RECORDS FROM 1946-1950 ... Is it worth it to sell 'em???
bts...@postoffice.swbell.net
As ‘novice of the week’, I need your help again with these 78s and 33-1/3s I have. My father bought the Concert Hall Society Limited Edition recordings listed below while he was stationed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 1953. I assume the man who originally owned them was also stationed there … and, not wanting to pay to have them shipped back to the states, he sold them to my dad. As the elected keeper of family stuff, they are now in my possession. I obviously don’t know about them, cannot play them and really don’t want to move with them again.
I’ve gone about as far as I can go looking for reliable info and have only a few price hints to show for the research. I do not have access to the price guide ~ I believe it is The Canfield Guide ~ that was recommended to me on the bulletin board at 4music.net. By now, though, I do understand that the potential market is miniscule ~ still, what I need to know is: do they have any value that would make them worth the effort it will take to sell them on ebay? (And now that I have voluntarily placed myself in your hands ~ please go easy on me … I do know where the dump is!!!)
As to the condition of the records: less than mint. We had screens for windows in Gitmo, so they spent several years out of a controlled environment there; furthermore, we didn’t have central air in Texas until 1961. Once they made it into the cool, they remained there until about 1985 or 86. While shelved and inside, they were not climate controlled again until about 1988. To my knowledge, they’ve not been played (other than for the short test I ran on one several days ago) since about 1960-61. What can I say? They are just old. I can see some scratches; and the album covers are in varying states, but all need attention. Since I don’t know how to clean and repair either, I won’t.
Inventory of Concert Hall Society Limited Edition Records, 1946-1950
A series = #1803 of limited edition of 2000 … 1946-47 … 78s
A1 Serge Prokofieff … String Quartet No.2 in F Major, Op.92 … Gordon String Quartet ~ Jacques Gordon - first violin, Urico Rossi - second violin, David Dawson - viola, Fritz Magg - cello (3 records)
A2 Aaron Copeland ... Piano Sonata (1941) “Our Town”, Suite … Leo Smit - pianist (4 records)
A3 Henry Purcell … The Gordian Knot Untied … Daniel Saidenberg conducting Saidenberg Little Symphony (2 records)
A4 Samuel Barber … Capricorn Concerto … Daniel Saidenberg conducting Saidenberg Little Symphony ~ Julius Baker-flute, Harry Freistadt - trumpet, Mitchell Miller - oboe (2 records)
A5 Paul Bowles … Sonata for Two Pianos … Arthur Gold and Robert Fitzdale - pianists (2 records)
A7 Johannes Brahams … Sonata No.1 in C Major, Op.1 … Two Choral Preludes, Op. 122 … Ray Lev - pianist (4 records )
A8 Bela Bartok … String Quartet No. 4 (1928) … Guilet String Quartet ~ Daniel Guilet - first violin, Jac Gorodetzky - second violin, Frank Brieff - viola, Lucien Laporte - cello (3 records)
A9 Ludwig Van Beethoven … Scottish Songs: Faithfu’ Johnie ~ Oh Sweet Were The Hours ~ O, How Can I Be Blithe And Glad ~ Bonny Laddie, Highland Laddie ~ Could This Ill World Have Been Contriv’d ~ Sunset ~ O Mary, At Thy Window Be ~ The Lovely Lass Of Inverness ~ The British Light Dragoons; or, The Plains of Badajos ~ On The Massacre Of Glencoe ~ Again My Lyre … Richard Dyer-Bennet - tenor, Ignace Strasfogel - piano, Stefan Frenkel - violin, Jascha Bernstein - cello (4 records)
A10 Claude Debussy … Sonata for ‘Cello and Piano ~ The ‘Cello Sonata ~ The Petite Suite … Raya Garbousova - cellist, Artur Balsam - pianist (2 records)
A11 William Schuman … Symphony for Strings (1943) … Edgar Schenkman conducting The Concert Hall Strings Symphony (2 records)
B series = #1803 of limited edition of 3000 … 1947-48 … 78s
B3 Franz Schubert … Piano sonata No.15 in C Major (Unfinished) … Allegretto in C Minor … Ray Lev - pianist (4 records)
B4 Maurice Ravel … Sonata for Violin and Cello … Oscar Shumsky - violin, Bernard Greenhouse - ‘cello (2 records)
B5 Domenico Scarlatti … Sonatas for Harpsichord: Sonata in G Minor No.126 ~ Sonata in G Major No.127 ~ Sonata in E Minor No.321 ~ Sonata in E Major No.466 ~ Sonata in C Major No.457 ~ Sonata in C Minor No.10 ~ Sonata in F Major No. 279 ~ Sonata in D Major No. 415 ~ Sonata in D Minor No.215 … Ralph Kirkpatrick - harpsichordist (3 records)
B7 Kurt Weill … Songs and Poems of Walt Whitman: Beat! Beat! Drums! ~ O Captain! My Captain! ~ Dirge For Two Veterans ~ Come Up From The Fields Father … William Horn - tenor, Adam Garner - pianist (2 records)
B8 Franz Joseph Haydn … Sonata in G Major for Flute and Piano … René Le Roy - flutist, Paul Loyonnet - pianist (2 records)
B9 American Composers at the Piano … Lucas Foss - Rondo Fantasy ~ Leo Smit - Rondel (For a young girl) ~ Marc Blitzstein - Variation III (from “Show”) ~ Norman Dello Joio - Prelude to a Young Musician ~ Henry Cowell - Jig: Aeolian Harp; Advertisement (for ‘tone-clusters’) (4 records)
B10 Leos Janacek … Concertino for Piano, Strings and Wind Instruments (1925) … Rudolf Firkušny - pianist, Ensemble ~ Jacques Gordon - violin, Urico Rossi - violin, David Dawson - viola, Clark Brody - clarinet, David Weber - clarinet, John Barrows - french horn, Harold Goltzer - bassoon (2 records)
B11 Darius Milhaud … Symphonies for Small Orchestra Nos. 1,2,3, and 5 ~ Le Printemps (1917) ~ Pastorale (1918) ~ Serenade (1921) ~ Dixtuor d’instruments a vent (1922) … Darius Milhaud conducting The Concert Hall Society Chamber Orchestra (2 records)
B12 Antonin Dvorak … String Quartet in C Major, Op.61 …Gordon String Quartet ~~ Jacques Gordon - first violin, Urico Rossi - second violin, David Dawson - viola, Fritz Magg – cello (4 records)
B13 Norman Dello Joio … Trio for Flute, ‘Cello and Piano … Julius Baker – flutist, Daniel Saidenberg - ‘cellist, Leonid Hambro - pianist (2 records)
B14 François Couperin … Suite du Sixième Ordre … Paul Loyonnet, pianist (2 records)
B15 Ottotino Respighi … Sonata for Violin and Piano in B Minor … Oscar Shumsky - violinist, Artur Balsam - pianist (3 records)
C series = #1803 of limited edition of 3000 … 1948-49 … 78s
C1 Felix Mendelssohn … Quartet for Piano and Strings in F Minor, Op.2 … Artur Balsam - pianist, Daniel Guilet - violinist, Frank Brieff - violist, Lucien Laporte - ‘cellist (3 records)
C2 Claudio Monteverdi … Trisi E. Clori and Il Ritorno d’ Ulisse In Patria (Iro’s Air) … Max Meili - tenor, Elsa Scherz-Meister - soprano, August Wenzinger directing Ensemble of Voices and Ancient Instruments of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (3 records)
C5 Igor Stravinsky … Suite Italienne for ‘Cello and Piano … Raya Garbousova - ‘cellist, Erich Itor Kahn - pianist (2 records)
C6 J.S. Bach … Fifteen Two-Part Inventions in Two Parts for Clavichord … Ralph Kirkpatrick, clavichordist (3 records)
C8 W.A. Mozart … Piano Concerto in F Major K.V.413 … Artur Balsam - pianist, Henry Swoboda conducting The Concert Hall Symphony Orchestra (3 records)
C9 Franz Schubert … Quartet for Flute, Guitar, Viola and ‘Cello …Andre Jaunet - flautist, Georg Kertesz - violist, Hermann Leeb - guitarist, Frederic Mottier – ‘cellist
C11 Ernest Bloch … Sonata for Piano (1935) … Ray Lev - pianist (3 records)
C13 George Frederick Handel … Trio Sonata Op.5, No.4 in G Major … Peter Rybar and Anton Fietz - violinists, Antonio Tusa - ‘cellist, Hans Andreae - harpsichordist (2 records)
C14 Richard Strauss … Sonata for Violoncello and Piano in F Major, Op.6 … Raya Garbousova - 'cellist, Erich Itor Kahn - pianist (3 records)
C15 Jacques Ibert … Histoires: (1) La meneuse de tortues d’or ~ (2) Le petit ane blanc ~ (3) Le vieux mendiant ~ (4) A giddy girl (Dans un style de romance sentimentale anglaise) ~ (5) Dans la maison triste ~ (6) Le palais abandonné ~ (7) Bajo la mesa ~ (8) La cage de cristal ~ (9) La marchande d’eau fraîche ~ (10) Le cortège de Balkis … Paul Loyonnet - pianist (2 records).
D series = #1803 of limited edition of 3000 … 1949-50 … 33-1/3s
D1 Antonio Vivaldi … Concerto Grosso in D Major; Symphonies in F Major and C Major … Henry Swoboda conducting The Concert Hall Symphony Orchestra
D2 Antonin Dvorak … Piano Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op.87 …Artur Balsam - pianist, Peter Rybar - violinist, Oskar Kromer - violist, Antonio Tusa - 'cellist
D4 Bela Bartok … Suite No.2 for Orchestra, Op.4 … Henry Swoboda conducting The Concert Hall Symphony Orchestra
D5 Franz Josef Haydn … Organ Concerto in F Major for Organ and Orchestra ... Divertimento in B Flat Major for Winds … Karl Mattaei - organist, Oskar Kromer conducting The Winterthur Symphony Orchestra
D7 Felix Mendelssohn … String Quartet in E Minor, Op.44, No.4 … Guilet String Quartet ~ Daniel Guilet - first violin, Jac Gorodetzky - second violin, Frank Brieff - viola, Lucien Laporte - 'cello
D10 Johann Sebastian Bach … Concerto in A Minor for Harpsichord, flute, Violin and String Orchestra … Aimee van de Wiele - harpsichordist, Fernand Caradge - flutist, Henri Merckel - violinist, Henry Swoboda conducting The Concert Hall String Orchestra
D11 Ludwig Van Beethoven … Trio in E-Flat Major, Op.1, No.1 … Trio No.8 in B-Flat Major … Artur Balsam - pianist, Daniel Guilet - violinist, Andre Navarra – ‘cellist
D12 Georg Philipp Telemann … Concerto for Three Violins and String Orchestra … Louis Kaufman, Peter Rybar, Anton Fietz - violinists ….. and ….. Concerto for Viola and String Orchestra … Oskar Kromer - violist, Henry Swoboda conducting The Concert Hall String Orchestra
D13 Gioacchino Rossini … Quartets No.2 and No.5 for Flute, Clarinet, Horn and Bassoon, Quatuor à Vent de Paris … Julien Brun - flute, Henri Druart - clarinet, Lucien Thevet - horn, Maurice Allard - bassoon
D14 George Frederick Handel … Grand Concerto in B-Flat Major … Henry Swoboda conducting The Concert Hall Symphony Orchestra ….. and ….. Sonata da Camera in E-Flat … Baudot and Goubet - oboes, Maurice Allard - bassoonist, Aimee van de Wiele - harpsichordist
D15 Franz Schubert … String Quartet in E
Major, Op.125, No.2 … Quartet Movement in C Minor … The Winterthur
String Quartet ~ Peter Rybar - first violin, Clemens Dahinden - second
violin, Oskar Kromer - viola, Antonio Tusa - 'cello
If you’ve made it this far, do you have a moment for several more questions?
(1) if the records have any merit at all, do you think it would be best
to sell them singularly or by sets?
(2) do the printed materials that accompany the records add anything?
(3) do I need to go to list these anywhere else?
If you need more background stories or have any observations and/or questions about these plastic (sic) dinosaurs, please post ‘em … I’ll check back here.
Many thanks for your time and patience ~
Dacrone
Matthew B. Tepper
bts...@postoffice.swbell.net pondered what I'm pondering as follows...
>
>If you’ve made it this far, do you have a moment for several more
>questions?
>
>(1) if the records have any merit at all, do you think it would be best
>to sell them singularly or by sets?
>(2) do the printed materials that accompany the records add anything?
>(3) do I need to go to list these anywhere else?
>
>If you need more background stories or have any observations and/or
>questions about these plastic (sic) dinosaurs, please post ‘em … I’ll
>check back here.
>
>Many thanks for your time and patience ~
>Dacrone
Well, I will opine that unlike 99.99% of the such lists I have seen of
this nature, *these* items are *not* common junk. Usually one will see
a poor soul who has a dirt-common Caruso record or Toscanini album which
sold in the millions, and think because of the performers' fame that he
has a great rarity. To my shame, I have sometimes disengaged tact
before informing said poor souls of the monetary worthlessness of their
presumed treasures.
The items you have are, as I say, not common junk of this type, and I
say that with the experience of a thirty-year record collector who has
appraised collections professionally on behalf of dealers. That said, I
could not say for certain whether they are rarities, although I can
conceive that there would be collectors who would likely find these
items of interest.
Were I you, I would consult with one of the reputable dealers such as
Ars Antiqua in Ellettsville IN or Parnassus Records in Saugerties NY.
Keep in mind that 78s are not merely yesterday's technology, but rather
the day before yesterday's technology, and they will be a "hard sell."
You may find specialized archives or collectors willing to take the
whole thing off your hands, or you may do better to gather them into
small groups of similar recordings and offer them for auction.
In general, I *am* pleased that this is not yet another pile of junk,
but something actually worth asking about ... for a change!
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://www.deltanet.com/~ducky/index.htm
My main music page --- http://www.deltanet.com/~ducky/berlioz.htm
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
"Compassionate Conservatism?" * "Tight Slacks?" * "Jumbo Shrimp?"
David Grayshan
records are quite rare. The problem is that the market for such artists
as Guilet, Rybar, Saidenberg and Schenkman is very specialised, for
example the Swiss collect Rybar (he led the Winterthur SO for donkey's
years) etc, and the Barber disc is a first recording (just been put on
CD).
You would have trouble finding the right buyers and all the postage and
packaging problems (78's are notorious for breaking in the post unless
you package them in wooden cases etc.). If you were resident here I
would buy them for their quirky interest, it's the sort of repertoirs I
love to explore. A specialist dealer would love to have many of them but
you will only get dealer's prices. Look for a local collector or donate
them to a music library, I would say. Pity I can't take 'em off your
hands.....
bts...@postoffice.swbell.net wrote:
> You’ll probably want a cup of coffee before wading into this …
>
(Snip)