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| John Barbirolli, c. 1940 |
Surely one of the hardest acts to follow in the history of orchestras and their conductors was Toscanini and his ten years as music director of the New York Philharmonic (1926-36). 37-year-old John Barbirolli was chosen for the job, and achieved fine results in the seven years he was there. When he arrived, the orchestra still had a recording contract with Victor, but the company seems to have done little to promote the Philharmonic - perhaps understandably, when they also had Boston, Philadelphia and Toscanini's new orchestra at NBC on the books. When the contract lapsed in 1940 Columbia eagerly signed the orchestra and its young music director, no doubt with an eye to recording it with other conductors in their stable, especially Stravinsky and Bruno Walter. But to Barbirolli, rightfully, went the honor of conducting the Philharmonic's first recording for Columbia, and here it is:
Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York
conducted by John Barbirolli
Recorded March 27, 1940
Columbia Masterworks set MM-412, five 78-rpm records
Link (FLAC files, 93.74 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 63.90 MB)
At just over 33 minutes long, this may well be the fastest Brahms Second on record, yet it never sounds rushed.
Alas, the file is unavailable... I hope you don't have a problem like I had in the past with Mediafire...
ReplyDeleteYou must have enemies because it seems someone mischievously flagged the file - since anyone aware of it would know it's PUBLIC DOMAIN! Disappointing! I was looking forward to hearing this performance, and you do good transfers. I suppose now you'll have to try another service. I hope you will - or I'll be looking forward for a while.....
ReplyDeleteThe work is public domain but the recording is most certainly under copyright in the US at least, and will be for several more decades. (Not that I'm complaining about it being available--never!)
DeleteAh, "THE MOUSE" Protection Act. How about warfarin?
DeleteI think you protest too much....
Warfarin - invented at the University of Wisconsin - kills rats extremely well, but is essentially harmless to mice.
DeleteAlternate links:
ReplyDeleteFLAC - http://www.mediafire.com/download/wnfdpv9qujtt0p3/Barbirolli_-_Brahms_2_FLACs.zip
MP3 - http://www.mediafire.com/download/0lw69sr1oepnrwd/Barbirolli_-_Brahms_2_MP3s.zip
I have been listening to the Brahms on your YouTube channel. Bryan, I beg to disagree with your assessment about the recording not sounding rushed. It not only sounds rushed but for Barbirolli, who exudes nuance in works such as Vaughan William's Variations on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, it sounds perfunctory. Mengelberg's and Stokowski's are both much better. Recently my ears were opened by Damrosh's recording of this piece. Full of elegance and nuance, it is unlike any version I've ever heard. It breathes and flows and sounds completely organic. I put it up on my channel a while back. I don't remember where I got it but I expect the recording is under copyright. Don't tell any one.I have been listening to the Brahms on your YouTube channel. I beg to disagree with your assessment about the recording not sounding rushed. It not only sounds rushed but for Barbirolli, who exudes nuance in works such as Vaughan William's Variations on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, it sounds perfunctory. Mengelberg's and Stokowski's are both much better. Recently my ears were opened by Damrosh's recording of this piece. Full of elegance and nuance, it is unlike any version I've ever heard. It breathes and flows and sounds completely organic. I put it up on my channel a while back. I don't remember where I got it but I expect the recording is under copyright. Don't tell any one.
ReplyDeleteDoug