Friday, January 20, 2012

More from Ormandy

Two more vintage Ormandy recordings, one of them a request.  The request happens to be for the first-issued album set to bear Ormandy's name, his Minneapolis Symphony recording of Kodály's Háry János Suite.  Due to a loophole in the Minneapolis Symphony players' contracts, which allowed the orchestra's management to use them to make records for no additional payments, RCA Victor, within a relatively short time (a few weeks in the Januaries of 1934 and 1935), waxed an astounding 170-odd sides with the orchestra.  Among these were many first recordings, including first American recordings of Mahler and Bruckner symphonies, and this one of the Kodály suite:

Kodály: Háry János - Orchestral Suite
Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy
Recorded January 17, 1934
Victor Musical Masterpiece Set DM-197, three 78-rpm records
Link (FLAC files, 72.69 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 39.62 MB)

Ormandy also recorded the Sibelius First Symphony in Minneapolis, but that isn't the version I have.  What I have is the remake he did in Philadelphia six years later, a set sent to me by Ken Halperin of Collecting Record Covers:

Sibelius: Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39
Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy
Recorded October 25, 1941
Victor Musical Masterpiece Set DM-881, four 78-rpm records
Link (FLAC files, 104.2 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 58.64 MB)

Both these works share the following facts in Ormandy's discography: he recorded each four times, first in Minneapolis, then one mono and two stereo Philadelphia versions.  And of the two stereo versions, one was for Columbia and one for RCA.

8 comments:

  1. What a very beautiful cover! Of course the music will be very good as well - can't wait hearing it :-) Thanks again!

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  2. So VERY cool to be able to hear these. Keep up the great work!

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  3. Very nice offerings here, Bryan! I've got the earlier recording of Ormandy's Sibelius 1st on Victor Gold labels set M-290. I unfortunately could not locate the pamphlet that usually accompanies sets of this vintage...what else do you expect from your local Salvation Army??? Nevertheless, it's a recording worth listening to and is unavailable except for the LYS issue on CD from a few years back. Again, I follow and love your posts regularly and thanks always go out to you & your blog!

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  4. Bryan - many thanks for the Hary Janos in such good sound.
    Three cheers to E-Bay for coming up trumps!

    Eddie S

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  5. Just discovered your blog, Bryan (thanks to Fred at Random Classics) and am overwhelmed. Beautiful work, for which many thanks.

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  6. That Sibelius is astonishing: the depth of the string sound is just astonishing, and the brass too. Ormandy's interpretation ain't bad either :-) What a great transfer, thank you Bryan!

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  7. Do you have RCA Victor WDM-262? This was reportedly recorded 10-14 January 1935. I can send you a cover shot if you like.



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    1. I'm sure I must have it somewhere as a 45 set. It was a very big seller, was still on the Billboad classical album charts as late as '53, and was in fact the only Ormandy-Minneapolis recording to make the transistion to 45 or LP.

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