RCA Victor, in putting together a commemorative-promotional album in 1955 to celebrate the Boston Symphony’s 75th Anniversary, wanted a piece of music that had been done by at least Muck, Koussevitzky and Munch. They found that, from production logs for the October 1917 sessions in Camden, Muck had recorded the Rakoczy (Hungarian) March from Berlioz’ Damnation of Faust. RCA for some reason did not have a copy of this hitherto unpublished recording in its vaults, and turned to the Yale archive of recorded sound for the 1917 r3cording. The complete Muck recording was not issued until the CD incarnation on BSO Classics in the 1990s. For the 1955 commemorative record, RCA made a composite of the Berlioz March -- Muck from 1917, Koussevitzky from 1940 and Munch from 1954 -- three different tempi, but adroit editing. Victor had issued only the Tchaikovsky March from the first orchestral suite (10” disc), the Wagner prelude to the third act of Lohengrin (10” disc) and the finale of the Tchaikovsky fourth symphony (two 12” discs). All were single-faced discs. Subsequent issues omitted Muck’s name from the label and gave only the name of the orchestra. Again, the anti-German hysteria at work. The complete Muck/BSO recordings from October 1917 were issued on the Boston Symphony’s BSO Classics CD in the 1990s. The CD also included electrical recordings from 1928 of excerpts from Stravinsky’s Petrushka and the second suite from Daphnis and Chloe of Ravel, both conducted by Koussevitzky. The Muck recordings were done in the eighth-floor auditorium of a still-standing, recently restored Victor building in Camden. Victor was experimenting at the time with recording a larger component of the orchestra than had been attempted up to then, using multiple horns all feeding into the same stylus. Musicians were jammed into two Celotex-like shells (“giant igloos”, as Arthur Fiedler -- playing in the violin section at the time as a young man of 23 -- remembered them). Double basses still did not register: they were replaced by a bass tuba; timpani did not register. Bass drums sounded hollow; cymbal crashes sounded like muffled coughs. The BSO’s principal oboist at the time, a man named Longy, had to stick his head well into the horn to make the stylus vibrate. Players who had exposed solo parts would hastily tiptoe up to a horn and play their brief solos, then hasten back to their seats. This same setup was used again in sessions with Leopold Stokowski (then 35) and the Philadelphia Orchestra toward the end of October ‘17. Prior to the Muck sessions, the arrangement was tested by Victor house conductor Josef Pasternack and a 50-piece ad hoc orchestra, who played the last movement of the Beethoven fifth symphony. That recording was commercially released on two single-faced 12” discs.
These were the first BSO records, and then nothing happened throughout the next period under Monteux. In 1928, they made their next records, under Koussevitzky.
So why were only a couple of these recordings actually released ?? Don't you think you should have told this to your listeners. Also, what was the source of all of these unreleased recordings ?? Geez !!
The unissued sides are from the Yale library audio collection and were not most likely issued because of the WWI hysteria that arose in Boston concerning Muck. The entire collection was issued on the BSO cd label and are most likely no longer “in print.” I am sure you can find info about Muck andBoston online.
@@thomasvendetti3742 That WWI hysteria led to Muck being arrested as a German spy, incarcerated in a military prison for the rest of the war and then deported.
RCA Victor, in putting together a commemorative-promotional album in 1955 to celebrate the Boston Symphony’s 75th Anniversary, wanted a piece of music that had been done by at least Muck, Koussevitzky and Munch. They found that, from production logs for the October 1917 sessions in Camden, Muck had recorded the Rakoczy (Hungarian) March from Berlioz’ Damnation of Faust. RCA for some reason did not have a copy of this hitherto unpublished recording in its vaults, and turned to the Yale archive of recorded sound for the 1917 r3cording. The complete Muck recording was not issued until the CD incarnation on BSO Classics in the 1990s. For the 1955 commemorative record, RCA made a composite of the Berlioz March -- Muck from 1917, Koussevitzky from 1940 and Munch from 1954 -- three different tempi, but adroit editing. Victor had issued only the Tchaikovsky March from the first orchestral suite (10” disc), the Wagner prelude to the third act of Lohengrin (10” disc) and the finale of the Tchaikovsky fourth symphony (two 12” discs). All were single-faced discs. Subsequent issues omitted Muck’s name from the label and gave only the name of the orchestra. Again, the anti-German hysteria at work.
The complete Muck/BSO recordings from October 1917 were issued on the Boston Symphony’s BSO Classics CD in the 1990s. The CD also included electrical recordings from 1928 of excerpts from Stravinsky’s Petrushka and the second suite from Daphnis and Chloe of Ravel, both conducted by Koussevitzky.
The Muck recordings were done in the eighth-floor auditorium of a still-standing, recently restored Victor building in Camden. Victor was experimenting at the time with recording a larger component of the orchestra than had been attempted up to then, using multiple horns all feeding into the same stylus. Musicians were jammed into two Celotex-like shells (“giant igloos”, as Arthur Fiedler -- playing in the violin section at the time as a young man of 23 -- remembered them). Double basses still did not register: they were replaced by a bass tuba; timpani did not register. Bass drums sounded hollow; cymbal crashes sounded like muffled coughs. The BSO’s principal oboist at the time, a man named Longy, had to stick his head well into the horn to make the stylus vibrate. Players who had exposed solo parts would hastily tiptoe up to a horn and play their brief solos, then hasten back to their seats. This same setup was used again in sessions with Leopold Stokowski (then 35) and the Philadelphia Orchestra toward the end of October ‘17. Prior to the Muck sessions, the arrangement was tested by Victor house conductor Josef Pasternack and a 50-piece ad hoc orchestra, who played the last movement of the Beethoven fifth symphony. That recording was commercially released on two single-faced 12” discs.
Impressive recordings for their time
These were the first BSO records, and then nothing happened throughout the next period under Monteux. In 1928, they made their next records, under Koussevitzky.
What, no Bill Pierce?
An interesting person : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Muck
So why were only a couple of these recordings actually released ?? Don't you think you should have told this to your listeners. Also, what was the source of all of these unreleased recordings ?? Geez !!
You’re welcome to add any information you like. I don’t generally provide program notes or have the expertise to do so, so will thank you for it.
The unissued sides are from the Yale library audio collection and were not most likely issued because of the WWI hysteria that arose in Boston concerning Muck. The entire collection was issued on the BSO cd label and are most likely no longer “in print.” I am sure you can find info about Muck andBoston online.
wwwwWELL!! Aren't we all fussy bussy today.
mmMy Stars!
Snippity-Bitchit on the loose.
Oh Heavens to Betsy... lets all run in cicrcles
Thank you, Thomas!
@@thomasvendetti3742 That WWI hysteria led to Muck being arrested as a German spy, incarcerated in a military prison for the rest of the war and then deported.