace of Diamonds share Matrix numbers with the last known issue in the SXL catalogue, confirming the deletion and reissue sequence.
Information adapted from Discogs
Vinyl: All Vinyl EX+/NM
Sleeves: Sleeves Typically EX/EX+
Postage - UK is a flat £4.50 irrespective of quantity
Cat No | Equivalent SXL | Composer | Title | Conductor |
---|---|---|---|---|
SDD 108 | SXL 2274 | Beethoven | Symphony No 9 "Choral" | Ernest Ansermet |
SDD 110 | SXL 2026 | Mendelssohn/Bruch | Violin Concerto / Scottish Fantasia | Adrian Boult |
SDD 121 | SXL 2067 | Mendelssohn/Schubert | Symphony No 4 / 5 | Georg Solti |
SDD 153 | SXL 2045 | Schubert | Symphony No. 9 In C Major "The Great" | Josef Krips |
SDD 153 | SXL 2045 | Schubert | Symphony No 9 "The Great" | Josef Krips |
SDD 170 | SXL 2164 | Ravel | Daphnis et Chloe | Pierre Monteux |
SDD 183 | SXL 6021 | Haydn | Symphony No 83 & 87 | Ernest Ansermet |
SDD 201 | N/A | Schumann | Piano Concerto / Waldscenen (Günter Wand ) | Günter Wand |
SDD 227 | SXL 6189 | Beethoven | Piano Concerto No 1/Choral Fantasia | Pierino Gamba |
SDD 233 | N/A | Mozart/Haydn | Symphony No 40 / Symphony No 104 | Herbert Von Karajan |
SDD 249 | SXL 2297 | Brahms/Wagner | Clarinet Quintet/Adagio For Clarinet | |
SDD 255 | N/A | Elgar/Bliss | Pomp & Circumstance / Suite: Things to come | Arthur Bliss |
SDD 331 | N/A | Mozart | Clarinet Concerto/Symphony No 38 | Peter Maag |
SDD 336 | N/A | Arne / Bach | George Malcolm Plays Arne & Bach | Neville Marriner |
SDD 359 | N/A | Haydn | Symphony Nos 49 & 51 | Antal Dorati |
SDD 360 | SXL 2191 | Various | A Recital of Lute Songs | |
SDD 362 | N/A | Haydn | Symphony Nos 103 & 104 | Herbert Von Karajan |
SDD 424 | SXL 6337 | J.C. Bach | The Six Symphonies For Wind | Jack Brymer |
SDD 493 | N/A | Tchaikovsky | Symphony No 5 | Leopold Stokowski |
SDD 495 | N/A | Berlioz | Symphonie Fantastique | Leopold Stokowski |
SDD 505 | N/A | Haydn | The London Symphonies 6 | Antal Dorati |
SDD 527 | N/A | Janacek | String Quartet Nos 1&2 | |
SDD-R 165 | N/A | Chopin | Ignace Jan Paderewski Plays Chopin |