Reiner/RPO Brahms 4th

[richardfinegold]

As Barbirollians rightly says, the RPO / Barbirolli Sibelius 2 was indeed magnificent. Many of those Reader's Digest LPs featured some of the greatest performances ever recorded. Charles Gerhardt engaged top-flight conductors and soloists who, working with a first-rate engineering team, produced lots of memorable recordings. The pity of it was that because these LPs were available only to subscribers of Reader's Digest and not available in the shops, they were never reviewed in the Gramophone nor played on the radio, so are still little-known even today.

I don't know if we can expand this thread into a wider discussion about Reader's Digest recordings but Gordon very helpfully lists some RPO recordings to which can be added a few more. For example, Earl Wild and Jascha Horenstein's RPO set of the four Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos and 'Paganini Rhapsody' is right up there with the best of them. Similarly, Rene Leibowitz's RPO set of all the Beethoven Symphonies is another very great integral recording.

More Earl Wild / RPO recordings featured Sargent as conductor in the First Piano Concertos of Chopin and Liszt. There were some splendid Tchaikovsky recordings too, with Sir Adrian Boult letting his hair down in a rip-roaring account of a Suite from "Swan Lake" (the orchestra for that was 'The New Symphony Orchestra of London') and Horenstein in a splendid Tchaikovsky 5th with the New Philharmonia.

Other conductors engaged by Gerhardt, besides Reiner in Brahms 4, included Rudolf Kempe, Charles Munch, Alfred Wallenstein, Charles Mackerras, Alexander Gibson, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Sir Arthur Bliss, Edward Downes, and many others, all recorded in excellent sound. Gerhardt himself conducted quite a few LPs too, notably the film scores of Bernard Herrmann, Max Steiner, Miklos Rozsa, Dimitri Tiomkin and so on. In short, he left quite a legacy and although a number of Reader's Digest recordings have come out Chesky, many others haven't. They fully deserve a CD revival!

You have mentioned many Readers Digest recordings that I was unfamiliar with. I have the Horenstein Tchaik/5 but have nevers seen the Gibson, Munch, Mackerras....by all means they should be reissued.
The Wild/Horesntein Rach set is the perfect antidote for anyone who thinks performances of this music have become slow and lugubrious through the years.

[seabright]

It would be great to have a Reader's Digest Discography of all the classical recordings that Gerhardt produced. Here is an article which touches on a few of them and has photos of him at various sessions with Dorati, Barbirolli, Munch, Sargent, Kempe, et al. ...

http://www.classicalcdreview.com/cgrebweb.html

Another great R-Digest recording I just remembered is the Cesar Franck Symphony with Boult conducting - according to the Chesky CD release - something called 'The London Orchestra Society,' whatever that was. Incidentally, Boult made his only recording of any of Mussorgsky's music for R-Digest, "A Night on Bald Mountain", and very fiery it is too! ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhXiPdJ6Z-8

[Gordon]

It would be great to have a Reader's Digest Discography of all the classical recordings that Gerhardt produced.....

You wish is my command!!! This link will take you to the CHARM website where a copy of Philip Stuart's Decca Discography, a labour of love that can be downloaded as a pdf. It is the edition from July 2009 but it is substantially complete for any searches for recordings made in the RCA/RD period. Use a search facility to find what you want - it includes all sessions recorded by Decca so search for "R.C.A" or "Reader's Digest". Philip has also done discographies for the LPO, LSO, Academy of St Martin's and the ECO, all invaluable to collectors.

http://images.cch.kcl.ac.uk/charm/liv/pubs/DeccaComplete.pdf

LSO here: http://lso.co.uk/images/pdf/LSOdiscog2015.pdf

Meanwhile here's a couple of extracts:

This is the very first RCA recording made by Decca; between this and 1964 Decca owned the originals but after that RCA did. There are too many RCA and Reader’s Digest sessions to note here but here’s a couple mentioned above:

[b] 24-25, [a] 25-27 & [c] 27 Jly 1956 Walthamstow Assembly Hall
[B] London Philharmonic Orchestra, Adrian Boult
[a] RACHMANINOV Symphony No.2 in E minor Op.27
RACHMANINOV Symphony No.3 in A minor Op.44
[c] HOLST A Somerset Rhapsody Op.21/2 H87
[c] Unpublished: a spare time extra allocated a Decca band
number [AR22321]; re-recorded for Lyrita in Jan 71.
[R.C.A.] [a] (Sep57) LM2106; (Oct57) RB16026, (Feb66) VICS1139,
[b] (Aug58) LM2185, (Oct58) LSC2185;
(May59) RB16147 = SB2035,
[b] (Jan71) ECS573; (Sep72) STS15177,
[a] (Apr71) ECS594; (Mar74) STS15181,
[a] (Jun97) Belart 461 342.2,
[b] (Nov01) 468 490.2DM.

From 1959-71 a series of recordings for marketing by the READER’S DIGEST magazine were made by RCA producers and Decca engineers. There were also a few sessions in Paris and Vienna. Some of these recordings were subsequently reissued on RCA’s own label. The London orchestras were frequently disguised by pseudonyms, which were often changed when titles were reissued. Charles Gerhardt, who produced most of the sessions after the first year, also conducted many titles, sometimes using the pseudonym “Eric Hammerstein”.

And so this is the first Reader’s Digest session:

Pr: Richard Mohr Eng: Kenneth Wilkinson & Alan Reeve
[a] 29-30 May 1959 Watford Town Hall
[b] may have been recorded elsewhere (Paris?), hence the orchestra’s name.
“International Symphony Orchestra”, René Leibowitz
[a] SCHUMANN Symphony No.3 in E flat Op.97 “Rhenish”
[B] LISZT Mephisto Waltz No.1 S110/2
[READER’S DIGEST] [ab] (’59) RDM8 = RDS8, (Aug93) Chesky CD96.

The Rachmaninov piano concertos recordings: note that Chandos issued them for a while in 1987:

Pr: Charles Gerhardt Eng: Kenneth Wilkinson
[c] 25, [b] 26, [e] 31 May, [d] 1 & [a] 2 Jun 1965 Walthamstow Assembly Hall
Earl Wild (piano), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Jascha Horenstein
[a] RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No.1 in F sharp minor Op.1
[B] Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor Op.18
[c] Piano Concerto No.3 in D minor Op.30
[d] Piano Concerto No.4 in G minor Op.40
[e] Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Op.43
[READER’S DIGEST] [a-e] (c67) RDM2251-54 = RDS6251-54,
[be] (May77) Quintessence PMC7006,
[a] (Jun78) Quintessence PMC7052,
[d] (Jun78) Quintessence PMC7053,
[ab] (Oct80) R.C.A. GL25291,
[c] (Jly81) R.C.A. GL25292,
[de] (Oct81) R.C.A. GL25293,
[a-e] (Aug87) Chandos CHAN8521-22,
[b] (Nov90) Chesky CD2,
[ade] (Jan91) Chesky CD41,
[c] (Aug92) Chesky CD76,
[a-e] (’97) RDCD2221-23.

Pr: Charles Gerhardt Eng: James Lock & [b] Colin Moorfoot
[a] 27 & [ab] 28 May 1965 Walthamstow Assembly Hall
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Jascha Horenstein
[a] RACHMANINOV The Isle of the Dead Op.29
[B] KORNGOLD Violanta Op.8 : Prelude & Carnaval
[READER’S DIGEST] [a] (c67) RDM2251-54 = RDS6251-54,
[b] (Dec77) Quintessence PMC7047,
[a] (Jun78) Quintessence PMC7052,
[a] (Nov90) Chesky CD2,
[a] (c94) RDCD831-33.

And the Leibowitz Beethoven cycle is here:


[f] 5, [ef] 7, [be] 8, [ab] 10, [ac] 11, Walthamstow Assembly Hall
[cd] 12, [d] 13 & [g] 14 Apr 1961
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, René Leibowitz
[B][a] BEETHOVEN Symphony No.1 in C Op.21
Symphony No.2 in D Op.36
[c] Symphony No.3 in E flat Op.55 “Eroica”
[d] Symphony No.5 in C minor Op.67
[e] Symphony No.6 in F Op.68 “Pastoral”
[f] Symphony No.7 in A Op.92
[g] Symphony No.8 in F Op.93
[READER’S DIGEST] [a-g] (c62) RDM20-26 = RDS220-26;
(c62) RD4006, (c90) RDCD171-77,
[a-g] (Jly88) Menuet 160017-20.2,
[bd] (Jan91) Chesky CD17,
[eg] (Jun92) Chesky CD69,
[ac] (Aug92) Chesky CD74,
[f] (Nov92) Chesky CD81.
This cycle was completed in May-Jun 61.

[a] 30,31 May, [b] 2,3,5&7 Jun 1961 Walthamstow Assembly Hall
[B] Inge Borkh (soprano), Ruth Siewert (contralto),
Richard Lewis (tenor), Ludwig Weber (bass), Royal Philharmonic Chorus;
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, René Leibowitz
[B] [a] BEETHOVEN Symphony No.4 in B flat Op.60
Symphony No.9 in D minor Op.125 “Choral”
[READER’S DIGEST] [ab] (c62) RDM20-26 = RDS220-26;
(c62) RD4006, (c90) RDCD171-77,
[a] (Jly88) Menuet 160018.2,
[b] (Jly88) Menuet 160021.2,
[b] (Apr92) Chesky CD66,
[a] (Nov92) Chesky CD81

[seabright]

Thanks Gordon ... That CHARM Discography is quite something. I see that the Boult Franck Symphony I referred to was actually made with the Philharmonia (presumably then under contract to HMV) but it appeared under a couple of pseudonyms instead. Interesting also to see those two Raymond Agoult LPs listed which, due to their super sound, I think acquired cult status amongst hi-fi enthusiasts at the time. Anyway, lots more to wade through, so thanks for the links!

[richardfinegold]

I don't know much about Rene Leibowitz, and I don't intend any disrepect towards him, but as Horenstein fan, I can only regret the decision not to have him Conduct the Beethoven cycle

[cloughie]

Thanks Gordon ... That CHARM Discography is quite something. I see that the Boult Franck Symphony I referred to was actually made with the Philharmonia (presumably then under contract to HMV) but it appeared under a couple of pseudonyms instead. Interesting also to see those two Raymond Agoult LPs listed which, due to their super sound, I think acquired cult status amongst hi-fi enthusiasts at the time. Anyway, lots more to wade through, so thanks for the links!

This thread has mentioned two names from my why aren't they on CD list. The Agoult Clair de Lune LP which was on RCA then on Decca World of... and two RCA LPs one of French music, the other of English music with Gerhardt as conductor.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I don't know much about Rene Leibowitz, and I don't intend any disrepect towards him, but as Horenstein fan, I can only regret the decision not to have him Conduct the Beethoven cycle

And yet (and as a fellow Horenstein fan) the Leibowitz Beethoven cycle is one of the best ever recorded. The absence of a Horenstain set is highly regrettable, but the loss of the Leibowitz would have been a great one.

[seabright]

Some kind soul has uploaded the entire Leibowitz cycle on You Tube so please click the link below and see what you think of his No. 5 ... If Kleiber's name (pere et fils) doesn't come to mind, I'd be rather surprised ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdOM7W8jpFw

[Gordon]

Thanks Gordon ... That CHARM Discography is quite something. I see that the Boult Franck Symphony I referred to was actually made with the Philharmonia (presumably then under contract to HMV) but it appeared under a couple of pseudonyms instead. Interesting also to see those two Raymond Agoult LPs listed which, due to their super sound, I think acquired cult status amongst hi-fi enthusiasts at the time. Anyway, lots more to wade through, so thanks for the links!

Glad you are enjoying the feast!! That Franck was indeed the Philharmonia [their own discography has it listed too]. The Philharmonia was a peculiar orchestra because it was effectively the personal fiefdom of its founder Walter Legge. It was made up of freelancers who had no contracts and so worked from day to day. The arrangement with EMI - the Columbia component not HMV - was set up between Legge himself and EMI and so they could be hired out to anyone he chose on an occasional basis. In 1959 they were still regularly involved in recording for EMI. In March 1964 when the orchestra was disbanded by Legge - he claimed because of the difficulty of maintaining standards - they came back together voluntarily with the support of Klemperer and became self governing as the New Philharmonia and in that name they started recording regularly for Decca. Legge seems to have sold the name but in 1977 they got it back again when Muti was chief conductor. The LSO and LPO also worked for Decca under pseudonyms.

Other orchestras named are the New SO and the National PO, both scratch bands brought together for recording and made up of the usual suspects playing truant. These were almost always on Decca.

[Gordon]

Reiner fans may be interested in this:

https://www.pristineclassical.com/pasc438.html

[verismissimo]

Got out a Readers Digest box of Brahms LPs, thinking it might have the Reiner/RPO 4th. Sadly it turned out to be Munch/Boston. Not the same thing at all.

But there was the Tragic Overture by Reiner/Chicago. Such exciting playing!

[Barbirollians]

The Horenstein Isle of the Dead is an absolute belter of a performance.

[seabright]

The Horenstein Isle of the Dead is an absolute belter of a performance.

It's on YouTube, uploaded there by Misha Horenstein, a cousin of the conductor ... and you're right about the "belter"! ... Amazing! ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3dxliNpDJw&t=156s

Incidentally, Misha H. has been busy resurrecting Jascha H's recordings on the 'Pristine Audio' label. They include several Beethoven symphonies and much else besides. Here is the link to 7 pages of details ...

https://www.pristineclassical.com/collections/artist-jascha-horenstein