© ERNST A. LUMPE (reproduced by permission
of the author)
Pseudonymous Performers on Early LP Records: An Update
ARSC Journal, Vol. 27, No. 1
The author presents the results of his continuing research in the field of
pseudonymously published recordings on various labels of the "Record Corporation
of America". An overview of some facts about the nature of this company's
business and sources preceeds a list of definite identifications, followed by
items of probable identification still open to discussion.
When the author had his original article published in
the ARSC Journal, in which he attempted to shed light on the intriguing
matter of pseudonymous performers on early American LP records, he met with
considerable response from fellow-collectors, who shared with him information
and views, supplying additional material and support. After four more years of
collecting and evaluating recordings of this kind the author would like to
present the results in the form of an updated list of identified performances,
nearly all issued under fake names by the Record Corporation of America ("RCA")
on their labels Royale, Gramophone, Varsity, Allegro/Elite, Halo and Concertone.
Each of the identified items is listed in detail and with additional comments
where necessary. Research in the last few years has brought to light more facts
and this has also resulted in the need to correct some information published in
the earlier article. Some basic facets of this business
were described in the aforementioned and additional information on this
topic forms the first part of this update.
Remarks on the Business
The "LP era" started with Columbia's first records of this kind, and a market
for classical and other recordings in the new format was soon realised. Apart
from the large and financially powerful companies, there were smaller ones which
aimed to supply the music-loving public with affordable long play records
generally not sold in established record stores. These companies often employed
a less careful method of production, resulting in poorish technical quality in
most of the cases. Hence, their reputation was never great enough to arouse the
interest of serious music reviewers and their musical value largely went
unnoticed. Judging from the variety and volume of their catalogue, "RCA"
apparently was one of the major players in this segment of the record business,
issuing material of general interest but doubtful origin.
It seems that from the beginning speculation about the source of these
recordings circulated. It was an episode in 1954, when an LP set with Wagner's
complete Ring was published on the Allegro/Elite label (3125-3143), naming an
altogether unknown cast, that attention was focused on these recordings. In
April of that year, it became known that this 19-record-set had been pressed
from amateur tapes of a live performance in Bayreuth in 1953 and broadcast in
Germany that year. One of the singers, Regina Resnik, sued the owner of "Record
Corporation of America", Eli Oberstein ("Obie"), for having unlawfully used
tapes on which her voice was clearly to be heard. Other
singers' voices from that Bayreuth performance, such as Ramon Vinay, Hans
Hotter, et al., could also be identified. The set was immediately withdrawn
from the market. In defending himself against the reproach of having consciously
used unlicensed material, Oberstein disclosed an unidentified "Berlin source"
from which material worth over $700,000(!!) had been purchased during the
preceeding three years. None of this had ever been disputed, it was asserted.
This seems to be the only time a source has been mentioned publicly. Research
proves the information to be correct as far as the location is concerned. But it
was not the complete truth. Oberstein also had other "sources" of a great
variety at his disposal. With few exceptions, however, they had one thing in
common: they were gathered in Germany and had been able to supply "RCA" with
recordings made originally by commercial companies, or by German Radio during
the war and in post-war times. A few times it also occured that
Oberstein's "source" had supplied him with what was a broadcast of, or
probably even a dub from, regular commercial recordings by major recording
companies - the English Decca and the Deutsche Grammophon, in these instances.
In this respect, the dealings of the American record company Mercury are of
interest. Early in 1950 this company signed a contract with
Herbert Rosen who was the American representative of the Bayerischer Werbefunk,
the commercial branch of post-war Bavarian Radio in Munich. Rosen offered
material for issue on LPs, recorded by this radio station during the preceeding
five years. Collectors of early Mercury discs of the MG 10000 etc., series will
know that a lot of records in the classical repertoire were issued by that
company, in most cases offering performances under conductors with only limited
exposure to the American public. David Hall recalls that
Mercury received tapes from Rosen, which were on German hubs and had to be
transferred to American hubs before the mastering could be started. From
this he concludes that, indeed, the original German tapes or first generation
copies had been in Rosen's hands. This is of interest insofar as these tapes
were returned to Rosen, but probably never found their way back into the
archives of Bavarian Radio - with one exception: the
complete recording of Wagner's The Flying Dutchman under Clemens Krauss. The
entire stock of licensed material contained wartime as well as post-war
recordings, the whereabouts of which remain an unsolved mystery. What makes this
official deal so interesting vis-a-vis Oberstein's business, is the fact that
parts of these Bavarian recordings had been used for various of his own
pseudonymous issues. The question whether Rosen may have
offered these tapes to Oberstein for a second, "secret" issue, must remain open.
An illegal use of dubs from some Mercury pressings of Oberstein's records may
also have been a possibility. But then, it is also a fact that on some of his
records he did not use the Bavarian material, although it would easily have been
at hand, either as an original tape from Rosen or as a release on Mercury. Two
such examples are Mozart's "Little Night Music" (Royale 1275) and Wagner's
"Siegfried-Idyll" (Royale 1362). However strange these proceedings may have
been, it is clear that Oberstein was drawing on more sources than he had
admitted to in the 1954 lawsuit, at a time when already more than 250 Royale
discs had been issued, not to mention the many Varsity and Gramophone releases.
Three more of his "sources" were recordings of the German broadcast companies of
NWDR Cologne, SWF BadenBaden and NWDR Hamburg, material which was issued on the
later Allegro/Elite series, deriving from airchecks with all probability. A
fourth source was Soviet Russian 78s or LPs. Some part of the material supplied
by the "Berlin source" apparently came from the archives of East German Radio, a
station which also held a lot of German war-time tape recordings, apart from
their own productions made after the war years. Finally, every now and then dubs
were used from old German Telefunken shellacs. It was
during Oberstein's earlier venture as the "U.S.Record Corporation" that he could
also rely on Telefunken matrices obtained through Czechoslovakia (Ultraphon).
A couple of these recordings had been released ca. 1938/39
on Royale's 78 format with the correct names of orchestras and conductors, but
even during these times records existed which named the infamous "National Opera
Orchestra" under Leo Blech, when in fact the Berlin Philharmonic was playing.
It is unknown to the author what events or reasons may have caused the
suppressing of the original orchestra's name while leaving the real conductor's
name unchanged. Political considerations, though, may be taken into account.
The Author's Method
A few words about the author's method of evaluation and identification may be
appropriate:
1) The author justifiably can rely on the names of conductors and soloists from
material released by the Mercury and Urania companies, as well as on the fact
that these persons and orchestras actually performed the works issued under
their names. These persons were or still are well-known in Germany. Beyond the
shadow of a doubt, material by them existed in the archives of Bavarian Radio
and/or still exists to a certain extent in the archives of the former East
German Radio. In addition, there is sufficient documentation on not so
well-known musicians of those years at hand in radio journals from that time, as
well as in music dictionaries. This applies also to the material from other
German radio sources.
2) Every possible effort has been made to obtain surviving original recordings,
commercial and from radio productions, to which the pseudonymous issues have
been compared in detail. There are, however, items of which the original tapes
apparently no longer exist. The identification of such items cannot therefore be
considered as 100% accurate. However, sufficient evidence will be offered as to
their probable identity through what was traced as an at-one-time existing
recording or performance, and/or through certain characteristic features of the
recording. Items of this kind are listed in
a separate paragraph at the end of this update.
3) The corrections made to the author's earlier article,
are commented upon in a separate section. Additional information which
surfaced during the last four years, confirming and supplementing the author's
previous identifications, has also been included in this section. 4) On a
technical note, the proof of the complete identity of a pseudonymous performance
to any extant and reliably identified original recording has been worked out
according to the following: the pseudonymous release has been dubbed on a
cassette; the original recording, likely to be identical to the pseudonymous
one, has been put on a turntable or played from another tape recorder; sound
from the turntable or tape recorder is heard from the loudspeakers; sound from
the tape deck with the pseudonymous performance (equipped with a variable pitch
control) is heard from one side of the earphones. Starting both recordings at
the same time, it is possible to begin with the comparison and to adjust a
possible pitch difference. With this method it can be determined whether both
recordings are identical or not. In the author's opinion there is no other way
of comparing or evaluating two recordings reliably. With any other method one
will be too easily exposed to errors.
The Records
Following is the updated list of identified recordings released on the various
labels of "RCA". The sequence starts with Royale (later
Allegro/Royale) as their earliest label, issued from 1951 onwards, followed
by Varsity, Gramophone,
Allegro/Elite, Concertone and Halo.
This last label's sleeves bear the copyright year of 1957, probably the "latest
blossom" of this company's output before they embarked on their Rondo and
Rondo-lette labels which used altogether different material. The remark (sic) is
used when the year of copyright printed on the sleeve is not in accordance with
the year(s) generally to be found on that particular label's sleeves.
1. Section of Identified Performances
A) Royale
Royale 1226: Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 (1951) "Rome
Symphony Orchestra/Angelo Questa" This item from Royale's catalogue exists in
two different issues. The original from 1951 contains a hitherto unidentified
performance which, in addition, misses the last slow movement. Perhaps someone
thought the symphony to be over after the fast March movement. The later issue,
bearing the old Royale label with the old matrix numbers on it, has later matrix
numbers (8066A/B) on the record itself. The release showing these later numbers
is the performance played by the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra under Odd
Gruner-Hegge, an item which was also issued under the correct names on "RCA's"
Allegro/Ultraphonic label (1666). This is one of the cases where "RCA" re-used
material for their pseudonymous series which had been legally acquired and
correctly issued in their "full price" series sometime around 1956. The reason
for issuing a pseudonymous version seems to have been the incompleteness of the
original 1951 issue which thus could be "repaired". The front sleeves of these
different releases under the same number are differently designed, though the
later issue kept the liner notes and also the 1951 copyright mark on the reverse
side.
Royale 1260: Rimsky-Korsakoff Sheherazade (1952)
-Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Karl List" This record contains the performance of
the Symphony Orchestra of Radio Berlin (which was the orchestra of East German
Radio) under Karl Rucht. This recording was issued by Urania on UR-RS 7-19 and
URLP 7133 under the correct names of orchestra and conductor. This item marks
the beginning of Royale's use of material which also appeared on Urania records,
unless further research proves otherwise.
Royale 1261: Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 op.23
(1952) "Maria Huttner, piano/Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Joseph Balzer" This
recording is identical to the one released by Urania on UR-RS 7-2. The pianist
is the Dutch Alex de Vries, the conductor is Artur Rother, and the orchestra is
the Symphony Orchestra of Radio Berlin.
Royale 1266: Strauss, Johann The Gypsy Baron
("complete arias") (1952) "Dresden State Opera Soloists, Orchestra and
Chorus/Gerd Rubahn" on of The original recording for this release comes from
quite the opposite region of Germany! it is identical to the December 1949
production of WDR Cologne. The "complete arias", as Royale labels their excerpts
of this Gypsy Baron, are sung by Karl Schmitt-Walter, Willy Schneider, Peter
Anders, Sena Jurinac, Marianne Schroder and Georg Hann. The Cologne Radio Chorus
and the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra are conducted by Franz Marszalek. This
production is still in the archives of WDR Cologne and has been published during
the last years on both the LP and CD format.
Royale 1269-71: Offenbach The
Tales of Hofmann (1952)
Royale 1272: The Heart of the Piano Concerto (1952)
This compilation of movements from four piano concertos contitutes one of
Royale's frequent re-releasess of material already issued in complete form on
other records. The disc contains truncated versions of the first movements of
the piano concertos No. 1 by Chopin, No. 1 by Tchaikowsky, the Grieg A Minor and
a complete first movement of Mendelssohn's piano concerto No.l. The movement
from Grieg is identical to the Wuhrer recording from Vienna, issued on Royale
1264 (see the author's earlier article)
and the movement from Tchaikovsky is identical to the de Vries version on
Royale 1261, described above.
Royale 1284: Strauss, Johann Die Fledermaus ("complete
score") (1952) "Inge camphausen, soprano/Wilhelm Horst, tenor/Erna Maria Romer,
contralto/Gerhard Ramms, baritone/Chorus and Orchestra/Karl List" This is the
NDR Hamburg production from 1950 with theHamburg Radio Orchestra and Chorus
under Wilhelm Schuchter. , The "Complete score" however, is not identical to a
"complete performance" - The singers to be heard are Rita Streich, Sena Jurinac,
Horst Giinter, Hans-Herbert Fiedler and Rupert Glawitsch- The original tape is
still in the NDR Hamburg archives.
Royale 1290-93: Bach st.Matthew Passion (1952) "Inge
Camphausen, soprano/Maria Haentschel, contralto/Gerhard Viguhr, tenor/Nicolaus
Herfeld, baritone/Berline Cathedral Choir/Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Joseph
Balzer" This recording is identical to the version published on Vox DLP 6070;
the soloists are Elfriede Trotschel, Diana Eustrati, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,
Helmut Krebs and Friedrich Hartel. Sylvia Kind plays the harpsichord and Paul
Hoffmann the organ. The Boys Choir of St.Hedwig's Cathedral and the Chorus and
Symphony Orchestra of Radio Berlin are conducted by Fritz Lehmann in this live
recording from 1949.
Royale 1306: Beethoven Piano Concerto No.5 op. 73
'Emperor" (1952) "Maria Huttner, piano/Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Joseph Balzer"
In its incarnation on Varsity 2056, this
performance has been identified already in the earlier article, the pianist
being Wilhelm Backhaus with orchestra and conductor of uncertain identities. The
author reported about repaired "drop-outs" on that record and thought it to be a
studio recording. On this Royale issue, however, the nature of these "drop-outs"
became clear: somebody at "RCA" apparently felt the need to edit prominent
coughs when the tape was used again for the Varsity release where the less
prominent audience noise had drowned in the crackly surface of the pressing and
so could easily escape the listeners attention. So, here
as well as on the Varsity record, we have indeed the same live performance with
Wilhelm Backhaus, an original tape of which no longer exists in the archives of
Germany's radio stations.
Royale 1311: Smetana Die Moldau (1952) Hindemith Der
Schwanendreher "Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Karl List" (no viola soloist named)
The Hindemith could not be identified, but Smetana's symphonic poem is a real
find! It is the German war-time radio studio recording with the Berlin
Philharmonic Orchestra under Clemens Krauss, recorded in Berlin on November 24,
1944. This performance was issued also on Allegro/Elite and Concertone (see
below). As far as the author could find out, this performance has not been
issued under the proper names of orchestra and conductor since. The tape is
still in the former East German Radio archives.
Royale 1350-51: Mascagni Cavalleria Rusticana
("excerpts") (1952) "Horst Wilhelm, tenor/Berlin Opera Orchestra and Choir/Gerd
Rubahn" Leoncavllo Pagliacci ("excerpts") "Inge Camphausen, soprano/Horst
Wilhelm, tenor/Herta Schenck, alto/Gerhard Ramms, baritone/Berlin Opera
Orchestra and Choir/Gerd Rubahn" There is the introduction to the opera with
Turridu's first aria, the chorus of the peasants, the famous Intermezza and
Turridu's "Goodbye, Mother" on side 1 of Royale 1350. This latter aria, using
the concert ending, is therefore not an excerpt from a complete performance of
the opera. The first Turridu is Anton Dermota, the second is Rudolf Schock.
The provenance of both of these recordings is unknown yet, but German post-war
radio productions are likely.
Side 2 of this record and both sides of Royale 1351 contain, contrary to being
labelled as "excerpts", an almost complete studio recording of Leoncavallo's
Pagliacci, sung in German. This recording could be identified as the 1949 NWDR
Hamburg radio studio recording of the work with the NWDR Symphony Orchestra and
Chorus conducted by Wilhelm Schuchter. The singers are Margot Guilleaume as
Nedda, Willi Flinter as Canio, Rudolf Gonszar as Tonio, Walter Geisler as Beppo
and Joseph Olah as Silvio. Frau Guilleaume kindly evaluated the performance, the
original tape of which is no longer in the NDR Hamburg archives.
Royale 1356: Haydn Symphony No. 101 D majior "The
Clock" (1952) "Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Joseph Balzer" This recording is
identical to the version published on Mercury MG 15018. As far as this research
has developed, this is the first time when "RCA" used Mercury material from the
Bavarian Radio archives. The performance is played by the Munich Philharmonic
Orchestra under Georg Reinwald.
Royale 1357: An Hour with Tchaikovsky (no year
available) "Rome Symphony Orchestra/Dr.Felix Guenther" Another of Royale's
mixture of items from works and performances released earlier in their
catalogue. The first movement from the B Flat Minor piano concerto on this
record is identical to the de Vries version (see above). For the identification
of the last movement of the violin concerto on this disc
see below the section of Probable Identifications.
Royale 1358: Schumann Piano Concerto op.54 (1952)
"Carlo Vidusso, piano/Rome Symphony Orchestra/Dr.Felix Guenther" Another "trip
to Rome" in Royale's catalogue, naming two existing artists. This performance is
identical to the one issued by Mercury on MG 15020. The pianist is Rosl Schmid,
a pupil of Teichmuller and professor at the Munich Academy of Music since 1948,
accompanied by the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra under Josef Keilberth.
Royale 1361: Schumann Symphony No.2 op.61 (1952)
"Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Herbert Guthan" Identical to the performance issued
on Mercury MG 10082, the orchestra and conductor being the Munich Philharmonic
and Eugen Papst.
Royale 1365: Mozart Symphony No.35 K.385 "Haffner"
(1952) Symphony No.36 K425 "Linz" 'Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Joseph Balzer" Both
recordings are identical to the versions published on Mercury MG 10057 where the
Bamberg Symphony Orchestra plays under the direction of Robert Heger.
Royale 1366: Schumann Symphony No.3 op.97 "Rhenish"
(1952) "Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Herbert Guthan" Again from the "Bavarian
source", the Munich Philharmonic plays under Rudolf Albert (who later changed
the spelling of his second name to Alberth). This performance was released by
Mercury on MG 15034.
Royale 1379: Mozart Piano Concerto No. 12 K 414 (1952)
"Arthur Sanford, piano/Rome Symphony Orchestra/Dr.Felix Guenther"
Two-Piano-Concerto K365 "Carlo Vidusso & Arthur Sanford, pianos/Rome Symphony
Orchestra/Dr.Felix Guenther" These performances are both identical to Mercury MG
10007, the K.414 is played by
Margret Knittel and accompanied by the Bavarian Radio
Symphony Orchestra under Rudolf Albert. The double concerto is performed by
Hans Altmann and Heinz Schroter and the same orchestra, without a conductor it
seems.
Royale 1380: Beethoven Overtures (1952) "Berlin
Symphony Orchestra/Leopold Ludwig" A more famous conductor at last! Two of the
four overtures, however, could again be identified as material from Bavarian
Radio. The Egmont Overture and the Overture "Namensfeier" are both conducted by
Robert Heger and the Munich Philharmonic, as issued on Mercury MG 15002 and MG
10055, respectively. The rarely heard Leonore No. 1 and the Leonore No. 2 on
this disc are still a mystery.
Royale 1388: Liszt Mephisto Waltz/Mazeppal Tasso
(1952) "Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Joseph Balzer" Only the symphonic poem Tasso
on this record could be traced. It is identical to the version on Mercury MG
10083 where it is played by the Munich Philharmonic under Adolf Mennerich. (Both
the Mephisto Waltz and Mazeppa seem to have an acoustic ambience similar to
Tasso, so these two performances may also be material from Munich, though the
Mephisto Waltz issued on Mercury MG 10080 is different from the version on this
record.)
Royale 1390-92: Mussorgsky Boris Godunov (complete
opera) (1952) One of the rare instances when "RCA" issued a work with full
credit to the artists who were involved - on this occasion, perhaps, because no
charges from the artists or rather the Soviet authorities were to be expected.
So, apart from "Chorus and Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre under Nicolai
Golovanov", the complete cast of singers is printed on the front of this boxed
set. A comparison to the original USSR release reveals that indeed all is on the
Royale discs that is on their Soviet precursors, except that Royale manages to
condense the whole opera on three LPs instead of the four of the original Soviet
release. The performance was also issued on Gramophone (see below).
Royale 1397: Beethoven Jena Symphony in C (1952)
"Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Joseph Balzer" Beethoven Piano Concerto No.2 op. 19
"Gerhard Stein, piano/Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Joseph Balzer" The performers of
the Jena Symphony have been identified already (see earlier article). The Piano
Concerto No.2 is identical to the performance on Mercury MG 15013 with Heinz
Schroter as pianist and the Bavarian Radio Orchestra under Hans Altmann.
Royale 1406: Mozart Symphonies No.26 K 108 / No. 30
K.220 / Piano Concerto No. 1 7 K.453 (1953) "Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Herbert
Guthan" (no piano soloist named) The symphonies could not be identified so far,
but the Piano Concerto is an "old friend" from the catalogue of the original
Allegro company which went over to "RCA" after becoming bankrupt. Leonid Hambro
is the pianist. The Oklahoma City Symphony Orchestra plays under Victor
Alessandro.
Royale 1424: Liszt Hungarian & Rumanian Rhapsodies
(1953) "Harry Reims, pianist with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra conducted by
Gerd Rubahn" None of the Liszt items have been identified, but another Clemens
Krauss performance comes to light here: Enescu's Rumanian Rhapsody No. 1 which
neither figures under its proper title and composer on the sleeve nor on the
labels. This is a rather careless editing of the three 78s sides of Clemens
Krauss' 1950 recording with the VPO for Telefunken (E 3836/3837, with a movement
from a Respighi suite on side 4, recorded in August 1950). This performance was
again is issued various times on other "RCA" Iabels (see below).
Royale 1430: Weber Der Freischiitz (arias) (no year
available) "Inge Camphausen, soprano/Ernst Nachtigall, tenor/Gerhard Ramms,
baritone/Choir and Orchestra of the Dresden State Opera/Fritz Schreiber" This
record gathers excerpts from all three acts of Weber's famous opera. The
original source is either a broadcast of or a dub from the original Decca LP set
(LXT 2597-99) of the complete work with Hans Hopf, Maud Cunitz, Emmi Loose, Otto
Edelmann et al. the Vienna Philharmonic Choir and the Vienna Philharmonic
Orchestra conducted by Otto Ackermann.
Royale 1434: Brahms 16 Hungarian Dances (1953) "Berlin
Symphony Orchestra/Gerd Rubahn" A pseudonymous reissue of the old Allegro
recording with the Oklahoma City Symphony Orchestra under Victor Alessandro.
Apparently the old pressing stampers have been used for this issue, the record
showing the old matrix numbers ALG 102 A/B. There is also a later issue with
hand-written matrix numbers 1434 A/B which again uses the Alessandro recording.
Similar to other cases of this kind, "RCA" smartly presents the material as
being "recorded in Europe".
Royale 1487: Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 op. 30
(1954) "Harry Reims, piano/Dresden State Symphony Orchestra/Fritz Schreiber" The
credit for having identified this recording goes to ARSC member Scott K.Colebank
who kindly supplied the author with a tape. Indeed, this is a pirated dub of
Moura Lympany's May 1952 Decca recording of the work with the New Symphony
Orchestra under Anthony Collins. Apparently Decca never became aware of the
illegal use of one of their recordings, otherwise Oberstein might have faced
another lawsuit that same year when he was confronted with Miss Resnik's $50,000
claim.
Allegro/Royale 1527: Puccini Gianni Schicchi
("complete opera") (1954) "Berlin State Opera Soloists, Choir and
Orchestra/Joseph Balzer" Indeed this performance is sung in German, so a Berlin
State Opera performance might have been a possible source for it. But not so!
From beginning to end it is yet another radio studio production from Cologne,
made in November 1949. WDR Cologne still holds the tape. The performers are Hans
Reinmar, Helmi Rau, Res Fischer, Albert Weikenmeier, Karl Schiebener, Else
Veith, Ekkehart Schirp, Willy Schonenweiss, Wilhelm Schirp, Walter Schonfeld,
Ingeborg Lasser, Robert Blasius, Alexander Schoedler, Anton Germann and Wilhelm
Kirsch. The Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra plays under Richard Kraus.
Royale 18137: Saint-Saens Carnival of the Animals
(1956) 'The Philharmonia Orchestra" (no soloists and conductor named) The
prestigious London orchestra on Royale? Certainly not, but Oberstein surely
chose the name on purpose and even had some reasonable grounds to do so. The
per- formance on this disc came from the Hamburg-based recording business of one
Paul Lazare from NYC. who had come over to Germany. Lazare's low-budget products
became known in the U.S. through the items he was able to sell to MGM for their
E3000 etc., series. Lazare chose to name the musicians who worked for him in
Hamburg, the "Philharmonia Orchestra of Hamburg", hence Oberstein's
"Philharmonia Orchestra". This recording of the Carnival of the Animals was
played by this group which was initially the "Hamburg Chamber Orchestra" under
the baton of its founder (and one of Lazare's "house conductors"), Hans-Jurgen
Walther (another one was Arthur Winograd = Arthur Weinberg).
The piano parts were played by Lazare's daughter Sondra Bianca and a student of
the Hamburg Music Academy, Gerhard Arnoldi.
Royale 18163: Grieg Piano Concerto (1956) "Lou
Shankson, piano with the Philharmonia Orchestra" (no conductor named) "Lou"
gives a good performance of this well-known piece and gets idiomatic support
from the "Philharmonia" on this 10-inch disc. Robert Riefling, the Oslo
Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Odd Griiner-Hegge are the real artists.
Another example for material also issued under the proper names on
Allegro/Ultraphonic 1612, on all accounts licensed from the Norwegian Tono
recording company.
Royale EP 243: Lehar The Land of Smiles (no year
available) 'The State Opera Singers and Orchestra/Gerd Rubahn" This 7-inch
record presents two excerpts from this operetta, one sung by Erna Dietrich, the
other by Peter Anders. The recordings are from the 1950 WDR Cologne radio studio
production with the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra under Franz Marszalek.
Varsity LP 28: Mozart Eine kleine Nachtmusik (no
year available) "Mozart Symphony Society Orchestra" (no conductor named)
Beethoven: Egmont overture
"Radio Symphony Orchestra" (no conductor named) Mozart's Serenade here is a dub
from Telefunken E 1669-70 shellacs, Erich Kleiber conducts the Berlin
Philharmonic Orchestra in this ca. 1934 recording. The manufacturer of this
10-inch record is the Wright Record Co., Meriden, Connecticut. The sequence of
movements 1 and 2 are reversed, so the Serenade starts with the Romance. The
Egmont Overture, clearly another dub from 78s, is unidentified. It may be the
Telefunken recording with Kleiber and the BPO (E 961), the original record of
which was not at hand for a comparison.
Varsity 2021: Famous overture, (1952) "National Opera
Orchestra" (no conductor named) This record contains dubs from shellac
recordings, two of which could be identified. Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture is the
performance with Willem Mengelberg and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, a
Telefunken recording (SK 3080/3081) from March 1940. The Hebrides by Mendelssohn
is from another Telefunken disc (E 1090) with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
under Leo Blech, recorded around 1931/1932.
Varsity 2036: Mozart Piano Concerto No. 12 K.414
(1952) "Eric Silver with the Varsity Symphony Orchestra" (no conductor named)
This is again the performance with Margret Knittel and the Bavarian Radio
Symphony Orchestra under Hans Altmann, as described above under Royale 1379.
Varsity 6925: Tchaikovsky Overture 1812ICapriccio
Italien (no year available) "National Opera Orchestra" (no conductor named)
Again the Mengelberg recording of the 1812 on Telefunken
has been used here. The recording of the Capriccio remains unidentified so
far. Interesting is that the music lover is informed on sleeve and labels that
he will get "Pt. 1-2-3 & 4" of the overture and 'Pt. 1,2 & 3" of the Capriccio,
a further clue to the use of four and three shellac sides, respectively. The
three sides for Tchaikovsky's opus 45 which actually constitute this dubbing,
may point to a 78s recording which indeed presents the work on three sides only.
It is a Polydor recording with the Berlin State Opera Orchestra under Alois
Melichar which, however, was not at hand for a comparison.
Varsity 6967: Ballet Music (no year available)
"National Opera Orchestra" (no conductor named) The record contains exerpts from
Rimsky's Sheherazade and the first movement of Delibes' Sylvia, the front sleeve
shows a drawn portrait of Edvard Grieg, for reasons unknown to this author. The
Rimsky excerpt, the fourth movement of Sheherazade, is again the version with
Karl Rucht and the Symphony Orchestra of Radio Berlin (see above Royale 1260)
Varsity 6979: Strauss, Johann Die Fledermaus
("arias") (no year available) 'The Varsity Opera Company" (no conductor named)
This record contains excerpts from those excerpts issued on
Royale 1284 (see above).
Varsity 6991: Herbert, Victor Operetta Gems (no year
available) "Varsity Singers & Orchestra" (no conductor named) Only side 1
(matrix 6991A) of the record contains Herbert items (two instrumentals and one
song, most likely to be of American vintage), unidentified so far. Not announced
on the sleeve, side 2 (matrix 6123A) offers extended excerpts from Lehar's
operetta The Land of Smiles, two of which have been issued on
Royale EP 243 (see above for details).
Varsity 69106: Brahms 10 Hungarian Dances (no year
available) "National Opera Orchestra" (no conductor named) Once more the
original Allegro recording with Victor Alessandro and the Oklahoma City Symphony
has been used here and again "recorded in Europe", naturally!
Gramophone 2021: Famous Overtures (1953) "National
Opera Orchestra" (no conductor named) The inspected copy of this record contains
a Varsity pressing in a Gramophone sleeve.
For identification of the contents see Varsity 2021
above.
Gramophone 2036: Mozart Piano Concerto No. 12
Y,414 (1953) "Eric Silver at the piano with The Varsity Symphony Orchestra" (no
conductor named) Again a Varsity pressing in a Gramophone sleeve. For
identification see Varsity 2036 above.
Gramophone 2037: Bach Mass in B minor / St.Matthew
Passion ('excerpts") (1953) "Varsity Chorale Ensemble" (no additional
information given) The excerpts from the Mass in B Minor are unidentified. The
portions from the St.Matthew Passion are identical to the live 1949 performance
captured on Vox DLP 6070 and issued completely on Royale 1290-93 (see above).
Again, the inspected Varsity pressing is wrapped in a Gramophone sleeve.
Gramophone 2050: Rimsky-Korsakoff Sheherazade
(1954)(sic) "National Opera Orchestra" (no conductor named) The performance is
the one with the Symphony Orchestra of Radio Berlin under Karl Rucht, as issued
on Urania with the proper names and earlier on Royale
1260 (see above).
Gramophone 2058: Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
op.35 (1953) "National Opera Orchestra" (no soloist and conductor named) This
Gramophone issue contains the performance with David Oistrakh and the Moscow
State Philharmonic Orchestra under Kyril Kondrashin, providing that the record
shows the Allegro/Ultraphonic matrix numbers 1640 A/B. This release has
apparently been dubbed from the original USSR issue on CCCP 0651-0666 shellacs.
For another Gramophone issue of this work,
showing different matrix numbers, see section of Probable Identifications below.
Gramophone 2065: Grieg Piano Concerto (1956)(sic)
"Eric Silver with the Varsity Symphony Orchestra" (no conductor named) The
performance with Robert Riefling and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra under Odd
Gruner-Hegge, as issued also on Allegro/Ultraphonic 1612. The record shows the
matrix numbers 1612 A/B.
Gramophone 2087: Grieg Peer Gynt Suite No.2 (1954)
Smetana Die Moldau "National Opera Orchestra" (no conductor named)
Again the performance of Die Moldau with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under
Clemens Krauss from 1944 (see Royale 1311 and
Allegro/Elite 3081)
Gramophone 2097: Mozart Eine kleine Nachtmusik
(1954)
Strauss Till Eulenspiegel "National Opera Orchestra" (no conductor named)
The Till Eulenspiegel is identical to the live 1943 performance of the
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Wilhelm Furtwiingler, as issued already
earlier on Royale 1259 and 1370 (see earlier
article).
Gramophone 20130-31: Beethoven Fidelio
('excerpts") (no year available) Leonore Overtures Nos. 1 & 2 "National Opera
Singers and Orchestra" (no conductor named)
This set contains the overture and some scenes from Fidelio on three sides. The
Leonore Overtures on side 4, issued also on other "RCA" records, remain
unidentified. The Fidelio is the 1948 NWDR Hamburg radio studio production with
the NDR Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, the singers
are Peter Anders (Florestan), Walburga Weber (Leonore), Siegmund Roth (Rocco),
Alfred Pfeifle (Jacquino), Margot Guilleaume (Marzelline), Alexander Welitsch
(Don Pizarro), Rupert Glawitsch (lst prisoner), Ernst Max Luhr (2nd prisoner)
and Theodor Schlott (Don Fernando). Only few parts from this recording are still
in the NDR Hamburg archives and have been released on an Acanta LP (BB 23.311).
So many different portions from the 1948 production have been preserved on this
pseudonymous release, among these the famous quartet "Mir ist so wunderbar" and
the complete finale of the second act. In this respect
the Gramophone issue is a real find as it preserves parts which otherwise would
be lost forever.
Gramophone 20132-34: Mussorgsky Boris Godunov
(complete opera) (1954) "National Opera Singers and Orchestra" (no conductor
named) The Golovanov performance, here issued again without giving credit to the
artists (see above Royale 1390-92). The records show the earlier Royale matrix
numbers, slightly crossed out and substituted by hand-written figures from 20132
A/B to 20134 A/B.
Gramophone 20167-70: Bach St. Matthew Passion
(no year available) "The Cathedral Choir and Symphony Orchestra" (no soloists
and conductor named) Identical to the Royale 1290-93
release of this work (see above). Original stamped Royale matrix numbers
have been crossed out and substituted by hand-written old Royale and new
Gramophone matrix numbers, most of these in reflected face (!).
Allegro/Elite 3071: Dvorak Symphony No.5
op.95 "New World" (1952) "The Symphony Orchestra of Olympia/Antero Saike" With
maestro Saike "RCA" added another major force to its roster of unknown and
invented celebrities. The recording of this New World, however, is again the
German war-time radio studio production from 1944 with the Munich Philharmonic
Orchestra under Oswald Kabasta. Compared to the earlier incarnation of this
performance on Royale 1257, the pressing of this Allegro disc gives a far better
account of the sonic qualities of the tape masters "RCA" was able to use.
Allegro/Elite 3081: Smetana Die Moldau / Aus
Bohmens Hain und Flur (1953) Overture The Bartered Bride "The Philharmonic
Orchestra/Joseph Berendt" Clemens Krauss and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
in their November 1944 radio studio performance are again responsible for Die
Moldau; the other two items are unidentified so far. The pressing and hence the
sound here supersedes the earlier Royale 1311 incarnation.
Allegro/Elite 3086: Wagner Das Rheingold
("arias") (1951)(sic) "Hermine Lux, soprano/Felix Meesen, baritone/Gerhard
Ramms, bass/Choir and Orchestra of the Dresden State Opera/Fritz Schreiber"
These "arias" from Rheingold are taken from the 1952 NDR Hamburg studio
production of the work, conducted by Wilhelm Schuchter with Ferdinand Frantz,
Josef Metternich, Rudolf Schock, Wolfgang Windgassen, Res Fischer, Lore
Hoffmann, Gustav Neidlinger and the NDR Symphony Orchestra. Gramophone 20139,
listed in the author's 1990 article, contains the same excerpts from the same
performance.
Allegro/Elite 3090: Mozart Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail ("arias") (no year
available) "Inge Camphausen, soprano/Irmgard Mehler, contralto/Wilhelm Horst,
tenor/Gerhard Ramms, baritone/Choir and Orchestra of the Dresden State
Opera/Fritz Schreiber" Hamburg is again the source for the excerpts on this
record. The 1946 NDR radio studio production involved Erna Berger, Walther
Ludwig, Martina Wulf, Alfred Pfeifle and Theo Herrmann. The NDR Symphony
Orchestra was conducted by Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt.
Allegro/Elite 3095: Wagner Parsifal
("excerpts") (1953) 'Hans Neumeyer, tenor/Felix Meesen, baritone/Gerhard Ramms,
bass/Choir and Orchestra of the Dresden State Opera/Fritz Schreiber" Had the
singers from the 1951 or 1952 Bayreuth productions of Parsifal been as attentive
to this record as has been Miss Resnik to the Allegro Ring, Oberstein might have
been confronted with even another lawsuit. The excerpts (Prelude to Act 1 and
final portion from Act 3) come from a performance of that year or the next. The
conductor is Hans Knappertsbusch. The singers' voices can be clearly identified
as those of Wolfgang Windgassen (Parsifal), Ludwig Weber (Gurnemanz) and George
London (Amfortas). The material issued on this record definitely comes from a
taped broadcast. The excerpts are not identical to the version from June 30,
1951, issued on Decca LPs and on Teldec CDs.
Allegro/Elite 3098: Tchaikovsky Eugen Onegin
("opera arias") (1953) "Inge Camphausen, soprano/Irmgard Mehler,
contralto/Wilhelm Horst, tenor/Gerhard Ramms, baritone/Choir and Orchestra of
the Dresden State Opera/Fritz Schreiber" Sung in German, this record contains a
mixture from two sources. The famous "letter scene" on side 1 is a dub from the
DGG recording with Elfriede Trotschel and the Munich Philharmonic orchestra
under Robert Heger. The same scene, placed at the beginning of side 2 is the
Bavarian Radio recording of May 1950 with Annelies Kupper and the Bavarian Radio
Symphony Orchestra under Hans Altmann. The prelude to the opera at the end of
side 1 comes from the same Bavarian production, as well as the other two
excerpts on that side, the aria of Onegin and the aria of Gremin, sung by Josef
Metternich and Gottlob Frick respectively. The aria of Lenski on side 1 also
belongs to the Bavarian recording. It is sung by Walther Ludwig. The prelude at
the beginning of side 1 is unidentified. Only the "letter scene" with Kupper is
still stored in the archives of Bavarian Radio, so this record has preserved a
few more portions from what has once been a complete recording of this opera.
Allegro/Elite 3109: Ravel Piano Concerto for
the left hand (1953) "Arthur Sandford, piano with the Hastings Symphony
Orchestra" (no conductor named)
Alborada del Grazioso "Hastings Symphony Orchestra/Jan Tubbs" The Alborada,
which in fact turns out to be the Suite Ma mere l'oye, is not identified. The
concerto, however, is the SWF Baden-Baden radio studio recording from March 15,
1952 with Geza Anda and the SWF Symphony Orchestra under Hans Rosbaud. The
sombre upward flourish of the initial piano cadenza is missing on the record.
The original tape is still in the archives of SWF Baden-Baden.
Allegro/Elite 3144: Berg Wozzek ("excerpts")
(1954) Strauss Serenade burlesque "The Philharmonic Orchestra/Joseph Berendt"
(no soprano named) The front sleeve shows "RCA" in one of their funnier moments:
it says "Adam Berg Woczek". The Richard Strauss Serenade (his Opus 7 which does
not carry the epithet 'burlesque" at all) has not been identified, but the
Wozzek parts are definitely sung by soprano Annelies Kupper. These excerpts are
the ones which Berg himself extracted from his opera and published as "Drei
Bruchstucke" for soprano, boys' voices and orchestra. In this performance the
boys' voices in the third fragment are left out and the soprano is performing
their lines instead. No further dates could be found as to the conductor,
orchestra or recording location of this studio performance.
None of the two versions recorded by Kupper/Kleiber in 1953 for WDR Cologne and
NDR Hamburg are identical to this version, except for the voice of Miss Kupper.
Allegro/Elite 4010: Stravinsky Les noces (no
year available) "Hermine Lux, soprano/Felix Meesen, baritone/The Dresden State
Opera Orchestra/Fritz Schreiber" A rather unusual work for "RCA"s program is
found on this 10-inch record, again not from the eastern part of Germany, but
from the west. The performance is the 1953 radio studio production of WDR
Cologne with the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under Jean
Martinon. The singers are Anny Schlemm, Hanna Ludwig, Franz Fehringer and Helmut
Fehn, the pianists Annemarie Bohne, Wilhelm Neuhaus and Astrid & Hans-Otto
Schmidt-Neuhaus. The name of Stravinsky on both sleeve and record labels shows
the German spelling "Strawinski".
Concertone 2002: Beethoven Symphony No-3 op. 55
"Eroica" (1956) "National Opera Orchestra" (no conductor named) The Concertone
sleeve contains a Gramophone disc, showing only one matrix number on side 1
(1731 A). The performance is identical to the recording which Franz Konwitschny
made with the Dresden State Chapel for the East German label Eterna in 1954, a
recording which has been recently reissued on CD (Amabile 0140008).
Concertone 2087: Grieg Peer Gynt Suite No.2
(1956) Smetana Die Moldau 'National Opera Orchestre (no conductor named) Again
the German war-time recording of the Moldau, played by the Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra under Clemens Krauss, has been used for this record. The pressings of
Concertone and Halo records were generally much smoother, so here the Krauss
performance sounds much better than on the grainy pressing material on its first
issue on Royale 1311.
Concertone 20104: Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue
(1956) Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 Enescu Rumanian Rhapsody "National Opera
Orchestra" (no conductor named) The Rumanian Rhapsody by Enescu is once again
the version with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Clemens Krauss (see
above). The Gershwin and Liszt could not be identified so far.
Halo 5047: Dvorak "New World" Symphony (1957) 'The
Philharmonia Orchestra" (no conductor named) The "Philharmonia Orchestra" here
is the Oslo Philharmonic under Odd Gruner- Hegge, the performance which was
issued under the proper names on Allegro/Ultraphonic 1671. The matrix numbers on
this Halo disc are 8071A/B.
Halo 5063: Mendelssohn "Italian" Symphony (1957) "The
Philharmonia Orchestra" (no conductor named) Another performance with the Oslo
Philharmonic Orchestra under Gruner-Hegge. Contrary to "RCA's" common practice
of stretching about 30 minutes of music over two sides of a record, we have here
quite the contrary, despite the labels'print which gives part 1 for the first
and part 2 for the reverse side of the disc. In fact, the Italian symphony is
complete on side 1 (matrix number 8O8lA crossed out, substituted by 1687A) and
the Reformation symphony is on side 2 (matrix number 1687BX-1). Both works have
been issued on Allegro/Ultraphonic 1687 under the correct names of the
performers.
Halo 50118: Gershwin An American in Paris (1956)(sic)
Sibelius Finlandia Dvorak "Going Home" Theme from "New World" Symphony "The
Philharmonia Orchestra" (no conductor named) The Halo sleeve of the inspected
record shows a Concertone catalogue print on its reverse side, hence probably
the year 1956 copyright. Gershwin and Sibelius are unidentified, the 'Going
Home' theme is the 2nd movement of Dvorak's 9th symphony in the 1944 German
war-time studio recording with Oswald Kabasta and the Munich Philharmonic
Orchestra.
Halo 50200: Brahms Violin Concerto op. 77 (1957) "Louis
Stevens, violin/Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Dr.Felix Guenther" This record
contains the performance with David Oistrakh and the Soviet Radio Symphony
Orchestra under Kyril Kondrashin, as e.g., issued on D-0857-58. The record has
the matrix numbers 1650 A/B and has been released on Allegro/Ultraphonic under
the number 1650 with full credit to the original performers. For the earlier
issue of this concerto under the same pseudonyms see below in section of
Probable Identifications.
Royale 1252: Brahms Violin Concerto op. 77 (1952)
"Louis Stevens, violin/Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Dr.Felix Guenther" This live
performance is interesting also because of the soloist's use of the rarely
played cadenza by Winkler. In a letter to the author,
Wolfgang Schneiderhan expresses his belief that this is a performance by his
brother Walther Schneiderhan. It has not been possible to find a date when
and from where a performance with Walther Schneiderhan was broadcast, let alone
to trace an original tape with such a performance in the archives of German
radio so far.
Royale 1262: Dvorak Cello Concerto op. 104 (1952)
'Siegfried Seidler, cello/Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Gerd Rubahn" The hint
towards a possible identification which this studio recording contains is a very
special one: throughout the whole performance the soloist breathes in a
characteristic way, thus creating a prominently hissing noise. The author has
checked various cellists with regard to this feature, and there is only one who
does the very same thing constantly: Mstislav Rostropovitch. It is amazing how
similar in sound and placing Rostropovitch's contributions of this kind in his
commercial recordings of this work are to the ones by "Siegfried Seidler"
(spelled "Siedler" on the reverse side of the sleeve). A studio recording of
this cellist with some East German orchestra made during those years may be
taken into account. Official evidence for this is at present time not at hand.
Despite three attempts, it was not possible for the author to obtain an answer
from Rostropovitch himself.
Royale 1265: Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto op.35 (1952)
"Fritz Malachowsky, violin/Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Joseph Balzer" An item
which has been identified in John Creighton's encyclopedia as being played by
Bronislav Huberman. Despite the reputation of Mr. Creighton's work his
assessment has definitely to be rejected. There is no
evidence at all that Huberman has played this work anywhere in Germany within
the years in question. But even if he had done so, a comparison with his
extant 78s recording under Steinberg from 1929 and a live performance from 1946,
issued on M&A CD-299, reveals an altogether different approach by the artist,
one instantly striking feature being the cut Huberman chooses to play in the
last movement of both performances. A possible identification is the violinist
Gerhard Taschner and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Artur Rother who
played the work twice in Berlin's Titania-Palast on April 11 and 12, 1948.
This view is supported by the head of the Taschner Archives, Walter Gerstberger,
and three Taschner pupils who all kindly evaluated the performance.
Royale 1289: Brahms Symphony #1 op. 68 (1952) "Berlin
Symphony Orchestra/Joseph Balzer" A live performance of great impact is captured
on this record, certain interpretive features of which point to the
conductorship of Hermann Abendroth, a view which is shared by Mr. William
Flowers of London who helpfully evaluated the performance. Abendroth's bursting
drum attacks are present, as well as his unique way of shaping the tempo in the
section of pizzicato chords at the beginning of the last movement. This
performance also exists on Gramophone 2076, naming
the "National Opera Orchestra" and bearing 1954 as the year of copyright.
Royale 1307: Beethoven Violin Concerto op. 61 (1952)
"Jan Balachowsky, violin/Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Gerd Rubahn" A live
performance which is also considered to be played by Gerhard Taschner. This view
is again supported by Walter Gerstberger and pupils of Taschner. The soloist in
this recording plays the Joachim cadenzas and is accompanied by what undoubtedly
is a "big name" orchestra. Taschner indeed played the work publicly on March 19,
1948 in Berlin's Titania-Palast, accompanied by the Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra under Leopold Ludwig. Both on the reverse side of the sleeve and on
the labels the soloist's name is spelled "Baiachowsky".
Royale 1324: Prokofiev "Lt.Kije" Suite op. 60 (1952)
"Armin Kessel, baritone/Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Gerd Rubahn" This is an
unusual recording of this well-known work by Prokofiev, insofar as it is the
rarely performed version with a baritone singing (in German!) two songs which on
other recordings of this suite are usually entrusted to the orchestra alone. In
a 1947 German radio journal announcement of this work the Dutch baritone Caspar
Brocheler performs the suite with the NDR Symphony Orchestra under Walter Goehr
as part of a so-called "studio concert" which took place on August 25 that year.
It seems very likely that this Royale record has captured that particular
performance which no longer exists in the NDR Hamburg archives.
Royale 1341: Mozart Piano Concerto No.20 K466 (1952)
"Maria Huttner, piano/Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Gerd Rubahn" A live performance,
played by a pianist who apparently belonged to the "older school" of piano
playing (e.g., playing the left hand before the right). On February 27, 1950, a
live broadcast from the Hamburg Musikhalle was scheduled with Eduard Erdmann
playing this work with the NDR Symphony Orchestra under Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt.
It may well be taken into account that this record has captured this performance
which is no longer in NDR Hamburg's archives.
Royale 1357: An Hour with Tchaikovsky (no year
available) "Rome Symphony Orchestra/Dr.Felix Guenther' (no soloists named) This
compilation of movements from works of Tchaikovksy also includes the last
movement from the violin concerto which is identical to the performance captured
on Royale 1265 (see above).
Royale 1462: Stravinsky Firebird Suite (1953)
Kabalevsky The Comedians Suite "Dresden Symphony Orchestra/Max van Berten" The
Firebird, a live performance, could not be identified. The Comedians, however,
could be the performance which W.E.R.M. lists under the label Discovery DL 4003,
where a note informs that an additional movement, A Dreary Procession, is part
of that recording. This movement is also part of the performance on this Royale
disc. W.E.R.M. lists orchestra and conductor as "Paris Philharmonic/ Methen". It
has been impossible to ascertain the existence of this conductor whose name
already might be a pseudonym.
Gramophone 2058: Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
op.35 (1952) "Fritz Malachowsky, violin/Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Joseph Balzer"
All that has been said for Royale 1265 also applies
to this issue which, however, contains in a Royale 1265 sleeve (with the
"Malachowsky" identification) a Gramophone disc, labelled 2058, which in turn
shows the Royale matrix numbers 1265 A/B on the record itself and says "National
Opera Orchestra" on its labels. So, here is a further example for the use of two
different performances and the issuance under the same Gramophone label number.
(For the other performance issued on Gramophone 2058 with matrix numbers 2058
A/B see above).
Allegro/Royale 1597: Bruckner Symphony No.3
(1954) "Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Gerd Rubahn" One of the few records of "RCA"
which has been more widely commented on and was thought to capture a live
performance with Jascha Horenstein (as suggested by the late Jack Diether),
a conductor who championed the 1878 version.
The orchestra in this performance is clearly one of the "big" ones. There was a
performance of this version in Germany some time after its publication which was
carried out by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, marked expressly in the
program as "premiere of second version from 1878". The
event took place in Berlin's Titania-Palast on March 2 and 3, 1952, Leopold
Ludwig conducting. Apparently Ludwig and the BPO were the first to study
and perform the recently published version. Given the "Berlin contact" of
Oberstein it is more than likely that this Allegro/Royale disc has captured one
of these performances. An original tape of the live performance no longer
exists, probably because RIAS Berlin had made a studio recording of the work a
few days later with the same forces and the same conductor.
This tape is extant and could not be inspected for a stylistic comparison with
this live version.
Allegro/Elite 3103: Sibelius Symphony No. 7 op.
105 / "Karelia Suite" op. 11 (1953) 'The Symphony Orchestra of Olympia/Antero
Saike" A case of particular interest with regard to the recorded repertoire.
Instead of the announced "Karelia Suite" we get excerpts from Sibelius'Pelleas
and Melisande music, the latter work and the choice and sequence of its
movements possibly being a hint for an identification. On May 12, 1953 the
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra Helsinki was featured in a broadcast by NDR
Hamburg in their series "Radio Orchestras of Europe". The program was exactly
what has been captured on this record. Furthermore the radio journal's
announcement listed even the same choice and sequence of the movements of the
Pelleas music as it is on this record, namely "At the Castle Gate", "Melisande",
Entr'acte and "Death of Melisande". The suite is a live performance. The
symphony, however, does not show signs of this kind. The Helsinki Orchestra was
conducted on that occasion by Nils-Eric Fougstedt. There is no evidence at hand
to prove whether or not Finnish Radio had supplied tapes or whether the
orchestra was indeed present in Hamburg. A tape exchange, though, is the more
likely procedure. With regard to this latter possibility, the mixing of live and
studio performances on the Allegro disc becomes reasonable, too.
III. Corrections and Additional Information
To original article.
Royale 1259: Sibelius Fintandia op.26 #7 (1952)
'Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Karl List" Strauss Till Eulenspiegels lustige
Streiche op.28 "Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Gerd Rubahn" Bach Brandenburg Concerto
No.4 in G major "Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Dr.Felix Guenther" The performers of
the Sibelius and Bach works could not be identified so far. The recording of the
Till Eulenspiegel, however, which in the earlier article had already been
suggested to be the live performance under Wilhelm Furtwdngler from November
1943, can now be confirmed to be just that. So, on this 1952 record, this
particular performance has been issued for the first time years before its first
official release on DGG EPL 30589 in 1961 (see also
above under Gramophone 2097).
Royale 1264: Grieg Piano Concerto (1952) "Gerhard
Stein, piano/Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Karl List" Additional information can be
given on this performance, which had been identified already as Friedrich
Wuhrer, piano/Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra /Karl Bohm. It is a German war-time
Vienna radio studio recording from 1944, which is still extant in the archives.
Royale 1339: Paganini Violin Concerto in D major
(1952) 'Karl Brandt, violin/Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Gerd Rubahn". The
identification of Guila Bustabo on this record can be supported by further
infor- mation. This live performance of what is known as the version by Wilhelmj
was recorded by German Radio in Munich on January 26, 1944 with the Reichssender
Munich Orchestra under Berthil Wetzelsberger. The original war-time tape, which
was in the archives of Munich Radio and had even been broadcast as late as 1950,
no longer exists. However, when the bulk of German
war-time tape recordings was handed back from Moscow to SFB Berlin in 1991,
another copy of this same tape was in this collection.
Royale 1355: Flotow Martha ("excerpts") (1951)(sic)
"Inge Camphausen, soprano/Wilhelm Horst, tenor/Berlin Opera Orchestra and
Choir/Gerd Rubahn" As already mentioned in the author's earlier article, this
record contains, apart from three excerpts from Martha, some portions from
Flotow's one-act opera Die Witwe Grapin. These parts have been classified as
coming "most likely from a 1951 produc- tion of Radio Frankfurt". The author
apologizes for this wrong assumption. New evi- dence, above all the
identification of the voices, and an entry in a radio journal, now make a
correction necessary and possible. These excerpts come from the 1948 NDR Hamburg
production with Helmut Melchert, Margot Guilleaume and Siegmund Roth, the
Hamburg Radio Orchestra played under Harry Hermann Spitz.
The original tape no longer exists.
Royale 1376: Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 (1952)
"Elliott Everett, piano/Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Joseph Balzer" This recording
could be identified as a live performance of Wilhelm Kempff with only a guess as
to the orchestra and conductor involved. Mention has already been made of a live
concert of Kempff in Berlin in 1950. Further research has now resulted in exact
dates and also in finding out about two broadcasts of Kempff's appearance.
Kempff's two performances of this work took place on October 1 and 2, 1950 in
Berlin's Titania Palast with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Josef
Keilberth. There have been two broadcasts via NWDR
of this concert, one on February 11, 1951 and a second on May 7 of that same
year. This means that a broadcast tape was definitely recorded by NWDR during
one of the concerts which most probably was the source for this record.
Varsity 2056: Beethoven Piano Concerto No.5 (1952)
"Eric Silver, piano with the Varsity Symphony Orchestra" (no conductor named)
For additional information and correction see above in
section of identified recordings under Royale 1306.
Discussion
During the evaluation of certain items of the "RCA" catalogue, the author has
found hints which might additionally point to an "East German source" for a
couple of items. He prefers to believe in the use of first generation copies of
radio tapes in these cases, rather than in the generally accepted version of
low-quality tape recorded broadcasts. The Brahms Symphony No.4 on Royale 1239
("Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Franz R. Friedl", also on Allegro/Elite 3124,
"Dresden State Symphony Orchestra/Fritz Schreiber) is a studio recording of the
same sound ambience as in the Haydn No.94 on Royale 1223 and in some other works
in their catalogue. What makes these recordings so interesting is some
extraneous noise, clearly audible during certain soft passages in the slow
movements, especially when earphones are used. However, this could only be
detected in some of the cases when the usually quieter pressings of these
performances on their Gramophone incarnations were inspected. In these cases
there are crows of a rooster and sounds of car horns coming in from outside the
recording location! It may not be without significance,
in this respect, that sounds from car horns also intrude into the recordings of
Dvorak's 9th symphony under Pfluger (Urania LTRLP 7132) as well as into
Abendroth's Beethoven Pastorale from 1950 and into his Tchaikovsky
Pathetique from 1952, both issued on Etema. In Schubert's Unfinished on Royale
1220 ("Rome Symphony Orchestra/Dr.Felix Guenther", also on Gramophone 2040,
"National Opera Orchestra") there is another car horn finding its way into the
recording somewhere in the middle of the first movement, and yet another one can
be heard at the very beginning of Franck's Symphony on Royale 1288 ("Berlin
Symphony Orchestra/Joseph Balzer", also on Gramophone 2088, "National Opera
Orchestra"). The peak is reached in Haydn's Surprise Symphony on Royale 1223
("Orchestra of the Rome Symphony/Angelo Questa", also on Gramophone 2040,
"Varsity Symphony Orchestra"), where a rooster's crow is followed by a car horn
and then something like the jingling bells of a tramway, all this at the
beginning of the second movement, when Haydn's "surprise" is just about due.
This extraneous noise, the rooster's contribution in particular, is a
tantalizing facet of these "RCA" items, as this makes them likely to be
connected with a very particular, if not unique, recording location.
No definite answer can be given as yet to the question of where this location
may have been.
In this author's opinion the fact of these very faint noises, captured on a tape
used for a record production would rule out a mere off-the-air tape as a master
in these instances (and many others not "marred" by such extra-musical
ornation), because it seems unlikely that such delicate sounds should have been
transmitted that clearly by AM broadcasts of those times. Record piracy
indisputably is a violation of law. Nevertheless, without a doubt, through this
practice a couple of performances have been preserved, which otherwise would be
lost for all times. In continuing his research, the author hopes to be able to
rely as much on his fellow-collectors'future support as he could in the past.
There is still much to do and surely more to discover.
Ernst A. Lumpe is a teacher at a high school in Germany. A collector of 78s,
LPs, CDs and radio performances for some 25 years he has taken a keen interest
in disclosing the real performers ofpseudonymous LP issues. He presented this
matter to a wider public in three half-hour broadcasts for Deutschlandradio
Cologne in May 1994. He has been published earlier in the ARSC Journal.
Currently he holds the post of research officer of the Wilhelm Furtwangler
Society UK and has contributed to the newsletters of both this society and the
Wilhelm Furtwangler Society of America.
Endnotes
1. Readers are referred to the author's article
"Pseudonymous Performers on Early LP Records: Rumours, Facts & Finds" in the
ARSC Journal, 1990;21(2):226-23 1, for the basics of this research. The author
wishes to state that at the time of writing of his first article he was not
aware of a piece written by John Swan and published in the ARSC Journal,
1983;15(2/3):19-25, wherein Mr Swan reviews John Holmes' book Conductors on
Record, detailed on the matter of pseudonymous publications and the problem of
fake names, partly arriving at the same conclusions as this writer.
2. For a detailed account of the unveiling of the
source and the lawsuit see The American Record Guide 1954;20(9):279-280, The
Billboard (April 3, 1954), The Billboard (April 24,1954, p.30), and Musical
Courier (April 15, 1954). Edward Cushing, in a masterly conceived piece of
detective work under the title of "The 'Ring' Stolen Again", additionally
presents the complete cast of that particular Bayreuth performance in Saturday
Review of April 10, 1954, p.42.
3. It is most probable that there was no direct contact
by Oberstein with the original producers and owners of the recordings, but only
with individuals who worked for him on a 'private' basis. This does not rule out
that some of these people were employed at German radio stations at the same
time. In this respect it is of interest to know that a tone engineer and his
wife, both employed at NDR Hamburg after the war, were convicted in the early
Sixties for having sold material of NDR Hamburg illegally to someone in the U.S.
Both underwent a severe trial, were given jail sentences and lost their jobs
forever. It has not been possible for the author to find out whether they had
been one of Oberstein's contacts at any time. William J. Collins has reported
interesting facts about Edward ('Ed') J. Smith's activities for 'RCA' (see his
letter to the editor in ARSC Journal 1991;22[2]:264-265).
4. See The Billboard, February 13, 1950, page 16.
Interesting is that this article makes mention of recordings with Walter
Gieseking, Wilhelm Furtwangler and the Vienna Philharmonic as forming part of
the Bavarian material. If this was really the case, then Mercury apparently
refrained from using these recordings. It may well be that these recordings were
precisely those which later caused Urania to be charged with a lawsuit by
Gieseking and Furtwangler, though on all accounts Urania acquired their tapes
from the archives of Radio East Berlin. However, David Hall, in a letter to the
author of April 18, 1995, reports that Rosen and his Bavarian source did not
offer any Furtwangler or Gieseking material.
5. Letter to the author, August 11, 1994
6. The author is not certain if the tapes in question
were returned to Munich, as there is no reliable proof of "original" or "first
generation copies" being offered by Rosen. But it is a fact that, except for the
Flying Dutchman, none of those tapes issued on Mercury are still extant in the
Bavarian archives. This fact is also documented with regard to the Bavarian
Radio war-time recordings of Hans Rosbaud, in Dr. Joan Evans' Hans Rosbaud, A
Bio-Bibliography, (Westport and London: Greenwood Press, 1992). Christof Ihn of
Bavarian Radio recalls being told that when the station was given back to the
German administration at the beginning of the Fifties, the archives made a
rather "cleaned up" impression.
7. Judging from certain Vox/Polydor LP releases from
the early Fifties it is likely that Rosen may have also dealt with that company,
which issued a couple of items clearly coming from Bavarian Radio recordings,
one of the better-known items being the January 1945 radio studio performance of
Schumann's Konzertstuck op.92 with Eduard Erdmann at the piano. the conductor
being named erroneously (?) as Gustav Gorlich (existing conductor) on
Vox/Polydor PL 1700, In fact the real conductor -- Hans Rosbaud. The original
tape is still in the Bavarian Radio archives- Three other Rosbaud war-time
recordings, issued also on Vox/Polydor, are not (cf. Dr. Evans' book on
Rosbaud).
8. Raymond R. Wile supplied the author with this
information in a letter of June 26, 1990.
9. Two such examples, from the author's collection, can
be mentioned here: Royale 514 with Weber's Invitation to the Waltz, correctly
identified as being played by the Berlin philharmonic orchestra under Erich
Kleiber with the correct Telefunken matrix numbers given on the labels
(17033/17034), but crossed out on the record itself-, and Royale 550 with two
short works by Bizet and Smetana, played by the "National Opera Orchestra",
conducted by Leo Blech, played by the BPO according to the Telefunken catalogue.
Here again the old Telefunken matrix numbers are printed on the label, but
strangely enough these numbers (18302/18304) appear also on the record as
hand-written figures, contrary to the usual stamped ones of Telefunken. The
writer even produced one wrong number by turning 18302 into 18032. Both items,
recorded about 1931, were released by Telefunken under the numbers E 988 and E
1055
10. In a letter to the editor, published in the ARSC
Journal (1991:22[1]:134), Robert L. Folstein confirms this author's earlier
assumption that this Royale set contains the 1946 radio studio production of the
Tales of Hoffmann with Anders, Streich et al., under Artur Rother. Mr Folstein
also informed the readers that Gramophone 20154-156 (1954) uses that same
performance again. For more of Mr Folstein's findings see his letter 1. c.
11. There was a live performance of this work with
Backhaus and the NWDR Symphony Orchestra under Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt,
broadcast on January 30, 1950, directly from the Hamburg Musikhalle which may
have been the source for the tape used for this issue. An authority at NDR
Hamburg, however, doubts that the NWDR Symphony Orchestra was involved in the
recording in question, his judgement being based on the sound of the strings and
the woodwinds. A live performance with Backhaus and the BPO did not take place
around that time, but an appearance with the RIAS Symphony Orchestra may be
taken into account, though evidence for this is at present not at hand. Backhaus
did play with the RIAS Symphony during that time, a live performance of
Beethoven's 4th piano concerto under Karl Bohm of October 1950 has survived on a
RIAS tape. Only recently, however, the author found an interesting record:
Cambridge VP 34 (issued by Monarch Musical Industries, New York, N.Y. Windsor,
Canada - London, England). To his great surprise this ca. 1955/56 record
contained the same recording of Beethoven's Piano concerto No. 5 which "RCA"
issued on Varsity 2056 (i.e., the one with the prominent coughs taken out).
Apart from yet another pseudonym for Backhaus - here it is amusingly 'Clara
Steele' - and an anonymous conductor, the orchestra astonishingly is given as
"The NWDR Symphony Orchestra". Not proof, naturally, but probably a strong hint
for the Hamburg source of this live performance.
12 Royale issued recordings on some of their earlier
numbers (Royale 1206, 1209, 1213 and 1256) with Rudolf Schock, done in Berlin in
1950 for an 'American television company', as Schock recalls in his
autobiography (Rudolf Schock: "Ach, ich hab in meiem Herzen...', Erinnerungen,
Frankfurt/M Berlin: Ulstein, 1988, p.276/277). These recordings were issued with
full credit to the participating artists. it may be that the Cavalleria excerpt
formed another part of these recordings, which for some reason had not been
published before with full credit to Schock and the accompanying forces.
13. The author has contacted Miss Knittel (the
daughter of Swiss novellist John Knittel) on this matter and received an
interesting account on the situation of this particular recording which was made
around 1948 or 1949. Miss Knittel recalls that it was a "runthrough affair" with
no great preparation. She further recalls that she had to sign a document which
allowed Bavarian Radio to use her performance for purposes other than
broadcasts. Some time later she became aware of the fact that her recording had
been issued in America on a Mercury LP (MG 10007). After a while, she even
received some money for this commercial use of her work: a little less than 1
Mark, worth about 25 cents in those times.
14. Sondra Bianca was once a well-known American
concert pianist who worked for her father's recording business. Apart from
standard repertoire she recorded a couple of works altogether new to the
catalogues, such as the Massenet piano concerto or the lst piano concerto by
John Field. Gerhard Arnoldi, now working for NDR Hamburg, confirmed the identity
of this recording and gave the author some interesting information on what the
Lazare business was about in general. Some of Lazare's productions were released
under fake names a little later on Rondo and Rondo-lette, two of Oberstein's
labels from the late Fifties and early Sixties.
15. This item had been identified already by John
Swan in his aforementioned article (see Endnote 1)
16. In a letter to NDR Hamburg an English collector
reports of a broadcast of the complete performance on BBCs 3rd programme in June
1949, made possible by a tape exchange with NVTDR Hamburg. The print-out from
the English radio schedule lists the complete cast. Unfortunately, the BBC no
longer holds the tapes. The Acanta LP mentioned above gives a wrong year for the
recording (1952!). In fact this was the year when the original 1948 performance
was transferred from 76 cm/sec tape to 38 cm/sec tape. It was not possible to
find out whether the complete recording or only excerpts have been dubbed at
that time. The author owes thanks to Gabriele Wirth of NDR Hamburg for supplying
him with this information.
17. It should be observed that neither of these
radio recordings is consistent with regard to what the soprano is given to sing.
Whereas in the Hamburg version Miss Kupper sings the lines "Soldaten, Soldaten
sind schone Bursche" and the boys'voices are left out, she does not sing this
line in the Cologne version from the same year in which recording boys' voices
are included. This reveals Kleiber's rather liberal approach to the score, which
in turn would fit together with a yet different approach in this Allegro version
where the soprano sings "Soldaten, Soldaten ..." and also performs the
children's lines.
18. All items listed in this paragraph are to be
considered as doubtful with regard to their reliable identification.
Nevertheless, there is always a certain degree of probability, supported by as
many available facts as possible. Further research may result in either
confirmation or disqualification of the suggested identifications.
19. Professor Wolfgang Schneiderhan writes in a
letter to the author of January 31, 1992: "After listening I can tell you that
the soloist definitely is my brother Walther. The performance is very good but
rhythmically absolutely not my own playing".
20. The author tried several times to contact Mr
Creighton, asking his reasons for identifying "Malachowsky" with Huberman and
above all asking for any data he might know about when and where such an event
could haven taken place in Europe or Germany in particular. All letters met
without response. It should be added that the other "Malachowsky" performance on
Royale, featuring the Mendelssohn violin concerto
(Royale 1286), has also been attributed to Huberman
in Mr. Creighton's book. This performance, again, does not stand up to what one
would expect from Huberman. It rather sounds like a performance with, let's say,
Siegfried Borries, former concert master of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
21. Gerhard Taschner (1922-1976), youngest concert
master ever of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra from 1941-1945, joined this
orchestra on Furtwangler's recommendation. He started his career as a violin
virtuoso after the war. This now nearly forgotten musician can be considered as
one of the few violinists of world-rank ever to emerge from Germany. Formed
also, with Walter Gieseking and Ludwig Hoelscher, a well-known trio after the
war.
22. The author is very grateful to Mark W. Kluge who
confirmed that the version used in this live performance is indeed the second
one from 1878, edited by Oeser and published by the Brucknerverlag in Wiesbaden/
Germany as late as 1950.
23. Peter Muck, Einhundert Jahre Berliner
Philharmonisches Orchester, Band III, p. 337.
24. Wemer Tharichen, former member of the Berlin
Philharmonic, kindly evaluated a tape of this Allegro/Royale record and agreed
on the orchestra as most probably being the BPO.
25. In a letter to the author of September 22,1992,
Dr. Klaus Lang (SFB Berlin) reports on the identity of this "Moscow" tape with
the performance on Royale 1339.
26. The author owes the identification of the voices
of Melchert and Guilleaume to Gabriele Wirtli of NDR Hamburg.
27. The NWDR (Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk) was a
union of the broadcasting houses of Cologne, Hamburg, Hannover and (West)Berlin,
thus served the largest part of Germany with its programmes. RIAS ("Rundfunk im
amerikanischen Sektor") in Berlin had an individual status. Finally, in 1953,
the SFB ("Sender Freies Berlin") was founded and the Berlin dependance of NWDR
ceased to exist. East German Radio, named "Berliner Rundfunk' (later
'Deutschlandsender"), was the Soviet-governed station which remained until 1950
in the "Haus des Rundfunks" in West Berlin's Masurenallee, then moving to East
Berlin, taking large quantities of war-time and postwar-time tapes to the new
residence in the Nalepastrasse. Both NWDR Berlin (and later the SFB) and RLKS
used to transmit and/or to record live concerts from the Titania-Palast.
28. The car horns in this recording make for a
particularly funny moment, as they intrude upon the 'Scene at the Brook'.
29. The recording location of the Abendroth
performances was the Kongresshalle in Leipzig, built in 1899 as the "Society
House of the Zoo", damaged in 1945 and rebuilt for concert auditions in 1946.
Since the famous Gewandhaus had also been damaged in the war, the Gewandhaus
Concerts took place in the Kongresshalle, too. Adjacent to this building one can
see on the town map the city's Zoological Garden, situated there since 1878.
Under these conditions it may not be out of place to think of acoustic
contributions such as those of a rooster or some other similar exotic animal,
finding their way into a recording, as did the car horns or the tramways' bells
from the nearby streets. Research on this particular question is currently being
worked on.
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