‘CD Review’ - as it was in 1945

[JFLL]

I came across two transcripts of radio talks by Desmond Shawe-Taylor, apparently in a series called ‘Record Choice’, with FLAC sound clips, from 1945 on the BBC Home Service (the equivalent of Radio 4):

http://www.charm.kcl.ac.uk/sound/sound_radio.html

They make an interesting comparison with today’s CD Review, and the reviewer doesn’t pull his punches: ‘the desperate badness of these American Toscanini recordings [of Beethoven symphonies]’ etc. (he's only referring to the sound quality!) This whole website, as I think has been mentioned before on these boards, is worth exploring.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I came across two transcripts of radio talks by Desmond Shawe-Taylor, apparently in a series called ‘Record Choice’, with FLAC sound clips, from 1945 on the BBC Home Service (the equivalent of Radio 4):

http://www.charm.kcl.ac.uk/sound/sound_radio.html

They make an interesting comparison with today’s CD Review, and the reviewer doesn’t pull his punches: ‘the desperate badness of these American Toscanini recordings [of Beethoven symphonies]’ etc. (he's only referring to the sound quality!) This whole website, as I think has been mentioned before on these boards, is worth exploring.

Wow! This is fascinating stuff. So even then the Toscanini sound quality was considered to be poor. It is indeed regrettable that the great man was generally recorded less well than Furtwangler.

[Ferretfancy]

Toscanini's pre-war recordings of Beethoven 1, 4 & 6 and Prometheus Overture with the BBC SO, made in the old Queen's Hall, sound much better than his later recordings where he insisted on using the notorious Studio 8 H in New York. The performances he gave with them are much less hard driven than they became later.

[richardfinegold]

Wow! This is fascinating stuff. So even then the Toscanini sound quality was considered to be poor. It is indeed regrettable that the great man was generally recorded less well than Furtwangler.

Contemporary critics were scathing in their critiques of the NBC Studio where T and the NBC Symphony recorded. T was also an old man when he made those NBC recordings and as Ferret notes, he was much less flexible than in his earlier recordings.
Furtwangler's live recordings indeed frequently sound better than T's studio efforts. What a pity that they both died on the cusp of the stereo era.

[Gordon]

I wonder if there are any saved Interpretations on Record in there? They were BALs but with no need for winners.

[aeolium]

I wonder if there are any saved Interpretations on Record in there? They were BALs but with no need for winners.

Gordon, I often think that IoR was a sort of anticipation of the kind of informed discussion about a particular work that occasionally takes place on these boards. BaL by contrast is a more old-fashioned personal view from an 'expert', and it's interesting that it so often provokes a dissatisfied response here (with selections, omissions, presenter style etc). It makes me wonder why R3 retained the (to me) outdated format and ditched the format that was ahead of its time.

JFLL, that website is an excellent one, isn't it? Not only the sound recordings but essays, like that of Daniel Leech-Wilkinson exploring performance style through archive recordings, are well worth accessing.

[JFLL]

Gordon, I often think that IoR was a sort of anticipation of the kind of informed discussion about a particular work that occasionally takes place on these boards. BaL by contrast is a more old-fashioned personal view from an 'expert', and it's interesting that it so often provokes a dissatisfied response here (with selections, omissions, presenter style etc). It makes me wonder why R3 retained the (to me) outdated format and ditched the format that was ahead of its time.

JFLL, that website is an excellent one, isn't it? Not only the sound recordings but essays, like that of Daniel Leech-Wilkinson exploring performance style through archive recordings, are well worth accessing.

Yes, I think many of us would like to see 'Interpretations on Record' back (fat chance, though, nowadays). Incidentally I found on another site a full download of an IoR by Michael Oliver on Messiaen's Turangalîla here:

http://5-against-4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/interpretations-on-record-messiaens.html

One hopes that the much-heralded BBC Archive will eventually include access to others in the series.

Edit: I've just come across that series of articles by Daniel Leech-Wilkinson. Extremely interesting on things such as portamento, which is being discussed on another thread!

[BBMmk2]

I think BBC R3 is making a big mistake with their changing styles.

[clive heath]

I've just uploaded the 1937 BBC Symphony Orchestra, Toscanini, 6th if you want to check it out

https://www.cliveheathmusic.co.uk

p.s. where you will also find a Turangalila, Charles Groves, John Ogdon....

[Gordon]

Gordon, I often think that IoR was a sort of anticipation of the kind of informed discussion about a particular work that occasionally takes place on these boards. BaL by contrast is a more old-fashioned personal view from an 'expert', and it's interesting that it so often provokes a dissatisfied response here (with selections, omissions, presenter style etc). It makes me wonder why R3 retained the (to me) outdated format and ditched the format that was ahead of its time.

JFLL, that website is an excellent one, isn't it? Not only the sound recordings but essays, like that of Daniel Leech-Wilkinson exploring performance style through archive recordings, are well worth accessing.

Anyone interested in performance style viewed via these old recordings should read Robert Philip's books on the subject. He was of course an erstwhile BBC staffer and familiar on BALs of yore.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Performing-M.../dp/0300102461 and

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Early-Recordings-Musical-Style-Instrumental/dp/0521607442/ref=pd_sim_b_1/277-3162939-1770730

If anyone is interested I have some recordings of some IoRs. Drop me a PM. They include B minor Mass [twice] the 48, Goldbergs, Beethoven 3 and 6 [Richard Osborne], Heifetz, Heldenleben, Mahler 6 [just done BAL a coupe of weeks ago], Elgar Violin Concerto twice, once with Robert Philip and another with Michael Kennedy. I wish I'd kept more when I disposed of the tape collection!! Karafan is good at this sort of thing perhaps he has some as well?

[verismissimo]

I came across two transcripts of radio talks by Desmond Shawe-Taylor...

I've been reading The Record Year 2 (1953) by Edward Sackville-West and Desmond Shawe-Taylor. Lots of very direct judgements. Published in the period when 78s and LPs co-existed.

What I notice is how many of the performers have sunk without trace: Hirsch Quartet, Kolassi (singer), Zimbler Sinfonietta, Chessid (harpsichord), Mainardi (cello) etc etc...

[Don Petter]

What I notice is how many of the performers have sunk without trace: Hirsch Quartet, Kolassi (singer), Zimbler Sinfonietta, Chessid (harpsichord), Mainardi (cello) etc etc...

Most of those do seem to have sunk without trace, but I wouldn't include 'cellist Mainardi. He is known not least for his membership of the Fischer Piano Trio (Edwin Fischer/Georg Kulenkampf or Wolfgang Schneiderhan/Enrico Mainardi) and there are still quite a few CD examples of his art available - Amazon currently lists 36, for instance.