Bruno Walter's 1942 MET Don Giovanni newly restored by Ward Marston

[Oscar]

The famous March 7, 1942 matinee broadcast from the MET of Don Giovanni, conducted by Bruno Walter, was reissued a few weeks ago on West Hill Radio Archives. Part of a five-disc set filled out by another matinee broadcast, The Marriage of Figaro from January 29, 1944. A must have if you're into this sort of thing. http://tiny.cc/6itnlw

New 2012 digital restorations from new sources by Ward Marston.
Extensive notes by Tim Lockley.

Don Giovanni: Ezio Pinza
Donna Anna: Rose Bampton
Don Ottavio: Charles Kullman
Donna Elvira: Jarmila Novotna
Leporello: Alexander Kipnis
Zerlina: Bidú Sayao
Masetto: Mack Harrell
Commendatore: Norman Cordon

Figaro: Ezio Pinza
Susanna: Bidú Sayao
Count Almaviva: John Brownlee
Countess Almaviva: Eleanor Steber
Cherubino: Jarmila Novotna
Dr. Bartolo: Salvatore Baccaloni
Marcellina: Irra Petina
Don Basilio: Alessio De Paolis
Antonio: Louis D'Angelo
Barbarina: Marita Farell
Don Curzio: John Garris.

[wade]

always liked that cover pic, even though I believe it shows Milanov instead of Bampton as Anna.

[Dontait...@aol.com]

On Oct 4, 10:06 am, Oscar <oscaredwardwilliam...@gmail.com> wrote:
> The famous March 7, 1942 matinee broadcast from the MET of Don Giovanni, conducted by Bruno Walter, was reissued a few weeks ago on West Hill Radio Archives. Part of a five-disc set filled out by another matinee broadcast, The Marriage of Figaro from January 29, 1944. A must have if you're into this sort of thing.http://tiny.cc/6itnlw

>
> New 2012 digital restorations from new sources by Ward Marston.
> Extensive notes by Tim Lockley.
>
> Don Giovanni: Ezio Pinza
> Donna Anna: Rose Bampton
> Don Ottavio: Charles Kullman
> Donna Elvira: Jarmila Novotna
> Leporello: Alexander Kipnis
> Zerlina: Bidú Sayao
> Masetto: Mack Harrell
> Commendatore: Norman Cordon
>
> Figaro: Ezio Pinza
> Susanna: Bidú Sayao
> Count Almaviva: John Brownlee
> Countess Almaviva: Eleanor Steber
> Cherubino: Jarmila Novotna
> Dr. Bartolo: Salvatore Baccaloni
> Marcellina: Irra Petina
> Don Basilio: Alessio De Paolis
> Antonio: Louis D'Angelo
> Barbarina: Marita Farell
> Don Curzio: John Garris.

Thanks for this. I saw it in the newest Wave Hill CD catalogue and
was tempted. My old source was Edward J. Smith LPs. I know that if
Ward did this, it will be as good as can now be. You've convinced me.
Now I'll buy it.

The Don Giovanni performance is stupendous. It's classic Bruno
Walter Mozart: high power and drama, not an idea of eighteenth-
century Dresden china delicacy. Years ago a friend, hearing the last
third of Act One here, said "this is like an earthquake!"

Thanks again.

Don Tait

[aesthete8]

On Oct 4, 11:23 am, "Dontaitchic...@aol.com" <Dontaitchic...@aol.com>
wrote:

Has that come out on cd before?:

http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/January%201990/109/832202/MOZART.+DON+GIOVANNI.+Ezio+Pinza+(bass)+Don+%C2%AE+Giovanni+Rose+Bampton+(sop)+Donna+Anna+Jarmila+Novotnit+(sop)+Donna+Elvira+Bida+Sava%C2%B0+(sop)+Zerlina+Charles+Kullman+(ten)+Don+Ottavio+Alexander+Kipnis+(bass)+Leporello+Mack+Harrell+(bar)+Masetto+Norman+Cordon+(bass)+Commendatore+Chorus+and+Orchestra+of+the+Metropolitan+Opera,+New+York++Bruno+Walter.+Nuova+EraNew+Note+(D+22757+(three+discs,+nas%3A+155+minutes%3A+ADD).+Recorded+at+performances+in+the+Metropolitan+Opera+House,+New+York+on+March+6th,+1942.+Text+included#header-logo

[Oscar]

On Thursday, October 4, 2012 2:23:57 PM, Don Tait wrote:
>
> Thanks for this. I saw it in the newest Wave Hill CD catalogue and
> was tempted. My old source was Edward J. Smith LPs. I know that if
> Ward did this, it will be as good as can now be. You've convinced me.
> Now I'll buy it.

Let us know how it sounds.

> The Don Giovanni performance is stupendous. It's classic Bruno
> Walter Mozart: high power and drama, not an idea of eighteenth-
> century Dresden china delicacy. Years ago a friend, hearing the last
> third of Act One here, said "this is like an earthquake!"

I've never heard Walter conduct opera, so I am looking forward to getting this at some point. What is your favorite studio recoding of Don Giovanni?

> Thanks again.

<end>

[Oscar]

On Friday, October 5, 2012 1:54:43 AM, aesthete8 wrote:
>
> Has that come out on cd before?:

It was issued early on in the aborted partnership between Richard Canniel's Immortal Performances and Naxos Historical, circa 1998. http://tiny.cc/80wplw

[Alan Cooper]

Oscar <oscaredwar...@gmail.com> wrote in
news:607b41f8-51cf-4b70...@googlegroups.com:

I assume that it's the same as the one that I have on Memories, although it
only gives the year of the performance without the specific date.

AC

[Alan Cooper]

Oscar <oscaredwar...@gmail.com> wrote in
news:f9871e24-f630-4c13...@googlegroups.com:

A hard question to answer, because you "need" Siepi's Don, but neither of
the studio recordings (Krips or Leinsdorf) is preferable to the live
Salzburg recording conducted by Mitropoulos, imo. I note that the Myto
reissue (I have the earlier Sony) also includes a Della Casa recital from
Salzburg as filler, and that is serious added value.

Back to studio recordings, I can do without a number of the standard
recommendations, including Giulini (also better live) and Gardiner.
While with Krips and Leinsdorf the conducting is the problem, many
recordings are ruled out for me by one or more of the vocal performances
in an opera that lives or dies on the strength of the ensembles (Fricsay
and Davis, for example). Overall, I'm still fond of Oestmann, which is
crisply conducted and strongly cast (Cachemaille is a fantastic
Leporello). Jacobs is worth hearing as well. Harding might be
preferable for the conducting if it were better sung. I have yet to hear
the much-touted Nezet-Seguin recording, and would appreciate reports from
those who have.

AC

[Dontait...@aol.com]

Thank you. I have liked Giulini's recording of Don Giovanni, plus
Fritz Busch's. I'm afraid I can't think of others now, although there
are others.

Walter was one of the greatest opera conductors of the twentieth
century. Herman Klein wrote about that in The Gramophone in the 1920s,
saying that in his opinion the two greatest conductors at the opera
desk in Europe at the time were Toscanini and Bruno Walter. If you
like Beethoven's Fidelio, you should get the Music & Arts CD set
containing two of Walter's Met performances. The one from February
1941 is a stupendous account in particular. The way he keeps everyone
completely together at occasionally very fast tempi is astonishing,
and is the work of a master. The audience's long frenzy is completely
justified, including when the cast members run off the stage and leave
Walter alone to accept applause, evidently a very unusual thing, and
the audience goes crazy with screams for him. Milton Cross's
announcements document it.

I have not heard the Met Figaro. I know the Salzburg Figaro, and
it's glorious if fast by today's standards. The Met's might be, too.
We must test.

Don Tait

[Edward Cowan]

I have the Don Giovanni on EJS 119, three LPs, and the Figaro on
Operatic Archives OPA 1033, also three LPs. The EJS LPs have the usual
problems associated with Edward J. Smith's products, but also their
delights. The sound is relatively clear and the performance is very
exciting. The OPA LPs suffer from pitch problems, as many parts of the
recording disclose sagging pitch in the recording, causing difficulties
for people who want to use variable-pitch turntables to correct the
pitch. The performance is likewise very delightful, with some
less-than-starry singing from John Brownlee as the Count. Steber's "Dove
sono" is sensationally lovely. (I can reall one of B. H. Haggin's rare
"rave" reviews of this performance.) I should enjoy Marston's
remastering of all this material, and I'll look into acquiring the set
of CDs. --E.A.C.

--
hrabanus

[aesthete8]

On Oct 7, 12:09 am, oldgerman...@nospam.com (Edward Cowan) wrote:
> I have the Don Giovanni on EJS 119, three LPs...


Didn't the Bruno Walter Society also issue that performance on 3
lp's?:

http://www.musicstack.com/item/87663054

[Edward Cowan]

I don't know about any BWS issue of the Don Giovanni broadcast with
Pinza et al., cond. Bruno Walter. Vol. 1 of Alan Blyth's Opera on Record
lists it as having appeared on Cetra LO 27/3 (see p. 83 of Blyth's
book). --E.A.C.

aesthete8 <art...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Didn't the Bruno Walter Society also issue that performance on 3
> lp's?:
>
> http://www.musicstack.com/item/87663054

--
hrabanus

[gggg gggg]

Concerning Walter and Don G., there is a 1937 Salzburg performance with Pinza and Rethberg:

https://www.norpete.com/op3268.html?viewfullsite=1