Classical Corner Classical Music Corner

Thanks George, I will try them later.

 

I think you have it spot on, or at least as close to spot on as my ear can discriminate. All the 12" Edison Bell records in my collection are on its Velvet Face label; the "The Winner" ones are all 10". (I should add that nearly all were purchased from Raymond Glaspole in England; Edison Bell almost never turns up on these shores.) Some Velvet Face disks are 10", too. The Marie Novello Mendelssohn concerto and Moonlight Sta. records are 12". I'm looking for her recording of a couple of Debussy bits; I know it exists, but I've not seen a copy. I believe it was also a 12" Velvet Face. Shortly before her early death, HMV released the sole electric recording of Novello, a 10" record (no. B 2592) with selections as follows:

Rameau: Les Boreades, Act IV -- Gavotte pour les Heures (label gives simply as "Gavotte")
Arensky Etude de Concert

The Rameau is particularly lovely. If you see a copy, I commend it to your attention!

 

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Here are both sides of HMV B2826, CEDRIC SHARPE cello solos from 1928. I've done click and crackle removal on these as they were quite noisy. I love this sort of thing and have many more records of pleasing light music like this. Incidentally I didn't realise Albert Sammons was a composer!
Abendlied (Evensong) (St Amarie):
Little Columbine (Albert Sammons): https://youtu.be/E8mhdOzIgvw

 

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Its commitments being done, I decided to end the day by spending a little time enjoying the stereo set. A few days ago, I played several versions of the Petrouchka music, in both its orchestral and solo piano guises, and therefore the playback software was still sitting on Stravinsky when I opened it up tonight. As it was immediately adjacent to Petrouchka, I began with Pulcinella, and what evolved from there was a little concert of composers leading their own theatrical scores:

Stravinsky: Pulcinella. Igor Stravinsky conducting the Columbia SO with vocal soloists (thanks to those who recommended this recording to me a while back)

Copland: Red Pony Suite. Aaron Copland conducting the New Philharmonia Or.

Milhaud: Le Boeuf sur le Toit. Darius Milhaud conducting the Or. du Theatre Des Champs-Elysees. This one was dubbed from a Nonesuch LP.

All are particularly colorful works--indeed, I hadn't quite registered how much so before--and generally lively. Fun times.

Incidentally, thinking back to the Petrouchkathon, I'd say Toscanini's recording of the first and fourth tableaux is one of his best. His is not the first name that would come to my mind in that music, but it really benefits from his brand of precision playing, and the recording, taken from the big complete Toscanini box set of a few years back (the second edition, in other words), is clear and immediate without being harsh.

And so to bed!

 

The best of the best.

Legendary Mahler 8 “Symphony of a Thousand” w/

Joyce Barker (S I) - Magna Peccatrix
Beryl Hatt (S II) - Mater Gloriosa
Agnes Giebel (S III) - Una Poenitentium
Kirsten Meyer (A I) - Mulier Samaritana
Helen Watts (A II) - Maria Aegyptiaca
Kenneth Neate (T) - Doctor Marianus
Alfred Orda (Bar) - Pater Ecstaticus
Arnold van Mill (B) - Pater Profundus

BBC Chorus
BBC Choral Society
Goldsmiths' Choral Union
Hampstead Choral Society
Emanuel School Boys' Choir
Orpington Junior Singers

Musical Associate: Berthold Goldschmidt

Charles Spinks (org)
London Symphony Orchestra (leader: Hugh Maguire)
Jascha Horenstein

Pristine Audio PASC 440 © 2015. 2CD.
Recorded for BBC broadcast at Royal Albert Hall, 20 March 1959.
XR remastering by Andrew Rose.

But _one_ single stereo microphone, positioned by staff BBC engineers in the reverberant RAH, was used in the recording of this, the greatest of all Mahler Eighths.

_Trounces_ the BBC Legends CD from 1999.

 

I was delighted to find this, the only copy I've ever had of it, the other side is a 1906 Scala orchestra recording of Elgar! which I have yet to dub. 1910 must be early in Beecham's recording career. From the late, great EMG Colonel's collection. No restoration has been done here, I get a bit squeemish of messing too much with acoustical recordings especially with very quiet passages like this...

 

What a great find! That is probably one of the recordings that he paid for.

 

Yes I quite forgot about that! INterestingly this was issued about 1914, originally a single sided disc, so in the 4 years between the original and the reissue (mine is the reissue) perhaps his reputation had got better/he was more well known!

 

Now enjoying this 2CD set, which I have found to be the best way to hear just how great a pianist he was.

 

The original 2LP on IPA/Desmar 5007/08 was also mastered by Ward Marston, back in 1975. Has held up very well, actually. Richard Caniell of Immortal Performances Recorded Music Society (IPRMS) is in his 90s; Marston must be in his early 70s, at least. Cherish every new production of theirs.

 

From Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, fantastic recording for 1916, Columbia really knew what they were doing, even though this isn't the cleanest copy it still sounds great!

 

How do you like Ormandy Sibelius? I picked up the following box a few weeks ago at a nice price from across the pond ...

 

Hi Dale 88! I'm new to this site and a bit lost. In fact, I'm trying to get in contact with you about the song "I'm Lost" by Nat Cole / Otis Rene. I tried reaching out to you privately but wasn't able to for some reason. I'd love to connect with you! Thanks!

 

Now enjoying this great CD.

 

I think I have everything in that set except for the First Symphony.
Some of his conducting of the symphonies gets a little too slow for me in some passages but overall, the strings from the Phil Orch and Ormandy's way with them draw me to the Sibelius he has conducted. However, I would not solely listen to Ormandy's Sibelius.

 

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I believe I have 14 versions of Sibelius, including the incomplete set by Karajan on DG/EMI and a Bernstein box ...

 

Wow. I think I have around 7 sets of the symphonies and some singles here and there.

 

I have a number of Sibelius singles as well. Below is my latest discovery and it is quite good ...



Pietari Inkinen

Inkinen is the new star conductor from Scandinavia and has been invited to conduct the Wagner Ring at the Bayreuth Festival ...

IIRC, you have some recording by the Malaysian Symphony. So I now have a recording by the NZ Symphony. I have some Bach recordings by the Australian Chamber Orchestra with Angela Hewitt. A new classical music adventure for me with the down under ensembles.

 

I don't have any of his Sibelius works other than this disc.

 

IIRC, there are some 3 Belshazzar's Feast(s) out there, including this one. The most famous one is the Handel Oratorio. I think William Walton composed another version ...

 

Interesting. I was not aware of any other interpretations of Belshazzar's Feast.

 

I think these should be all different works by the same name. The Handel version covers 3 CD's and IIRC, the original Harnoncourt's recording was a 4 or 5 LP set. I bought the box in the late 70's ...