Last month the Classics a Day team chose vintage recordings as the theme. Specifically, recordings made before the LP era. This month, the focus moves forward in time a little, to the early LP era. This runs from 1948 to about 1958, with the advent of stereo recording.
In that era (as with other eras of recording) composers conducted their own works, legendary performances were preserved, and occasionally history was made.
Here are my posts for the third week of #ClassicalTimeMachine (early LPs).
11/16/20 Wilma Lipp - "Der Hölle Rache" (EMI, 1951)
This was part of a staging of Die Zauberflote at the Salzburg Festival, 1950. Wilhelm Furtwangler conducted the Vienna Philharmonic.
Starker consulted with Kodaly on the performance of this work. He recorded it four times (this is the second).
11/18/20 Arthur Rubinstein - Beethoven (RCA 1949)
Rubinstein recorded about 107 hours of music for RCA. This was his first recording of Beethoven's "Pathetique" sonata.
11/19/20 Vlado Perlemuter - Ravel: Piano Concerto in G (Pathe Vox, 1955)
Perlemuter spent six months with Ravel learning to perform his music per the composer's wishes. This concerto was recorded in 1955 with Jascha Horenstein and the Orchestra des Concerts Colonne.
11/20/20 Leroy Anderson - Fiddle Faddle (RCA, 1947)
Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops were the first to record Leroy Anderson's music. This was part of a 1947 session. All were later rerecorded in higher fidelity.
For the month of October, the Classics a Day team turned nostalgic. Classical musicians have been making recordings since the 1890s. So we all have over 130 years of documented performance practices. And we can judge first-hand the artistry of legendary performers.
The challenge is to post classical recordings made before 1949 (pre-LP era). Here are my posts for the second week of the #ClassicsaDay theme #ClassicalTimeMachine.
10/12/20 Bruckner - Symphony No. 8 (1944)
This performance by Herbert von Karajan and the Orchester der Berliner Staatsoper was partially recorded in stereo. It was one of thousands of master recordings to disappear into Russia after the war. Many (including this one) were only returned to Germany in the 1980s.
10/13/20 Elgar Salut d'amour (1927)
Isolde Menges was a student of Sauret and Auer, and one of the most important violinists of the early 20th Century. She was the first artist to make a complete recording of Beethoven's Violin Concerto in 1923.
10/14/20 Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 1 (1934)
Artur Schnabel recorded all of Beethoven's 32 sonatas plus additional piano works for HMV. They were originally only available by subscription, in a set of 102 78 RPM discs.
10/15/20 Ravel Jeux d'eau (1920)
Russian-born pianist Benno Miselwitsch began his recording career with 78 RPM shellac discs and ended with stereo LPs. Ampico (American Piano Company) recruited many top artists to record piano rolls.
Ignacy Jan Paderewski made both acoustic and piano roll recordings. Aeolian Duo-Art piano roll recordings captured far more detail than any other company's.
For the month of October, the Classics a Day team turned nostalgic. Classical musicians have been making recordings since the 1890s. So we all have over 130 years of documented performance practices. And we can judge first-hand the artistry of legendary performers.
The challenge is to post classical recordings made before 1949 (pre-LP era). Here are my posts for the first ten days of the #ClassicsaDay theme #ClassicalTimeMachine.
10/01/20 Claude Debussy: Claire de Lune (rec. 1913)
This is one of 14 pieces Debussy recorded on a Welte-Mgnon reproducing piano. The machine encoded pedaling, dynamics and phrasing for piano roll reproduction.
10/02/20 Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 (rec. 1924)
In January, 1924 Sergei Rachmaninoff recorded his concerto with Leopold Stokowski. Because of recording limitations, a reduced orchestra was used, with bass sax replacing contrabasses, and contra-basson replacing timpani.
10/05/20 Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 5 (1944)
This recording was made in 1944 Berlin while the city was being bombed around the clock. Walter Gieseking is the soloist, and the Grosses Berliner Rundfunkorchester is conducted by Arthur Rother. At about 2:30 and 5:40 the sound of antiaircraft guns can be heard in the background.
10/06/20 Joseph Suk - String Quartet Op. 11 (1928)
The Bohemian String Quartet (previously the Czech String Quartet) was founded in 1891. These 78 rpms preserve the late-Romantic style of string playing that composers like Suk and Dvorak had in mind when they composed for quartets.
10/07/20 Mozart "Der Holle Rache" from the Magic Flute (1937-38)
Sir Thomas Beecham recorded the complete music to the Magic Flute with Berlin Philharmonic. The set consisted of 19 78-rpm discs. Erna Berger was the Queen of the Night, with Helge Roswaenge, Tiana Lemnitz, Gerhard Hursh, and Irma Beilka rounding out the cast.
10/08/20 Massenet: Meditation from Thais (1910)
Fritz Kreilser recorded several sides for Victor in 1910. These were acoustic recordings, with Kreisler standing very close to a large horn that funneled the sound down to the cutter that inscribed it on the platter.
10/09/20 Mozart: Marriage of Figaro Overture (1913)
Arthur Nikisch was the first conductor to record a complete symphony. This overture was recorded in 1913 fro HMV with a stripped down London Symphony Orchestra.
