Mint Condition Lyrita LP Auction From the private archive of Lyrita Proprietor Richard Itter As a part of our 50th Anniversary celebration year we are pleased to make available for sale by auction 97 titles from the original Lyrita LP catalogue. All copies come from the private archive of Lyrita’s founder and proprietor, Richard Itter. The LPs, which are all original pressings, were manufactured at Nimbus’ Monmouth premises during the mid 1980s. Every LP is in its original sleeve. These examples have never been shipped for sale and have been stored upright in their factory boxes in dry, dark, temperate conditions since manufacture. This release of 1,987 LPs constitutes the major part of the stock with only a few archive copies being kept for reference purposes.

Simon Heffer, The Daily Telegraph “From the 1960s to the 1990s, those with a taste for obscure English classical composers, or for the obscure works of the well-known ones, needed only one port of call: Lyrita Records. It is like coming across long-buried treasure, and represents perhaps the finest exhibition our music has ever had.”

Operation of the Auction

The auction will open at 09.00 GMT on 1 September 2010 and will close at 24.00 GMT on 5 December 2010. Details of each LP are available in a printed catalogue or you can download the PDF here. Bids will only be accepted if made by post, fax or e-mail using the order form provided. LPs will be allocated solely on the highest value bid. Successful bidders will be contacted after the auction has closed at which time we will confirm the allocation, calculate postage and collect your payment details.

Lyrita wishes to make these LPs widely available so will only allocate 1 example of any title per bid. Any LPs which fail to reach their minimum bid, and which are unsold at the close will be returned to the Lyrita archive.

Bidders will be given a bid reference number. You may revise this bid at any time and we will give periodic bulletins of the status and value of bids for each title via this website.

Copies of the auction catalogue can be obtained by phoning 01600 892 747, emailing: sales@wyastone.co.uk, or writing to Lyrita Recorded Edition, PO Box 87, Monmouth, NP25 3WX

Edward Greenfield “One point to emphasise is the quality of sound that Richard Itter always insisted on. Ambitiously he employed some of the finest engineers in the recording business, notably those from the Decca company under Kenneth Wilkinson. That means that even Lyrita recordings over 30 years old rival and even outshine many of the latest digital recordings.”

For more information regarding this press release and the Lyrita LP Auction contact sales@wyastone.co.uk

SRCD.333 Alun Hoddinott - The Sun, The Great Luminary of the Universe, Night Music for Orchestra, Variants for Orchestra, Sinfoniettas 1 & 3 £14.99 plus postage and packing

Lyrita Recorded Edition is one of the UK’s longest-established and highest regarded independent Classical record labels. Lyrita has an unparalleled reputation for recording specifically British repertoire at the highest audio standards. For almost 50 years Lyrita has produced recordings acclaimed by critics, collectors and audiophiles alike.

In a comprehensive license agreement Wyastone Estate Limited will release the entire Lyrita catalogue. More than 90 titles, none of which have previously been available on CD, are scheduled and will be released on a regular monthly plan. (Click here for more details)

A full page article on the Lyrita catalogue by Simon Heffer, entitled Opening the vinyl treasure chest, was published in the Saturday Telegraph, Review section, on 24th February. To read the full article click here.

To begin to discover the Lyrita catalogue, click on the names of the composers below to find CDs of their music.