For Download: Haydn's Symphony No. 40, by Beecham (HMV, 1948)
harpsichordian
Just up on my blog, what I believe to be the only Beecham recording of
an early Haydn symphony:
http://shellackophile.blogspot.com
In the same post, for the brave, is a sample of my own piano playing
(also of Haydn)
Enjoy!
Best wishes,
Bryan Bishop
Dontait...@aol.com
I'm confident that you know this -- but an interesting thing about
this Beecham Haydn recording is that although HMV recorded it, they
did so on behalf of RCA Victor in the USA and Victor never issued it.
It was one of numerous Beecham records made for Victor that they never
issued but that HMV did. Off the top of my head I can think of Rimsky-
Korsakov's May Night overture, Richard Strauss's Bourgeois gentilhomme
music and Don Quixote with Tortelier, Mozart's 3d violin concerto with
Gioconda de Vito and Magic Flute overture, and Haydn's Symphony no.
102. Beecham apparently got angry left his Victor contract in 1949 and
went back to American Columbia, firing off letters protesting about
Victor only favoring one conductor (Toscanini, presumably), and
receiving assurances from Columbia that they'd do a good job recording
him this time -- after the 1942 NYPSO recordings that sounded so bad
that Beecham sued the company to prevent their release. (He lost, as
you know.) Various Beecham biographies detail all of this.
Victor got back at him in a way by only issuing his RPO recordings
of Mozart's Divertimento K. 131, lengthy suites from his Handel-
Beecham Great Elopement, and Bantock's Fifine at the Fair in their
LHMV LP series after 1952. A premium-priced, somewhat "niche" series.
Cheers, Bryan. Keep going.
Don Tait
harpsichordian
Don, I actually was not aware of these recordings being made for
Victor! How interesting. I knew, of course, of numerous HMV RPO/
Beecham recordings that Victor didn't issue - even one that Victor
assigned an issue number to (M/DM-1271 for the Sibelius Sixth) but
didn't actually issue. And also that there were a few things which
Victor did issue that HMV did not - principally the Handel Messiah (M/
DM-1194/5), but also a Mozart Symphony No. 27 (in M/DM-1264), the Bach
Christmas Oratorio Sinfonia (12-0583), and maybe others.
Best wishes,
Bryan Bishop
Dave Cook
> Just up on my blog, what I believe to be the only Beecham recording of
> an early Haydn symphony:
>
> http://shellackophile.blogspot.com
This also appeared on Dutton on "RPO Legacy Vol. 5", a very good 2-CD
set.
http://www.amazon.com/Beecham-RPO-Legacy-Vol-5/dp/B00004S7QS
I wonder how Beecham selected this particular symphony. Because
there's a Mozart No. 40?
Dave Cook