Klassic Haus Conversations

Here is a list of the LPs I found in Oklahoma City on a recent trip there:

Alshire ASC-10013 – Tchaikovsky:  Romeo and Juliet; Hamlet – Sir Adrian Boult/London Philharmonic

Alshire ASC-814 – Beethoven: Symphony No. 3  “Eroica” – Sir Adrian Boult/London Philharmonic (unopened, still in wrapper)

Crossroads 22 16 0028 – JS Bach: Harpsichord Concerto No. 1 & No. 2 – Ružicková – Lehel/Prague Chamber Orch.

Melodiya/Angel SR-40172 – Glazunov: Raymonda – Suite – Svetlanov/Bolshoi Theater Orchestra

Melodiya/Angel SRB-4111 – Delibes: Coppélia – Fayer/Bolshoi Theater Orchestra

Mercury Wing SRW-18051 – Scandinavian Twighlight Concert – Willem van Otterloo/Hague Philharmonic

The Alshire LPs are originally recordings made for and issued on the budget Somerset label in the late 1950s, produced by DL Miller; his catalogue was sold to Al Sherman in 1964, who formed the Alshire label (also famous for the 101 Strings albums). The Crossroads LP is a Supraphon recording; the Crossroads label was an imprint of CBS/Epic, and recent stereo Supraphon recordings from the collaboration were issued mid-to late 1960s. (Side note: Older Supraphon recordings had been previously issued in the US beginning in 1960 by the short-lived budget label Parliament, based in New York). The Melodiya/Angel discs were the result of a joint effort by EMI and the Russian recording giant Melodiya in issuing modern recordings from the USSR to the West. The Mercury Wing label was a budget reissue imprint of Mercury Records, offering early mono and early stereo releases from the Mercury back catalogue, and also licensed recordings from Philips; the van Otterloo recording was orginally a Philips disc.

I will be working on restoring and reissuing some of these recording, hopfully by the end of 2010. Otherwise, look for them to show up in my 2011 Klassic Haus CD catalogue. Cheers – Curt

I found this gem while on one of my LP treasure hunts, in this case a journey to Oklahoma City, where I visit the two Half-Price Books located there. This was inside the LP “Nonesuch Presents Treasures of  The Baroque”, catalogue # H-79,  a  demonstration sampler that included five selections from the back catalogue of Nonesuch (at that time, mid-1965,  totalling 65 LPs). I had at least one of these brochures back in the late 1960s, when I was in high school, and just beginning my classical LP collection. Nonesuch LPs formed a big portion of my stash, since they were cheap, and had some truly intriguing titles that were beyond the usual fare offered by the mainstream labels. I learned alot about early music & Baroque repetoire from those Nonesuch offerings. I am still searching for those long-gone Nonesuch discs; I have found close to 40 in decent shape (hard to find as such, since Nonesuch LP surfaces were not the quietest in the industry when new). The search continues…check out the Klassic Haus CD catalogue I posted earlier for reissued Nonesuch titles. Cheers – Curt

I had been searching for E. Power Bigg’s recording of Joseph Rheinberger’s Two Concerti for Organ ever since my LP copy finally became unplayable. Sony has, of course, seen fit not to release it on CD; for that matter, the vast majority of E. Power Biggs’ recordings, both mono and stereo, have not seen the light of day since CBS/Columbia Masterworks became Sony Classical. Quite a shame; this particular recording beats any recorded version since, interpretively and sonically. The LP copy I found during my Denver trip was near-mint, so restoration was completed very quickly. I added another LP to fill out the CD – this one from a Columbia 2-LP collection entitled “Heroic Music for Organ, Brass and Percussion”, derived from recordings made in early 1959 and 1962, featuring The New England Brass Ensemble conducted by Richard Burgin, with Biggs on organ. The first half of the 2-LP set, music of Frescobaldi and Gabrieli,  had been reissued on  “The Antiphonal Music of Gabrieli” CD (which also had the Philadelphia/Cleveland/Chicago Brass ensembles recorded in 1968) in 1996 on the Sony/Masterworks Heritage inprint, and again as a budget CD in 2005. The second half of the set compiled arrangements of music by Clarke, Handel, Purcell, and Telemann. That LP yielded a good selection of exciting, well-played companions to the Rheinberger concerti. I’ll be posting the CD on Klassic Haus later this week.

KHCD-2010-039-sample

The Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet was formed by Vienna Philharmonic members in 1934 and gave concerts throughout Austria under the auspices of the Wiener Konzerthausgesellschaft. After 1946 they toured internationally and were one of the first quartets to establish a large LP discography in the early 1950s with important recordings of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms, most of which were recorded on the Westminster label. 

Schubert’s only String Quintet was written in 1828, the year of the composer’s death. As is the case with the Eighth and Ninth Symphonies, it was rediscovered many years later.  Its shadowy, romantic atmosphere is emphasized by the choice of two ‘celli. This CD on the Klassic Haus label (KHCD-2010-039), derived from a red label Westminster LP, displays the virtuoso abilities of the Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet, with Günther Weiss playing second ‘cello. The sound is  full and spacious, the performance satisfying, and would be a fine addition to any chamber ensemble CD collection. There is a MP3 sample that you may click on below the CD artwork (above). Enjoy! – Curt Timmons

I”m currently working on restoring a 3-LP set of Handel’s Opus 6 Concerti Grossi on the RCA label (LSC-6172, recorded around 1966), with Alexander Schneider conducting an excellent pick-up ensemble, listed as “His Orchestra”. The recording itself is miked closeup, and preserves a sense of intimacy and comradeship that is rare in these days of ascetic scholarship. Surely, the tempi are occasionally Romantic, with sometimes indulgent, languishing ritardandi; but the ensemble playing, and the concertino soloists, play with such engagement and concentration that it supercedes any qualms about performance practice. They are performing together as colleagues, with Mr. Schneider inviting them, “Gentlemen, let’s play some Handel”. I hope to have this set available on Klassic Haus Restorations website sometime in early November, including a bonus disc of Alexander Schneider playing Schubert (more on that later). This set is one of the many reasons why I enjoy restoring vinyl.

A short bio of Alexander Schneider:

Alexander Schneider
(violinist/conductor, born October 21, 1908, Vilna, Russia; died February 2, 1993)

Michael Steinburg in The New Grove hails Alexander Schneider as “one of the most unquenchably energetic figures in the public musical life of the USA.” Indeed, his whole life was dedicated to the nurturing of chamber music and musicians.

Since moving to the United States in 1938 as a member of the famed Budapest Quartet, Schneider has been a major influence in music–mainly chamber music, not only as a violinist and conductor but as a concert organizer and devoted teacher of young artists. In addition to founding the Albeneri Trio and the Scheider Quartet, he was directly involved in organizing the Casals Festival in Prades and Puerto Rico, the Israel Festival , and was a principal figure at the Marlboro Music Festival for many years. In addition, Schneider was a member of the faculty of numerous leading institutions. As guest conductor, Schneider appeared with major prominent orchestras, as well as with his own Brandenburg Ensemble. A champion of contemporary music, he premiered works by such composers as Babbitt, Boulez, and Stravinsky.

The New School Concerts, which Schneider founded, have afforded several luminous New York dubuts. He also founded the New York String Orchestra Seminar, an annual Christmas event including chamber music coaching and concerts at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, to aid in the professional training of young artists. In the 20th year of the seminar, he said: “The purpose is to get young people to learn how to make music. When you make music it has to come from your heart, from your soul, or it has no meaning” (Newsweek).

Elgar Suite-Serenade-Dances sample

One of my  Klassic Haus Restorations customers recently sent a brief review of  this CD (see photo of CD artwork and tray info above), and graciously allowed me to post his comments. I have also included an MP3 sample of the disc (above the CD artwork), as found on my website.

“The Elgar disc (KHCD-2010-006, Elgar/Collingwood/LSO) arrived and after two listenings to it I must say that I am impressed with the work you did to make this item available on CD.  There is a naturalness and a warmth to the sound on your disc that is most welcome. The choice of this LP for reissue on CD was a capital idea on your part.  Collingwood’s NURSERY SUITE is the best performance I have ever heard of this music; I have all the recordings made of it and this goes to the head of the class. Keep up your work.  It is excellent.  I will be back for more!” – Walter W., PA

Thank you. Walter, for your kind remarks. I enjoy working with classic vinyl, and the rewards are many. So much has been ignored and left to languish in vaults; the hidden treasures boggle the imagination. I hope I can contribute to retrieving some of those  treasures, so they may be once again enjoyed and given the respect they are due.

Recent LP aquisitions from a trip to Denver, Colorado – many new titles to be released from this Mother Lode! Found these at Wax Trax Records, 13th and Washington,  and Jerry’s Record Exchange, 312 E. Colfax. Both places have a terrific selection of classical vinyl at fair prices. Check out my website http://klassichaus.us in the next few weeks; I am already working on some of these LPs to post there.

Here’s a list of the LPs I found:

Angel S-36428: Bruckner Five Unaccompanied Motets & others – Pitz/NPC and NPO

Angel S-63518: Debut Recordings – French Showpieces – Jacquillat/Orchestre de Paris

Angel/Melodiya SR 40009: Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto – Oistrakh/MPO

Angel/Melodiya SRB-4107: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 “Leningrad” – USSR SO/Svetlanov

Arabesque 8046-3 (box set): Schubert Symphonies Nos. 5/6/8/9 – Rosemunde – Orch of Naples/Denis Vaughan

Arabesque 8047-3 (box set): Haydn: The Paris Symphonies – Orch of Naples/Denis Vaughan

Capitol P 8254: Le Sacre du Printemps – Steinberg/PSO mono

Capitol SP 8450: Concert Russe – Steinberg/PSO rec. 3/18/58

Checkmate C 76003: Beethoven Symphony No. 3 – Ristenpart/SGPO

Columbia M 32297: Rheinberger: Two Concerti for Organ and Orch – Biggs

Columbia MG 32311: Heroic Music for Organ, Brass & Percussion – Biggs

Columbia MS 6117: Music for Organ and Brass – Biggs

Columbia MS 6266: Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 – Ormandy/PO

Columbia MS 6941: Glorious Sound of Brass – Philadelphia Brass Ensemble

Columbia/Odyssey Y 34608: Khachaturian: Violin Concerto – Oistrakh/Khachaturian/MRSO

Decca DL 710107: Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 57 & 96 – Rudolf/CSO

Decca DL 710148: Beethoven Symphony No. 3 – Rudolf/CSO

EMI/Electrola 1 C 063-02 309: Bruckner: Symphony in f minor/Overture in g minor – Shapirra/LSO

Erato STU 71101: Mendelssohn: Psalms 42 & 95 – Gulbenkian Orch & Chorus/Corboz

Fontana 875 010 CY: Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite. No. 1/Mendelssohn: Midsummer – Dorati/Vienna Symphony

L’Oiseau Lyre DSLO 33: The Scholars – Glees from Georgian England (pub. 1979)

London/Decca CS 6117: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 – Solti/Paris Conservatory Orch

London/Decca STS-15478: Stravinsky: Petrushka (1911) – Leinsdorf/NPO

Mercury MG 50025: Stravinsky: Firebird Suite/Debussy 3 Nocturnes mono

Mercury MG 50046: Respighi: Church Windows/Roman Festivals mono

Mercury SRW 18055: Rossini: Overtures – Dorati/MSO stereo

Nonesuch H-71020: French Organ Masterpieces

Nonesuch H-71021: Monteverdi Madrigals – Nuovo Madrigaletto Italiano/Giani

Nonesuch H-71075: Military Fanfares, Marches and Choruses from the Times of Napoleon – Paris Police Band/Dondeyne

Nonesuch H-71110: Masterworks for Organ Vol. 3

Nonesuch H-71144: JS Bach: Two-and-Three-Part Inventions – Malcolm (duplicate w/no skips on side 2)

Philips PHS900-020: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 – Sawallisch/Concertgebouw Orch.

RCA LSC-2522: Schubert: Symphony No. 2/Beethoven: Creatures of Prometheus excerpts – Munch/BSO

RCA LSC-3061: Prokofieff Symphony No. 2/Lt. Kije Suite – Leinsdorf/BSO  rec. 4/22/68

RCA LSC-6172 (box set): Handel : Concerti Grossi Op. 6 – Alexander Schneider/orch

Vanguard HM-7SD: Byrd: Mass for 5 Voices/Motets from “Gradualia” – Deller Consort

Westminster XWN 18478: Schubert: Quartet No. 14 in d in d minor – Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet

Welcome to my Klassic Haus blog! My name is Curt Timmons, and I am a professional conductor/vocalist, as well as webmaster of  Klassic Haus Restorations – http://klassichaus.us – a site devoted to the digital restoration of classical LPs and reel-to-reel tapes, and offering them for sale on CD. I invite you to join in conversation about music of all kinds, and comments about recordings, conductors and performers. I will let you in on what’s new on my website, comment on the processes I use to restore classic recordings, and offer opinions on historic analog recordings. Thanks for visting, and I look forward to joining in conversation!

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