Stoki's first recording of Scheherazade
rkhalona
(I have all five of his commercial recordings of the work), but to a
recording of acoustic excerpts that he apparently made, according to
Jed Distler, in his notes to the Andante 4-CD set (Leopold Stokowski,
conductor, Andante 2986-2989, issued in 2001):
"His first recorded encounter with the music took place on acoustic
78s, with abridged versions of the third and fourth movements."
Since Distler is not clear on this, were this excerpts recorded with
Philly and have they been issued in any form?
Thanks in advance.
RK (listening to Schuricht's Brahms 1st with the OSR/1953, on
Archiphon)
Kerrison
According to Oliver Daniel's Stokowski biography (1982), the
discography at the back lists these abridgements of both movements to
fit two 12" 78rpm sides (ie: each cut down to about four minutes!):
"The Young Prince and Young Princess" (rec. 1921) and "Festival at
Badgad" (rec. 1919), with the Philadelphia Orchestra. The two sides
were coupled on Victor 6246, having previously been issued as single-
sided discs. I doubt if these have ever been reissued since in any
shape or form.
Curiously, his three LP versions of the work were all made with London
orchestras: the Philharmonia in 1951 (RCA); the London Symphony in
1964 (Decca/London 'Phase-4'); and the Royal Philharmonic in 1975
(RCA).
El Klauso
Exciting accounts and of high interest technically - for some of the
best clarity attained in the acoustic era - and musically, as they
reveal even in his earliest sessions Stokowski's interpretive whim of
iron. Most of the Stokowski Philadelphia acoustics are worth seeking
out.
rkhalona
Thank you both! Is it possible for you to transfer those acoustic
sides and share them?
That would be outstanding!
All the best,
RK
Matthew�B.�Tepper
to be typed in news:6ac73764-197a-4b5e-8b66-dcd8439226f8
@x7g2000prj.googlegroups.com:
What survives of what was issued of the earliest Dvorak "New World" excerpts?
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
Read about "Proty" here: http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/proty.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of my employers
Dontait...@aol.com
In 1977, Jim Cartwright -- the proprietor of "Immortal Performances"
in Austin, Texas -- compiled and produced a complete list of
Stokowski's acoustical recordings with the Philadelphia Orchestra
between 1917 and December 31, 1924. Just a few months later Stokowski
and the orchestra made Victor's first electrical orchestral
recordings.
What Cartwright's list shows is that Stokowski was nearly
indefatigable in the Victor studios. He and orchestra members were
recording all the time, at least during the orchestra's season. More
importantly, it shows that the sides he passed for release were a tiny
portion of what had been recorded. The list is extraordinarily large
and musically wide-ranging. It also shows repeated attempts to record
selections. Sometimes 8 or 9 takes of a given title over a period of
weeks, months, or years.
The following is particularly interesting. Quoting Jim Cartwright's
list, showing the information he found in the RCA files (matrix
numbers are on the left; "B" was for 10" masters, "C" for 12"; the
following numerals indicate the take numbers):
Stokowski chorus (made as an experiment for Mr. Stokowski)
June 2, 1922
2 sopranos, 2 contraltos, 2 baritones, 2 basses
B -1 Gruber: Silent Night
B -1 Adeste fidelis
B -1 Tchaikovsky: Cherubic Hymn #1, in F -- Hymn of Praise
B -1 Tchaikovsky: Church songs: #3, Pater Noster
June 6, 1922 (same as June 2)
B 26506-1 Adeste fidelis
-2
B 26507-1 Tchaikovsky: Cherubic Hymn #1, in F -- Hymn of Praise
-2
B -A Bach: St. Matthew Passion: chorale [sic]
June 9, 1922
2 sopranos, 2 contraltos, 2 tenors, 3 basses
B 26507-3 Tchaikovsky: Cherubic Hymn # 1, in F -- Hymn of Praise
-4
-5
B 26506-3 Adeste fidelis
-4
B -A Palestrina: Motet, Surge illuminare
B -A Morley: Now is the Month of Maying
June 12, 1922 (same as June 9)
B 26505-5 Adeste fidelis
-6
B 26528-1 Gruber: Silent Night
-2
B 26507-6 Tchaikovsky: Cherubic Hymn #1, in F -- Hymn of Praise
-7
-8
B 26527-1 Tchaikovsky: Church songs: #3, Pater noster
-2
June 15, 1922
2 sopranos, 2 contraltos, 2 tenors, 2 basses
B 26507-9 Tchaikovsky: Cherubic Hymn #1, in F -- Hymn of Praise
-10
with Leopold Stokowski playing a small organ
B 26506-7 Adeste fidelis
-8
-9
B 26528-3 Gruber: Silent Night
-4
C 26527-3 Tchaikovsky: Church Songs: #3, Pater noster
None of this was ever issued. Many years ago Ward Marston told me
that searches of the RCA archives turned up no trace of the matrices
or any pressings. Ward said he assumed that Stokowski had had the
masters destroyed.
The June 15 recordings would contain the only known recordings of
Stokowski playing the organ, I believe. The art that brought him to
prominence before he became a conductor, and at which he was evidently
brilliant. And his success as a choral conductor was established in
New York City as early as 1907 or 1908.
By the way, nothing from Stokowski's last acoustical Philadelphia
recording session was issued. He went on to successfully record its
short pieces by Haydn and Jeremiah Clarke, but never the other title:
Alice in Wonderland by Edgar Stillman-Kelly.
Don Tait
ways
Camden Church Studio (Victor Building no 22) Camden NJ, USA
Nicolai Rimski-Korsakov
Scheherazade op 35 - IV Festival at Baghdad (arr. Stokowski)
Disk: Victor 74593 Matrix: Victor C-22810-4
MP3
http://www.stokowski.org/sitebuilderfiles/190509_Rimsky_Scheherazade_Festival_H.mp3
March 25, 1921
Camden Church Studio (Victor Building no 22) Camden NJ, USA
Nicolai Rimski-Korsakov
Scheherazade op 35 - III Young Prince and Young Princess
Disk: Victor 74691
Matrix: C-24629-10
MP3
http://www.stokowski.org/sitebuilderfiles/210325_Rimsky_Scheherazade_YP-YP_H.mp3
largo_57
You might try this website:
http://victor.library.ucsb.edu/
Search under 'names' for Stokowski, and it brings up a listing of
matrices recorded between 1917 and 1927. A click on the matrix number
gives you how many takes were made and the status of each take
("hold," "destroy," etc.)
- Bryan
rkhalona
> May 9, 1919
>
> Camden Church Studio (Victor Building no 22) Camden NJ, USA
>
> Nicolai Rimski-Korsakov
>
> Scheherazade op 35 - IV Festival at Baghdad (arr. Stokowski)
>
> Disk: Victor 74593 Matrix: Victor C-22810-4
>
>
> MP3http://www.stokowski.org/sitebuilderfiles/190509_Rimsky_Scheherazade_...
>
> March 25, 1921
>
> Camden Church Studio (Victor Building no 22) Camden NJ, USA
>
> Nicolai Rimski-Korsakov
>
> Scheherazade op 35 - III Young Prince and Young Princess
>
> Disk: Victor 74691
>
> Matrix: C-24629-10
>
>
> MP3http://www.stokowski.org/sitebuilderfiles/210325_Rimsky_Scheherazade_...
These are simply fabulous. I am listening to them for the second time
and marvel at the quality of the playing and sound, esp. for the
period. One more question, if you don't mind:
What do "III" and "IV" mean in this context?
Many thanks for your thoughtfulness and quick reply.
Ramon Khalona
Dontait...@aol.com
I don't mean to jump in ahead of the original poster, but I believe
"III" and "IV" refer to the third and fourth movements of
"Scheherazade."
Don Tait
rkhalona
Duh! I am too slow today; I should have picked that up. Thanks Don.
RK
rkhalona
Many thanks!
RK
Kerrison
> El Klauso <ChasJKl...@aol.com> appears to have caused the following letters
The Oliver Daniel bio shows only the Largo from the "New World" (again
abridged to fit one 12" side) as having been recorded in 1920 on
Victor 6236.
Incidentally, a label called Newton Classics has just reissued
Stokey's only recording of the Dvorak Serenade for Strings, a work
which, at the age of 93, he'd never conducted before, nor was he ever
to do so again.
Matthew B. Tepper
following letters to be typed in
> On Nov 12, 8:06�pm, "Matthew B. Tepper" <oy @earthlink.net> wrote:
>> El Klauso <ChasJKl...@aol.com> appears to have caused the following
>> letters to be typed in news:6ac73764-197a-4b5e-8b66-dcd8439226f8
>> @x7g2000prj.googlegroups.com:
>>
>> > I've got 'em on the 78 issues.
>> > Exciting accounts and of high interest technically - for some of the
>> > best clarity attained in the acoustic era - and musically, as they
>> > reveal even in his earliest sessions Stokowski's interpretive whim of
>> > iron. Most of the Stokowski Philadelphia acoustics are worth seeking
>> > out.
>>
>> What survives of what was issued of the earliest Dvorak "New World"
>> excerpts?
>
> The Oliver Daniel bio shows only the Largo from the "New World" (again
> abridged to fit one 12" side) as having been recorded in 1920 on
> Victor 6236.
Thanks.
> Incidentally, a label called Newton Classics has just reissued Stokey's
> only recording of the Dvorak Serenade for Strings, a work which, at the
> age of 93, he'd never conducted before, nor was he ever to do so again.
>
> http://www.newtonclassics.com/8/catalogue/8802025
Oh yes, I bought the Desmar LP when it was first issued. ;--) There was at
least one EMI reissue; does Newton Classics offer a better transfer?
Kerrison
>
> - Show quoted text -
Pristine issed a bunch of Stokowski / Philadelphia acoustics, labelled
Volume 1, some time ago. Maybe these Scheherezade excerpts should
appear on Volume 2 'by popular demand'? ...
http://www.pristineclassical.com/LargeWorks/Orchestral/PASC192.php