Discography of First Recordings

[Kerrison]

Has anyone ever devised a 'Discography of First Recordings' of what might be called the basic repertoire? I think would be interesting to have a handy on-line volume that would tell us who made the very first recordings of the symphonies and concertos of Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Haydn, and so on, alongside other staples of the concert, ballet and operatic repertoire.

For example, I see from this Wiki article that the first acoustic 78s of the Beethoven 5th, by Kark and Nikisch, were incomplete and that it was Albert Coates who first recorded an uncut version in 1920. Such a discography would have to go into those kinds of details but if anyone had the time and inclination to come up with such a volume, it would be a fascinating piece of work ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beethoven%27s_5th_(Nikisch_recording)

[Bill Anderson]

Wiki has some misleading data here...

Albert Coates never recorded the Beethoven 5th. In 1920 he was still under contract with English Columbia. He did record the 7th for HMV that was almost complete, but was issued in piecemeal in different countries IIRC.

For those interested, a copy of an extensive Coates discography (from the BIRS archives) can be downloaded here:

http://www.mediafire.com/download/ko2de2y2imh/BIRS_Albert_Coates_Discography.rar

Also, While F. Kark did do the first 5th, it is possible that the Nikisch recording may have actually been the THIRD recording. A few years ago a performance was unearthed of a Pathe version, conducted by François Ruhlmann. Those sides may have been recorded in 1912. It was discussed here on RMCR about 5 years ago.

http://tinyurl.com/hstbtkf

- Bill A.

[pgut...@wcsr.com]

Sorry, but your example is way off. The Nikisch recording in fact is complete, as were both the 1910 Kark and the Ruhlman (1912 or 1916) as well; a 1917 Pasternack did cut the second movement. And according to the authoritative Christopher Dyment discography, Coates never recorded the Fifth at all - but he did record the Seventh in 1920. Wikipedia is only as good as its sources, in this case wildly inaccurate.

[pgut...@wcsr.com]

Bill, just saw your reply only after posting mine -- great minds think alike? (OK, I'm flattering myself ...)

[Bill Anderson]

Not sure about great minds, but twisted ones :)

Thanks for the references to the great work that Christopher Dyment did for the BIRS publication. I've referenced that discography so many times I'd forgotten the individual who did the work! A fantastic document. It's easy to forget how much effort was needed to compile such a work before the internet existed!

- Bill

[shellackophile]

On Saturday, February 13, 2016 at 1:11:12 PM UTC-5, Kerrison wrote:

Sounds like an interesting project. Maybe I should do a blog post about it some day.

To go with just the Beethoven symphonies, here's a shortlist (all of this info from the Claude Arnold discography of acoustical orchestral recordings):

No. 1 - Otto Klemperer (Polydor, 1924)
No. 2 - François Ruhlmann (Pathé, recorded about the same time as the Fifth that Bill mentioned)
No. 3 - Sir Henry Wood (Columbia, abridged, 1922). The first complete one was Oskar Fried (Polydor, 1924)
No. 4 - Hans Pfitzner (Polydor, 1924)
No. 5 - Friedrich Kark (Odeon, 1910), as noted elsewhere in this thread.
No. 6 - Grosses Odeon-Streichorchester, presumably also conducted by Kark (Odeon, c. 1912-13)
No. 7 - Albert Coates (HMV/Victor, abridged, 1921). The first complete one was Weingartner/LSO (Columbia, 1923)
No. 8 - Felix Weingartner (Columbia, 1923)
No. 9 - Bruno Seidler-Winkler (Polydor, 1923)

Best wishes,
Bryan Bishop

[Bill Anderson]

Hi Bryan -

Yes! That would be a GREAT series of posts on your shellackophile blog.

- Bill

[Kerrison]

One of the more intriguing "first recordings" would be that of 'The Pines of Rome.' It was evidently begun on 17 October 1928 for Columbia by the Milan Symphony Orchestra under Lorenzo Molajoli. It would seem that Odeon got wind of this and, possibly in a panic, rushed Ettore Panizza and the La Scala Orchestra of Milan in front of the microphones three days later to record a set for them. Doubtless their intention was to be the first to release a recording of the work. Whether they did or not I don't know, because I only have the completion date for the Molajoli set, namely 24 November 1928. This is where a "Discography of First Recordings" would come in handy, because if the Panizza set was completed and issued before the Molajoli, I assume it would count as the "first recording"!

I wonder if Respighi attended both sets of sessions. And how curious it is that the work was recorded simultaneously by two different orchestras in the same city. Incidentally, the score specifies a particular 78 of a nightingale to be played in the third section (No. R 6105 del 'Concert Record Gramophone: Il canto dell'usignolo'). I wonder if both Odeon and Columbia used the same 78rpm disc? Maybe both sets could be issued on a CD so that we can compare the performances and the nightingales?

[gggg gggg]

(Recent Y. upload):

Review: Warner's Handsome Historical Debussy Box