The National Gramophonic Society, Part 1

The National Gramophonic Society was founded in 1923 by Compton Mackenzie, under the aegis of his new magazine, "The Gramophone."  Its aim was to promote and record complete works of chamber and instrumental music that had hitherto been neglected by the major record companies as being unprofitable.

In my heyday as a collector I had about a dozen of these sets, including the very first issue which is pictured above.  Either through borrowing copies back or working from tapes I had made, I managed to upload nine such sets in 2007-08; three of these I have already posted on this blog.  This is to be the first of two posts to take care of the others.  Here are four acoustically-recorded sets:

Beethoven: Quartet No. 10 in E-Flat, Op. 74 ("Harp")
Spencer Dyke String Quartet
Recorded July 30, 1924, by Columbia
National Gramophonic Society A, B, and C, three 78-rpm records
Link (FLAC files, 72.2 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 27.48 MB)

Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4 (version for string sextet)
Spencer Dyke String Sextet
and
Schubert: Piano Trio No. 2 in E-Flat, Op. 100
Harold Craxton, Spencer Dyke and B. Patterson Parker
Recorded October 10 and December 30, 1924, and January 7, 1925, by Columbia
National Gramophonic Society H, I, K, L, M, N, O, and P, eight 78-rpm records
Link (FLAC files, 198.73 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 69.9 MB)

Brahms: String Sextet No. 1 in B-Flat, Op. 18
Spencer Dyke String Sextet
Recorded May, 1925, by Parlophone
National Gramophonic Society Z, AA, BB, CC, and DD, five 78-rpm records
Link (FLAC files, 83.87 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 33.06 MB)

Eugene Goossens: Two Pieces for String Quartet, Op. 15;
Orlando Gibbons: Fantasias Nos. 6 and 8;
Purcell: Four-Part Fantasia No. 4 in C minor
Music Society String Quartet
Recorded May, 1925, and February, 1926, by Parlophone
National Gramophonic Society DD, FF, and BBB, three 78-rpm records
Link (FLAC files, 43.17 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 16.35 MB)

These were first recordings of all the works concerned, and in the case of the Schoenberg, probably the first recording of any of his music.  It should be mentioned that the cellist in the Music Society String Quartet was none other than John Barbirolli, some of whose earliest recordings as a conductor were made for the N.G.S. and can be heard at the CHARM website.

Albert Coates' 1923 Beethoven Ninth

This was one of my most popular uploads when I offered it before, back in November 2007, with over 300 hits.  It's the fabled acoustical recording of the Beethoven Ninth, by that great recording pioneer, Albert Coates (1882-1953).  I must say at the outset that the sound quality is not optimal - my source is a second-, possibly third-generation cassette dub sent to me by Frank Forman in 2003, but it's quite listenable, and gives some idea of what the recorders in 1923 were able to accomplish with an orchestra of 39 players and a mighty chorus of eight!  Frank's tape had, as a filler, short pieces by Liadov and Debussy that I also transferred, as a separate upload.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125
Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Albert Coates
Recorded in October and November, 1923
HMV D 842 through 849, eight 78-rpm records
Link (FLAC files, 140.4 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 69.13 MB)

Liadov: Kikimora - Orchestral Fairy Tale, Op. 63
Debussy: Golliwog's Cakewalk (from "Children's Corner")
Symphony Orchestra conducted by Albert Coates
Recorded October 28, 1921, and April 25, 1922
HMV D 620, one 78-rpm record
Link (FLAC files, 16.74 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 8.24 MB)

A month after posting these, I posted the following additional early recording by Albert Coates:

Strauss: Tod und Verklärung, Op. 24
Symphony Orchestra conducted by Albert Coates
Recorded April 27 and May 11, 1923
HMV D 743 and 744, two 78-rpm records
Link (FLAC file, 49.45 MB)
Link (MP3 file, 18.92 MB)

This posting represented the first in a long series of transfers of acoustically-recorded major symphonic and chamber works.  I had amassed quite a collection of these - some 150 discs - by 2003, mostly through various dealers (among them Raymond Glaspole, Dave Canfield, Peter Fülöp and others), when I was forced to dispose of most of my 78 collection.  Fortunately, a friend and fellow collector had the foresight to ensure that most of these very rare acoustical sets wound up in his hands, so that I was able to borrow them back for the purpose of making these transfers.

Finally, an electrical recording by Mr. Coates that I first offered in 2009, when his birthday (April 23) was being celebrated by various RMCR denizens:

Bach (orch. Esser): Toccata in F, BWV 540
London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Albert Coates
Recorded February 18, 1932
Victor 11468, one 78-rpm record
Link (FLAC file, 24.70 MB)
Link (MP3 file, 9.35 MB)

Symphonies from Sir Henry

The reissues continue, with a trio of recordings by the great British conductor Sir Henry J. Wood (1869-1944).  Among these are the first two complete recordings of symphonies made by Sir Henry, the Franck from 1924 and the Haydn "Surprise" from 1925.  Previously, he had recorded the Schubert "Unfinished" (in 1919, re-recorded in 1923), the Beethoven "Eroica" (in 1922) and the Tchaikovsky "Pathétique" (in 1923), but these had all been abridged.  The Franck and Haydn are not, but they sure are fast!  The Franck takes 31 minutes, and the "Surprise" takes 18.

Franck: Symphony in D minor
New Queen's Hall Orchestra conducted by Sir Henry J. Wood
Recorded July 2, 9, and 16, 1924
Columbia Masterworks Set No. 10, four 78-rpm records
Link (FLAC files, 83.33 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 34.77 MB)

Haydn: Symphony No. 94 in G, "Surprise" and
Järnefelt: Praeludium
New Queen's Hall Orchestra conducted by Sir Henry J. Wood
Recorded February 5, March 25 and 26, 1925
English Columbia L 1668 through 1670, three 78-rpm records
Link (FLAC files, 62.68 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 22.79 MB)

Sir Henry had a long recording career with Columbia, spanning from 1915 to 1934, before he moved to Decca in 1935.  For Decca he made recordings of Beethoven's Fifth, Vaughan Williams' London Symphony, and Elgar's Enigma Variations, and this one of Dvořák's Symphonic Variations:

Dvořák: Symphonic Variations, Op. 78 and
Handel-Wood: Sailors' Dance and Rigaudon
Queen's Hall Orchestra conducted by Sir Henry J. Wood
Recorded April 1 and 2, 1937
English Decca X 182 through 184, three 78-rpm records
Link (FLAC files, 58.16 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 24.41 MB)

Coming up next: recordings by Albert Coates, including his 1923 Beethoven Ninth!

Lennox Berkeley: Divertimento

Who nowadays remembers Lennox Berkeley (1903-1989)?  It seems to me he is in danger of being forgotten, although there is a Society that aims to prevent this.  I hope it succeeds, for he deserves better.  During his lifetime his music was championed by some quite eminent musicians, among them Dennis Brain, Julian Bream and Yehudi Menuhin.  Of the 20 or so works by Sir Lennox (he was knighted in 1974) that I have heard, perhaps my favorite is this charming neoclassical Divertimento, scored for a Haydn-sized orchestra, commissioned by the BBC in 1943 (the year the above photo was made) and dedicated to Nadia Boulanger; I'm especially fond of its last movement, a rondo, with its slithery main tune.  This is its first recording, and perhaps the first recording of any of his works.

Berkeley: Divertimento in B-Flat, Op. 18
London Chamber Orchestra conducted by Anthony Bernard
Recorded March 25, 1948
English Decca AK 1882-83, two 78-rpm records
Link (FLAC files, 37.62 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 18.1 MB)

This is another "reissue" of a recording I originally uploaded in 2007.

Happy Birthday, Ralph Vaughan Williams!

Today was Ralph Vaughan Williams' birthday (born October 12, 1872), and to acknowledge this, another "reissue" of uploads that I originally made in 2008, which was a Vaughan Williams anniversary year (he died 50 years prior).  This features Sir Malcolm Sargent conducting two works, the Overture to his incidental music for Aristophanes' "The Wasps," and "The Lark Ascending":

Vaughan Williams: The Wasps - Overture
Hallé Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent
Recorded July 3, 1942
Columbia Masterworks 71605-D, one 78-rpm record

and

Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending - Romance for Violin and Orchestra
David Wise with the Liverpool Philharmonic conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent
Recorded April 18, 1947
English Columbia DX 1386-87, two 78-rpm records

Link (FLAC files, 56.49 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 24.98 MB)

Sir Malcolm was knighted in the year that the second of these two Vaughan Williams recordings was made; before that, he was billed on labels as "Dr. Malcolm Sargent," as he is in this recording of a Schubert Overture (which is not a reissue but a new upload):

Schubert: Overture in the Italian Style, in C Major, D. 597
Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent
Recorded March 21, 1944
English Columbia DX 1157, one 78-rpm record
Link (FLAC file, 18.74 MB)
Link (MP3 file, 7.82 MB)

Martinů: Sinfonietta Giocosa

The Autumn 2011 issue of Classical Recordings Quarterly features an excellent article (the first of two) on recordings of works by the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959) made during his own lifetime.  As it happens, one of these première recordings, that of the Sinfonietta Giocosa, which for me is one of Martinů's most delightful scores, is one that I had transferred and uploaded back in 2007.  It features the work's dedicatee, pianist Germaine Leroux (pictured above, with the composer on the right and Leon Barzin, the conductor at the work's first performance in New York in 1942, on the left).  The piece is essentially a piano concerto, one of at least nine that Martinů wrote - there are, besides the Sinfonietta Giocosa, five numbered piano concertos, two concertinos (one for left hand), and a concerto for two pianos.

Martinů: Sinfonietta Giocosa, for piano and small orchestra (1940)
Germaine Leroux, pianist, with the
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jaroslav Krombholc
Recorded April 21 and 27, 1947
Supraphon G 14905-07, three 78-rpm records
Link (FLAC files, 62.88 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 30.27 MB)

My transfer is derived from a cassette copy that I made from the 78s in 2003, shortly before having to dispose of all the 78s I then owned for financial reasons.

Respighi's Ancient Airs and Dances

Here's another "reissue," of something I originally uploaded in 2007.  This is the first recording of Respighi's Second Suite of Ancient Airs and Dances (although minus the first movement), performed by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vincenzo Bellezza (1888-1964).  The labels credit the Royal Opera Orchestra, Covent Garden - where Bellezza certainly was active - but Philip Stuart's "LSO Discography" (which can be seen here) claims otherwise.  Another oddity about the labels is that they credit two harpsichordists - Messrs. Fornarini and Coop - even though they didn't play on two of the sides, including the one pictured above!

Respighi: Ancient Airs and Dances - Suite No. 2 (movements 2-4)
London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vincenzo Bellezza
Recorded June 20 and 24, 1930
HMV C 2345 and 2346, two 78-rpm records
Link (FLAC files, 40.27 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 16.54 MB)

The Incomparable Leon Goossens

I started this blog over a year ago with some oboe recordings (by Mitch Miller), so it seems fitting that I should return to posting uploads of vintage recordings by celebrating that supreme exponent of the instrument, Leon Goossens (1897-1988).  I present no less than eight concertos recorded by him between 1937 and 1950, three of which I have offered before (on RMCR, in 2007 - the concertos by Albinoni, Vivaldi, and Scarlatti-Bryan).  I have decided to offer these uploads in two batches, one containing Baroque oboe concertos, and the other containing 20th-century works, both original and arrangements:

Part One:
Albinoni: Concerto in D, Op. 7, No. 6
Handel: Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat
Marcello: Concerto in C minor (& Fiocco: Arioso)
Vivaldi: Concerto in D minor, Op. 8, No. 9 (& Albinoni: Allegro)
Link (FLAC files, 108.4 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 46.11 MB)

Part Two:
Cimarosa-Benjamin: Concerto (& Bach: Sinfonia from "Easter Oratorio")
Eugene Goossens: Concerto in One Movement, Op. 45
Scarlatti-Bryan: Concerto No. 1 in G (& Pierné: Aubade)
Richard Strauss: Concerto for oboe and small orchestra
Link (FLAC files, 160.97 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 70.48 MB)

The Cimarosa, Marcello and Strauss recordings have had quite a bit of currency over the years, the others perhaps somewhat less so.  The conductors include Eugene Goossens, Leon's eldest brother (in the Handel, the earliest of these recordings), Malcolm Sargent (in the Cimarosa), Alceo Galliera (in the Strauss), and Walter Susskind (in the rest).

Eugene Goossens is also heard as a conductor on the following two recordings of Baroque arrangements, which I originally uploaded in 2007:

Bach-Goossens: Suite in G (after French Suites Nos. 3 and 5)
London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Eugene Goossens
Recorded June 25, 1931
HMV C 2273, one 78-rpm record
Link (FLAC file, 23.32 MB)
Link (MP3 file, 9.58 MB)

Scarlatti-Tommasini: The Good-Humoured Ladies - Ballet Suite
London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Eugene Goossens
Recorded June 29, 1936
RCA Victor Red Seal set M-512, two 78 rpm-records
Link (FLAC file, 43.89 MB)
Link (MP3 file, 23.03 MB)

Finally, one of the earliest recordings billing Leon Goossens as a soloist - again, this is a "reissue," having been originally uploaded in 2008:

Mozart: Oboe Quartet in F, K. 370
and
Bach: Sinfonia to Cantata No. 156
Leon Goossens, oboe, and the Spencer Dyke String Quartet
Recorded in May, 1925 by English Parlophone
National Gramophonic Society Q, R, S, three 10-inch 78-rpm records
Link (FLAC files, 44.53 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 15.79 MB)

FLAC Update

Well, I've done it - I've managed to get all my old posts updated with new links to FLAC files of my uploads.  In a few cases (mostly those for which I wanted to add text or picture files to the ZIPped folders), I've re-uploaded the original MP3 files, too, and provided new links for those.  In at least one case (the Khatchaturian Masquerade Suite under Arthur Fiedler) I've added a cover scan which I wasn't able to do earlier.

I still have about 50 or 60 files on my Mediafire account containing uploads that I posted to RMCR (rec.music.classical.recordings) prior to establishing this blog, and my next project will be to upgrade these to FLAC files.  Stay tuned!