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RELEASES ON OUR OWN LABEL

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TOSCANINI SETS ARE INDEXED AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS LIST. Click here.

TOSCANINI

Verdi

Aida

Gina Cigna - Beniamino Gigli - Ebe Stignani - Ettore Nava - Tancredi Pasero

Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala, in Berlin

Victor De Sabata, 22 June 1927

BONUS:

La Gioconda excerpts (1927,1934) and Arias sung by Gigli

Cigna - Gigli - Basiola - Pederzini; also Nicolai and Pasero

Cigna and Gigli’s best singing of these roles in a complete performance. Very good sound for the source. Act IV is a composite of 1937 & 1939 performances.

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Verdi

AIDA

Cigna Cigna - Giovanni Martinelli - Bruna Castagna - Carlo Morelli - Ezio Pinza

Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera

Ettore Panizza, 1937

GINA CIGNA MET DEBUT

This 1937 performance is justly celebrated and has been offered by other labels but never in the sonics heard in our 2012 restoration. Articles and biographies about the singers, 23 rare photos, broadcast commentary and curtain calls. Bonus: Martinelli talks about Radames and Verdi, plus little known Martinelli recordings from Aida and Act V of Faust recorded in 1926.

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Giuseppe Verdi

UN BALLO EN MASCHERA

Björling - Milanov - Svéd - Castagna - Moscona

Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera

Ettore Panizza, 1940

Our newest restoration with commentary and curtain calls.

Texts by Stephen Hastings, author of The Björling Sound. (2 CDs)

In this newly-restored recording Richard Caniell has done a magnificent job in recapturing the sound of the voices as projected in the opera house.

Stephen Hastings
From the Program Notes

My work to restore this Ballo was to enlarge the tonal values and recreate the dynamics between piano and forte, which the recording limiters flattened. Sound emerges that is comparable to commercial recordings of this era. What one hears documents beyond argument that Björling was among the greatest tenors of the previous century, and, in certain roles, the best voice ever heard in recordings. It has been a privilege for us to work on this and to share it with you as a part of the celebration of Verdi’s middle-period works.

Richard Caniell
From the Recording Notes

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BRUNO WALTER

A TREASURY OF UNKNOWN AND LITTLE KNOWN BROADCASTS

MOZART: SYMPHONY NO. 25 IN G MINOR, K 183

MOZART REQUIEM IN D MINOR, K. 626

Irmgard Seefried - Jennie Tourel

Léopold Simoneau - William Warfield

Westminster Choir

New York Philharmonic,11 March 1956

Jim Fassett, Commentator

NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC CONCERT - ALL BRAHMS

TRAGIC OVERTURE, OP. 81

EIN DEUTSCHES REQUIEM, OP. 45

Irmgard Seefried, soprano; George London, bass-baritone

Westminster Choir

19 December 1954

Jim Fassett, Commentator

MOZART: OVERTURE TO COSI FAN TUTTI

New York Philharmonic, 17 January 1954

BEETHOVEN: AH! PERFIDO OP. 5

Eleanor Steber

New York Philharmonic, 15 April 1949

BRAHMS: PIANO CONCERTO NO. 1 IN D MINOR, OP. 15

Vladimir Horowitz

Concertgebouw Orchestra, 20 February 1936

MAHLER: SYMPHONY NO. 2 IN C MINOR, “RESURRECTION”

Nadine Conner, soprano - Jean Watson, mezzo soprano

Westminster Choir

New York Philharmonic, 5 December 1948

BRUNO WALTER SONG CYCLE - TRAGEDIES, OP. 12

(North American) World Premiere performance

University of Toronto, 12 July 1971

Maureen Forrester, contralto; John Newmark, pf

SECOND CBC BROADCAST

Maureen Forrester with Yehudi Wyner, pf

Summer 1972 (exact date unknown)

Never previously available broadcasts of the Mozart Requiem (1956), the Brahms Requiem (1954) and the long unavailable Mahler 2nd Symphony from 1948. Includes premiere of Beethoven’s Ah! Perfido (Eleanor Steber); overtures, commentary and Bruno Walter’s Song Trilogy in its North American World Premiere performance sung by Maureen Forrester. (4 CDs for the price of 3)

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THE HERITAGE SERIES

Two Performances

Bizet

CARMEN

Swarthout - Vinay - Abanese - Merill - others

Erich Leinsdorf / Wilfred Pelletier - conductors

Orchestra and Chorus

1946

and

Thomas

MIGNON

Swarthout - Hackett - Antoine - Pinza - others

Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra

Wilfred Pelletier - conductor

13 March 1937

Bonuses

Chausson: Poème de l’amour et de La Mer (2 excerpts)

Gladys Swarthout, Victor Symphony Orchestra / Pierre Monteux

RCA Victor LM 1793, rec. 1949 – never released on 78 rpm

La Mort de l’amour; Le Temp des lilas

and

Gladys Swarthout Victor 78 rpm disc

Mignon: Connais-tu le pays – Victor 11-8281A

Orchestra conducted by Alexander Smallens

Reynoldo Hann: Si mes vers avaient des ailes; accompanied by G. Agoshini

M. Henri Duparc: Chanson Triste, No. 4, Op.2; G. Trovillo, pf

Both first released on Victor LM 1793, rec. 1949

This complete Carmen is the third in our Heritage Series seamlessly expanded from the six 78 rpm disc set released by RCA Victor in 1946. Extensive texts; rare photos; good sound. The Mignon broadcast captures the other role with which Swarthout’s fame was associated, and offers Pinza’s unrivalled performance in the role of Lothario; best sound ever. (4 CDs for the price of 3)

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Mascagni

CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA

Three Performances

The Heritage Series

1926-1943 Giannini - Gigli - Tagliabue - Turner - Kaskas

1930 Arangi-Lombardi - Melandri - Lulli - others, La Scala / Molajoli

1938 Bruna Rasa - Melandri - Poli - Meloni - others, Holland / Mascagni

BONUS:

Giannini: Arias - 1936 Philharmonic Recital (Intermission Feature)

The Giannini performance is the second in our Heritage Series. The Arangi-Lombardi Columbia 78 rpm transfers at right pitch and good sound. The 1938 broadcast led by Mascagni is justly famed and this, our latest restoration, presents it in good sound.

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In Association with Brüder Busch Archiv

COSÌ FAN TUTTE

Chorus and Orchestra
of the Glyndebourne Festival
(5 July 1951)

Sena Jurinac, Richard Lewis, Marko Rothmueller, Sesto Bruscantini, Alice Howland, Isa Quensel

Conducted by Fritz Busch

New Edition in Superior Sonics

Our premiere release of this Così (Guild 2303) was given much critical acclaim, despite its inferior sonics, as the performance is among the most memorable on disc. Now we return with the same performance in superior sound in a restoration we made of the master held by the Busch Brother Archive in Germany and released under their authority. To hear Jurinac, Lewis and the others directed by Fritz Busch is one of the most delectable experiences one can have of this Mozart masterpiece. The booklet offers new texts on the singers and performance, an article about Mozart and Così and recording notes. This is one of the great performances - and shouldn't be missed on any account.

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Mozart

COSÌ FAN TUTTI

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf - Nan Merriman - Graziella Sciutti
Rolando Panerai - Luigi Alva - Franco Calabrese

Chorus and Orchestra of the Piccola Scala

Guido Cantelli, conductor

27 January 1956

GUIDO CANTELLI MEMORIAL

This restoration offers the only memento we have of Cantelli conducting opera. This broadcast is in better sound than the luxuriously produced official Scala release and is sonically superior to all previous editions. This Cantelli Memorial includes articles, rare photos and commentary in Italian.

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RÉGINE CRESPIN

Rare Broadcast Recordings

Strasbourg Recital 1966 with John Wustman, pf

Schumann - Wolf - Poulenc - Canteloube

Ravel: SHÉHÉRAZADE G Beethoven: AH! PERFIDO

New York Philharmonic / Thomas Schippers 1965

Milton Cross, commentator

Berlioz: LES NUIT D’ÉTÉ, Syracuse Symphony, 1968

Operatic Arias, Duets and Ensembles

These broadcasts are a rich, vital contrast to the studio-commercial recordings she made of these same works. A thrilling difference!

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Busoni

DOKTOR FAUST

Ambrosian Singers, London Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Richard Lewis, Heather Harper, John Cameron, Ian Wallace

Sir Adrian Boult

Royal Festival Hall, 13 November 1959

THE COMPLETE BROADCAST

and

Busoni

ARLECCHINO

Glyndebourne Festival Chorus and Orchestra

Kurt Gester, Ian Wallace, Geraint Evans, Fritz Ollendorff, Elaine Malbin, Murray Dickie

John Pritchard

July 1954

With a remarkable cast and superlative conducting by Sir Adrian Boult, this Doktor Faust is a cherishable performance preserved in good sound. Our album offers the entire broadcast with no break-offs (45 minutes more than LPO). Imposing and memorable; not to be missed.

The Glyndebourne 1954 Arlecchino is a slyly witty, marvelously sung, richly melodic, brilliantly orchestrated one act opera that many consider a masterpiece. As one music critic writes:

Arlecchino and Doktor Faust are quintessential Busoni and taken together, constitute his testament. Arlecchino is called a comedy of masks and projects Busoni’s persona of wit, esprit and skepticism divine sarcasm in its briefest, most allusive manner . . . for concision and wealth of invention, Arlecchino does not suffer from comparison with Falstaff nor with the most mercurial pages of Berlioz.

Adrian Corleonis
Fanfare

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LIBRETTOS:

Doktor Faust

Music and words by Ferruccio Busoni

Posthumous World Premiere, Dresden, 21 May 1925. Soloists were Erich Ponto, Theo Strack, and Meta Seinemeyer. Conducted by Fritz Busch.

Click here to download the libretto

(English translation by Edward J. Dent).

Arlecchino

Music and words by Ferruccio Busoni.

First performance 11 May 1917 in Zurich.

Click here to download the libretto

(English translation by Nicolai Rabaneck).

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DON GIOVANNI

Pinza - Lazzari - Rethberg - Helletsgruber - Borgioli - others

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Bruno Walter, conductor

Salzburg 2 August 1937

Also

DON GIOVANNI ACT II

Pinza - Alvary - Della Chiesa - Schipa - others

Orchestra of the St. Louis Opera

Laszlo Halasz, 16 April 1941

And

MOZART: SYMPHONY NO. 35 IN D, K 385

(Haffner)

New York Philharmonic

Bruno Walter, 4 January 1953

This famed performance presented in a new restoration making it the best in sound over all previous releases. The bonus is Act II of Don Giovanni - 1941 St. Louis with Pinza, Della Chiesa and Schipa. Never previously released.( 3 CDs)

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DON GIOVANNI

TWO PERFORMANCES

With Ezio Pinza

DON GIOVANNI

Baccaloni - Steber - Kirk - Kullman - Sayão - others

Metropolitan Opera

George Szell, 9 December 1944

AND

DON GIOVANNI

Baccaloni -Stoska - Resnik - Kullman - Conner - others

Metropolitan Opera

Max Rudolf, 6 December 1947

Pinza, the greatest Don Giovanni in this decade, is heard in Szell’s 1944 high voltage performance and in 1947, his final broadcast in the role. With Baccaloni as Leporello, these two made a dynamic duo, completely convincing in their relationship and sparked with high humour. Both performances in good sound; interesting notes, extensive photos.

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DON PASQUALE / IL TABARRO

125th Anniversary of the Birth of Fritz Busch

MET DOUBLE BILL - TWO PERFORMANCES

DON PASQUALE

Baccaloni - Sayão - Martini - Brownlee - De Paolis

Metropolitan Opera

Fritz Busch, conductor, 5 January 1946

BONUS

Don Pasquale Scenes with Tito Schipa; Erna Berger and Karl Schmitt-Walter;
Giulio Fregosi and Gaetano Azzolini.

AND

Il TABARRO

Tibbett - Albanese - Jagel - Harshaw

Metropolitan Opera

Cesare Sodero, 5 January 1946

Donizetti’s uproarious and charming Don Pasquale, preceded by Puccini’s forceful, tragic Il Tabarro; offers superb performances. Best sound over all previous editions. (3 CDs)

Henry Fogel writes in the booklet notes:

"Lets start with Il Tabarro. During her long Met career (1940-1966) Licia Albanese was particularly identified with the music of Puccini, and there are recorded examples of her in many Puccini roles, either studio or live recordings. There is, however, a single performance of her Giorgetta in Il Tabarro preserved, and it is this one. How fortunate we are to have it, particularly paired with Lawrence Tibbetts Michele. The fervour and the innate feel for the Puccini idiom that both artists convey in their scenes together is not duplicated in any other performance of which I am aware. "

"This [Don Pasquale] is a treasurable opportunity to experience a Donizetti opera conducted by the great Fritz Busch, and from the opening of the Overture we understand that this will be a unique experience. The degree of attention to dynamic shading and to orchestral balance and texture is remarkable, and Richard Caniell’s has made special efforts in his restoration to preserve that dynamic shading and the performances dynamic range. There is spring in the rhythms, there is flexibility in the shaping of melodic lines, a sparkle in the string playing, an effective and intelligent application of rubato, and an attention to phrasing that we almost never hear in this music."

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Richard Strauss

ELEKTRA

Concert Version

Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York

Rose Pauly

Szánthó, Boerner, Jagel, Huehn

21 March 1937

Artur Rodzinski, conductor

AND

ALL-STRAUSS CONCERT

Don Juan - Two Lieder - Salome Final Scene

Rose Pauly

New York Philharmonic

27 February 1938

John Barbirolli, conducting

Bonus:

Rose Pauly: Lieder and operatic arias

Stunning performance by Rose Pauly in best sound ever. CD-2 offers All Strauss 1938 Concert including Don Juan, two lieder and Salome Finale (with Pauly) conducted by Barbirolli. Bonus: rare 78s of Pauly.

From Henry Fogel’s review published in FANFARE magazine's Nov/Dec 2014 issue:

. . . the performance of Elektra somewhat abridged by Rodzinski is the real reason for this set. Rose Pauly . . . was a hugely successful dramatic soprano in Germany in the 1930s, but had to leave as the Nazis rose to power . . . She made very few recordings, and so we don’t think of her in the same way we think of other great dramatic sopranos of her day and the next generation Flagstad, Leider, Lawrence, Varnay, Borkh and then Nilsson. This Elektra and the astonishing Salome final scene from a New York Philharmonic concert with Barbirolli in 1938 make clear that she is of the same caliber as any of them. . . . (Her) vocal brilliance and steely power, combined with a sufficient warmth of tone to provide vocal beauty as well as sheer volume, are part of the picture. But of equal importance is her understanding and communication of the text. . . Her rage and hatred are reflected in her tone, as is the ecstasy when she recognizes her brother. For those to whom Elektra is an important work, it would be essential to get to know this recording.

The excerpts from the 1938 all Strauss New York Philharmonic concert are valuable too, giving us more documentation of the art of John Barbirolli. . . the accompaniments to Pauly in the two songs (Verfhrung and Gesang der Apollopriesterin) are sensitive, and the singing is remarkably intimate . . . Then comes the other highlight of this set: the final scene from Salome. Pauly manages to convey the sense, through vocal color and phrasing, that this girl is indeed a teenager. At the same time, she rides the orchestra with power. This is one of the great recording performances of this scene.

The excerpts from Die gyptische Helena are immensely valuable. . . The conducting strikingly beautifulnot surprising since it is Fritz Busch. These four scenes, as well as the Ford Hour broadcast from Detroit of Allerseelen with Reiner, are extremely gratifying extras in this set, as is the Fidelio aria.

Immortal Performances’s usual high production standards apply. The transfers are all infinitely superior to what has been around before of this material. The essays by Caniell himself and by London Green are illuminating, stimulating, and models of what we would hope to find in historical re-issues but almost never do. And the artwork and photographs are up to the same level. The texts and translations of the two songs are given as well.

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Gounod

FAUST

Richard Crooks - Helen Jepson - Ezio Pinza - Richard Bonelli - others

Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera

Wilfred Pelletier, 20 March 1937

Commentary: Milton Cross

Never previously available, this performance in excellent sound offers the principals 3 years earlier than their famed 1940 broadcast and presents Bonelli’s excellent Valentine. Commentary and curtain calls, notes and photos recreate the occasion and the era.

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ARTURO TOSCANINI

FIDELIO

Chorus and Orchestra of the NBC Symphony (Broadcasts 10 and 17 December 1944)

Rose Bampton, Jan Peerce, Eleanor Steber, Nicola Moscona, Herbert Janssen, Sidor Belarsky, Joseph Laderoute

Full Spoken Dialogue

Original broadcast with commentary

Bonus: Leonore No. 2, 25 September 1945

Rose Bampton: Radio Interview

The Toscanini broadcast of Fidelio, though celebrated on many grounds was also deplored because broadcast scheduling required that the dialogue be omitted. Here at last is the ultimate edition with the dialogue restored, together with the original Abscheulicher (we replaced the bad note sung by Bampton). RCA Victor, in their release, replaced the entire aria with a later recording (sung without an audience) in its LP/CD release. Our release includes full broadcast commentary and ovations. The booklet offers texts about the singers and performance, extensive recording notes and rare photos. The bonus is a dynamic performance of the Leonore No. 2 taken from a 1944 concert that was not broadcast. The concluding bonus is an interview with Rose Bampton in which she talks about the occasion Toscanini selected her to sing Leonore.

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Wagner

DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER

Herbert Janssen - Kurt Böhme - Elisabeth Friedrich - Marius Andersen - others

Chor und Orchester des Reichssenders Berlin

Heinrich Steiner, 24 January 1937

BONUS:

Herbert Janssen Operatic Arias and Duets

Janssen in a never previously available Berlin broadcast; good sound and cast; commentary in German. Bonus: Janssen in rare operatic arias and duets.

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Wagner

DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER

Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera, Covent Garden

Herbert Janssen, Kirsten Flagstad, Ludwig Weber, others

6 and 11 June 1937

Fritz Reiner, conductor

Bonus

Kirsten Flagstad - Three Lieder - 1949 and 1950

One of the great performances of Wagner’s first major music-drama has only been available in highly fragmented form. Our restoration is virtually complete, with only the Senta-Erik scene in Act II missing. Reconstruction of this performance, keeping Weber as Daland, required the introduction of 16 minutes in Act I from a 1936 performance and one and a half minutes in Act III. All else is conducted by Reiner. Now, for the first time, the memorable singing of these renowned vocal artists can be heard in sustained musical and dramatic continuity and in good sound as well.

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NEW HERITAGE SERIES

Combines 78 rpm commercial discs and broadcasts

Verdi

LA FORZA DEL DESTINO

and

Verdi

AIDA

LA FORZA DEL DESTINO: (extensive scenes). Ponselle - Martinelli - De Luca - Pinza - Baccaloni; Act IV complete; Act II, Scene 3 complete; Act III aria. Best sound, extensive Notes - rare photos.

AIDA: Act II, Scene 2, Act III, complete Rethberg, Lauri-Volpi - De Luca - Wettergren - Pinza, 1936. Pitch corrected - best sound. Includes Act IV Judgment duet and other rare recordings.

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FAMOUS VOICES OF THE PAST

Schumann

FRAUENLIEBE UND -LEBEN

with 8 sopranos

Lotte Lehmann - Ria Ginster Germaine Martinelli - Ninon Vallin - Elisabeth Höngen Elisabeth Schumann - Sena Jurinac - Zara Dolukhanova

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A TRULY REPRESENTATIVE PERFORMANCE FROM THE LATTER DAYS OF THE GOLDEN AGE AT THE MET

LA GIOCONDA

Chorus & Orchestra of the
Metropolitan Opera

30 December 1939

Milanov, Martinelli, Castagna, Morelli, Moscona, Kaskas

Ettore Panizza, conductor

Bonus:

Never Previously Published:

Interview with Zinka Milanov, 1959

Also: Martinelli speaks of Martinelli

and

Ponchiellis I Lituani:?Finale to Act III

The 1939 Met broadcast offered some of the most memorable singing by Milanov ever recorded. This, with the plenitude of Martinelli’s Enzo recreates the opera with stirring dramatic eloquence. Offers the best sound, with commentary by Milton Cross. 3 CD set with a 40 page booklet, an article about the performance (by John Steane) and the composer (by Richard Caniell), as well as a full track-related synopsis, biographies and rare photographs. A great memento of a much revered era.

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Wagner

GOTTERDAMMERUNG

THREE ACTS COMPLETE

(Prologue Omitted)

FRIDA LEIDER - LAURITZ MELCHIOR

Thorborg - Janssen - Habich - Weber

Beecham / Furtwangler

Covent Garden

1936-37

WORLD PREMIERE RELEASE

The Heritage Series

Finally, Frida Leider in a complete performance of this music drama (without the Prologue) in a seamless fusion of sources reconstituting performances Leider sang with these casts and conductors. Good sound.

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Wagner

Götterdämmerung

Act II complete

Lauritz Melchior - Frida Leider - Herbert Janssen - Ludwig Weber

Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera, Covent Garden

Wilhelm Furtwängler, 1938

The complete Act II with the most illustrious Wagnerian singers of the age conducted by Furtwängler in an electrifying realization. Very good sound, extensive booklet notes and photos. Includes as Bonus: Frida Leider sings two operatic arias, brief interview and two songs of Schumann.

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FROM THE OPERA HOUSE OF OUR DREAMS SERIES

GÖTTERDMMERUNG

Chorus & Orchestra of the
Metropolitan Opera

MELCHIOR MEMORIAL

LAURITZ MELCHIOR - HELEN TRAUBEL

Janssen, Resnik, Harshaw
Ernster and Pechner

Various Conductors

Commentary by Milton Cross

Bonus:

Interview with Lauritz Melchior in his 80s

Click here to see back of album

A much laboured upon restoration and re-creation of Melchior’s final performance as Siegfried which occurred on 20 December 1948 at the Metropolitan Opera. Superb sound overall. This 4 CD set comes with a 56 page booklet, with articles about the performance and the composer, as well as a full track-related synopsis, biographies and rare photographs. An unforgettable memento of the final days of the Wagner Golden Age at the Met.

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Gretchaninoff

Missa Oecumenica

World Premiere

Maria Kurenko - Roland Hayes - Dorothy Cornish - Robert Collins

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Serge Koussevitzky, 26 February 1944

Never previously available in any medium. Good sound.

ALSO:

Gretchaninoff Songs

Maria Kurenko - Nina Koshetz

With the composer at the piano

A special album for Russian music aficionados, featuring the immensely popular 1940s soprano Maria Kurenko and tenor Roland Hayes, has just recently been improved with a generous contribution from one of our customers. The first movement (Kyrie) of the Missa Oecumenica has long been missing from this broadcast, until a patron offered us an old 16 inch transcription disc to complete the Mass. We will provide the remastered disc now to previous purchasers for $5.00. ( Click here to read more details.)

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Mozart's

IDOMENEO

complete

Glyndebourne Festival 1951

Sena Jurinac - Richard Lewis - Birgit Nilsson - Leopold Simoneau

FRITZ BUSCH

In Association with Brüder Busch Archiv

Fritz Busch was a masterful conductor and his performances at Glyndebourne during 1950 and 1951 are each unforgettable events. This Idomeneo, which followed his incomparable Così fan Tutte, both starred Sena Jurinac. The Idomeneo performance cast her with Leopold Simoneau and Richard Lewis, while Birgit Nilsson is heard in her first appearance outside Sweden. This album offers our restoration of Idomeneo, made for the Brüder Busch Archiv in Germany, under whose authorization it is now released. With extensive program notes and rare photos, we also offer a bonus (disc premiere) of the rehearsal of a Mozart Concert Aria sung by Jurinac with Busch conducting. Heard in good sound, this is a Mozart operatic treat music lovers can't afford to miss.

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JENNIE TOUREL

Unknown and Little Known Performances

1937-1961

PREMIERE RELEASE

Thomas - Mahler - Bizet - Bellini - Rossini

Standard Hour Concerts

Saint-Saëns - Tchaikovksy - Stradella - Rossini - Berlioz

Chausson : Poème de L'Amour et de la Mer, Op. 19

Haydn: Arianna a Naxos

Berlioz: La Mort de Cléopâtre

As Peter Davis wrote of Jennie Tourel in his book American Opera Singers (when considering her debut as Mignon): . . . her vibrant voice, with its familiar, intriguing tang and pungency already securely in place, takes all the soprano options with stunning results. And in every measure, there is the distinctive, musical and interpretive intelligence that discerning audiences would soon learn to treasure.

Davis, then a young man, attending a recital Tourel gave in a Boston Concert Hall during the fifties, told his readers that Tourel sang a program of art songs and arias employing an extraordinary range of vocal colors and expressive dynamics, illuminating every emotion from Gretchen’s heartbreak to Prichole’s tipsy joie de vivre.

From Henry Fogels article written for our booklet:

Bizet, Rossini, Mahler, Chausson, Bellini, Haydn, Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, Offenbach, Stradella. The list of singers who would be comfortable in such a broad range of musical and dramatic styles is a very small list indeed. By comfortable I don’t mean just singing the notes. What I am talking about is conveying the appropriate musical style everything from phrase-shaping to color and weight of voice and dynamic range for each of those composers. One singer who easily passes that test is Jennie Tourel.

The opportunity in this set to hear Tourel in such a wide range of material gives the listener a chance to re-assess her, and, frankly, brings a new appreciation of her artistry and her natural vocal strengths.

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JON VICKERS MEMORIAL

1926-2015

TWO PERFORMANCES

WORLD PREMIERE RELEASE

AIDA

Zeani, Vickers, Chookasian, Braun, others

Chorus and Orchestra of the Opéra de Montréal

Zubin Mehta, 11 October 1965

AND

CARMEN

Bumbry, Vickers, Carlyle, Merrill

Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Coln

Georges Prtre, 5 July 1968

Vickers was world famous for his Radames and Don Jose. Here are two never previously published performances to honor his extraordinary vocal artistry. (4 CDs for the price of 3)

John Steane, in his book Singers of the Century, wrote:

"He had, among the tenors of our time, an incomparable intensity. A sense, not exactly of strain, but of high notes that were not easily won, was part of it not an invariable feature of his singing, but part of the grieving, troubled soul of his characters. Radames in the agony of choice and betrayal; Don Jose in his surrender and confession these were passages into which Vickers put all the intensity of his being."

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INTRODUCING OUR FAMOUS VOICES FROM THE PAST SERIES

SENA JURINAC

UNKNOWN LIEDER RECORDINGS

1944-1951

Greig, Respighi, Wagner, Schubert, Mendelssohn, R. Strauss, Marx, Reger

Also

R. Strauss Four Last Songs

Radio Copenhagen / Fritz Busch

1951 (Never before published)

OPERATIC ARIAS AND DUETS

1949-1952

Gasparone - Fledermaus - Nozze - Carmen - Bohème
Madame Butterfly - Bartered Bride - Otello - Manon

One of the great voices of the latter half of the past century. Jurinac is heard in previously unknown recordings of lieder, recorded between 1945 and 1951. The second CD is composed of arias and duets from famous operas. Includes an article about Sena Jurinac by Tully Potter, The Early Prime of Sena Jurinac: A Personal View. First in a new series.

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CLICK HERE for German texts and translations of most of the Unknown Leider (Sena Jurinac) on CD 1.

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Jacques Offenbach

LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN

Jobin - Munsel - Singher - Lily Djanel - Jarmila Novotnà - Ezio Pinza - others

Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera

SIR THOMAS BEECHAM

Milton Cross, commentator

28 February 1944

Bonus

Les Contes D’Hoffmann

Act II Duet: Kozlovsky - Dolukhanova

Perhaps the greatest broadcast of this opera ever, conducted with enormous panache and brilliance by Sir Thomas Beecham. With commentary by Milton Cross. Good sound.

From the Recording Notes by Richard Caniell:

I have long hoped to make a restoration of this broadcast as I was completely captivated by the sparkle, the vivacity Beecham brought to Offenbach’s music.

My work, as usual, consists of pitch corrections, hand removal of ticks and expanding the dynamic between piano?and forte that had been flattened by broadcast limiters, which reduced what was loud and raised the level of what was low.

My delight in it was put into words by Virgil Thompson, the music critic for the New York Herald Tribune in which he wrote: The work was conducted with a fire and sweep as have probably never been matched at the opera house since Toscanini left its pit 25 years ago. Even the visual spectacle was absorbing. Besides all which, the opera itself is one of the masterpieces of dramatic theater.

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MAHLER

DAS LIED VON DER ERDE

New York Philharmonic

Kerstin Thorborg – Charles Kullman

Artur Rodzinski, conducter

19 November 1944

Also

Kerstin Thorborg: Lieder and Operatic Scenes

Charles Kullman: Operetta Arias, Vienna 1932 and Operatic Scenes

See Reviews for more details

A remarkable, good sounding broadcast with two singers closely associated with Mahler’s masterpiece. CD 2 offers Thorborg in lieder and operatic broadcast performances and CD 3 offers Kullman in early Vienna recordings and Met operatic arias and scenes. (3 CDs for the cost of 2)

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Wagner

LOHENGRIN

Melchior - Lehmann - Schorr - Lawrence - List

Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera 1935

Artur Bodanzky, 1935

In Honor of the Wagner Bicentennial

This historic performance is heard in our 2013 restoration in superior sound to all previously released CD albums by various labels, though it still is afflicted with the compressed 1935 transmission characteristics. Our restoration is taken from the original transcription, with broadcast commentary and curtain calls, and offers a booklet containing extensive articles about the performance, singers, and composer, together with rare photos. Truly, the ultimate edition.

From Henry Fogels review, Fanfare Nov/Dec 2013:

"This is another stunning restoration of historic material by Richard Caniell and Immortal Performances . . . He has worked on it over many years.

"Lehmann's voice is positively thrilling throughout . . . a performance of nobility and humanity . . . conveyed here in a wholly convincing manner, and with unfailingly glorious tone production and phrasing. Marjorie Lawrence is a splendid Ortrud. . . . Schorr's voice shows a few signs of wear . . . but the flaws are minor when compared with the depth of his characterization and deep musicality of his singing, and the variety of inflection and color he brings to Telramund. . . . Assessing Melchior's performance, this is the very best of those that have survived.

"A direct comparison of this (album) with the Myto and the Melodram releases of the same performance demonstrate the superiority of the Immortal Performances release. . . The set also includes Milton Crosss commentary and curtain calls.

"The filler includes the end of the first act of Die Walküre, from their Dream Ring (with Melchior and Lehmann) . . . that is as good as it gets. . . and then five Schumann duets . . . English texts are provided . . . with singing that is as beautiful as you would expect it to be from Melchior and Lehmann.

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Wagner

Lohengrin

Metropolitan Opera 1938

Melchior - Flagstad - Branzell - Huehn / De Abravanel

A seamless reconstruction of the February 1938 Met broadcast; Commentary by Milton Cross; Good sound. Extensive Notes; rare photos. Bonus: Lohengrin - Act I scenes, Chicago 1938 - Flagstad - Maison

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Wagner

Lohengrin

Lauritz Melchior, Elisabeth Rethberg

Kerstin Thorborg - Julius Huehn - Emanuel List - Leonard Warren

Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera

Erich Leinsdorf, 1940

From new sources with commentary.

The Original Broadcast

Perhaps the best sounding example of this music drama as heard during the latter days of the Golden Age of Wagner at the Met, this broadcast offers the finest Lohengrin of the century, Lauritz Melchior, heard with Elisabeth Rethberg, who give an electrifying performance as Elsa. The searing intensity of her singing in the Bridal Chamber scene wont soon be forgotten.

We finally located a first transfer of the original broadcast transcriptions, which includes the commentary by Milton Cross and curtain calls. The superiority we heard over our previous Guild release (2004), included noiseless full-toned sonics delivering considerable clarity and impact. This led us to release this broadcast anew. We can say with certainty, this is the ultimate edition.

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Wagner

Lohengrin

Melchior - Varnay - Thorborg - Janssen - Warren - Cordon

Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra

Erich Leinsdorf, 17 January 1942

This important performance, greatly confused by many with the widely circulated 1943 broadcast, has never been previously published. It is a far better performance than 1943. This broadcast has particular importance in presenting the best Telramund which Janssen ever sang. This heard against the dark and formidable Ortrud of Kerstin Thorborg. In addition, this is Varnay’s first Elsa, especially appealing in its youthfulness. Melchior is his usual magnificent self. Good sound, with extensive texts and rare photos. World Premiere. (3 CDs)

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Charpentier

Louise

Vallin - Thill - Pinza

Nearly Complete

(Lacking 14 minutes)

Though it is little known Pinza did sing in staged performances with Vallin and also with Thill. Pinza’s performance in Louise goes back to 1923 when he appeared with Fanny Heldy in the first French language performance at La Scala conducted by Toscanini. This new release in our Heritage Series uses the eight 78 rpm discs which Columbia recorded in 1935 as a base and then enlarges the performance to encompass the complete opera except for the brief scene (nine minutes) that concludes Act III between Louise and her mother. As a result, the poetical atmosphere, the musical and dramatic continuity has been restored. Vallin and Thill offer thrilling vocalism with exceptional verbal clarity in the older French style that is now nearly lost. Includes extensive booklet notes about the work, its composer, its milieu and the performance along with recording notes and rare photos. The bonus offers songs by Charpentier with soloists and chorus conducted by the composer. (2 CDs)

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MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 8

Symphony of a Thousand

Mimi Coertse - Hilde Zadek - Ina Maliniuk Lucrezia West - Giuseppe Zampiere - Herman Prey - Otto Edelmann

Conducted by Dimitri Mitropoulos

Vienna State Opera Chorus

Singverein Gesellshaft der Musikfreuke, Vienna

Vienna Boys Choir - Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Salzburg Festival 1960

One of the great performances of Mahler’s monumental work in an edition that soars in sonic splendor over all the previous editions we have auditioned. This offering retains the four-language commentary from the Salzburg Festival recreating the historic occasion when Mahler’s greatest work was broadcast throughout Europe, Scandinavia, Africa, the US, Canada and South America. The bonus offers the andante movement from Mahler’s Sixth Symphony and the final movement of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony also conducted by Mitropoulos. The booklet offers texts about the performance, the composer and the work together with extensive recording notes. This really is the ultimate edition.

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THE YOUNG DI STEFANO

Two Performances

Massenet

MANON

González - Di Stefano - Valdengo - others

Renato Cellini - conductor

Opera Nacionale, Mexico City

Palacio de las Bellas Artes, 6 July 1948

and

Massenet

WERTHER

Di Stefano - Simionato - others

Opera Nacionale, Mexico City

Renato Cellini - conductor

Palacio de las Bellas Artes, 26 July 1949

Bonuses

MANON

Excerpts from Act II, III and V

Favero - Di Stefano - Borriello - others

La Scala, 15 March 1947

(sung in Italian)

Orchestra of La Scala / Antonio Guarnieri

Standard Hour Broadcasts 1950s

Giuseppe di Stefano

Di Stefano, one of the great voices of the past century (when heard in his youth before certain vocal excesses took their toll), in Manon, sung in French, with a cherishable performance by Irma González in the title role (whose voice greatly resembles Féraldy in the 1930 performance). Also offered is Werther with Simionato and di Stefano. Both of these are restorations which rescue the performances from grave sonic blights and repeated pitch lapses, all now corrected with much sound improvement. Many articles, photos, biographies. This is as good as it gets. (4 CDs for the price of 3)

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Cherubini

MEDEA

Florence 1953

and

Donizetti

LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR

Met 1956

MEDEA: Callas - Guichandut - Barbieri - Tucci - Petri / Gui, Florence 7 May 1953. Callas in the most electrifying voice she ever brought to this role, especially in an unsurpassed Act III. Best sound from our 2016 restoration; extensive Notes and photos plus a separate booklet about her vocal art, with many photos.

LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR Metropolitan Opera Callas - Campora - Sordello - Moscona / Cleva. 3 December 1956 broadcast. Commentary by Milton Cross with Rudolf Bing and speech to the radio audience by Callas and other members of the cast. Extensive Notes and photos. Best sound to date.

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Wagner

Die Meistersinger

Friedrich Schorr - Elisabeth Rethberg - René Maison- Karin Branzell - Eduard Habich

Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera

Artur Bodanzky, 22 February 1936

Our 2013 restoration of this famed broadcast now offers good sound for this era and source. Includes commentary and curtain calls, extensive notes and rare photos; one of the truly great performances!

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DIE MEISTERSINGER

Chorus & Orchestra of the
Metropolitan Opera
(2 December 1939)

Schorr, Kullman, Jessner, Branzell, Laufkoetter / Leinsdorf

Friedrich Schorr’s famed performance as Hans Sachs and Charles Kullman’s justly famed Walther (which he first sang under Toscanini’s direction at Salzburg in 1936) is recorded in splendid sound, perhaps the best of all Met preservations in the 1930s and 1940s. Irene Jessner emerges as a surprisingly memorable Eva, with singing occasionally reminiscent of Tiana Lemnitz and, in Act III, Rethberg. List, Karin Branzell, Herbert Janssen and Karl Laufkoetter complete the cast. The young Leinsdorf directs an animated, propulsive and ultimately triumphant performance in which the Met chorus covers itself with glory. The overall effect is immensely inspiring, so much so that the broadcast (with complete commentary and curtain calls) seems representative of the entire era. A 52-page booklet, lavish with photos, offers texts about the work, the performances, and the composer, biographies and extensive recording notes.

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Wagner

Die Meistersinger

Herbert Janssen - Eleanor Steber - Charles Kullman - Kerstin Thorborg - others

Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera

George Szell, 10 February 1945

This complete broadcast has a fill-in (7 minutes) in Act I in which Jessner/Branzell sing in place of Steber/Thorborg. The missing opening part of Act I (32 minutes) offers the same Walther and Pogner as sung in 1945, taken from 1939.

Finally the complete performance with a great cast brought to vivid life by Szell, in good sound and with commentary by Milton Cross. The first scene, heretofore missing, has been seamlessly filled out from an earlier performance with the same Walther and Pogner. The booklet offers detailed notes about the performance, singers, and recording. Rare photos. (3 CDs)

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MIGNON

TWO PERFORMANCES

Debuts at the Met of Jennie Tourel and Risë Stevens

MIGNON

Tourel - Tokatyan - Rothier - Antoine - others

Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra

William Pelletier, 15 May 1937

AND

MIGNON

Stevens - Crooks - Pinza - Antoine - others

Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra

William Pelletier, 17 December 1938

WORLD PREMIERE RELEASE

This melodic opera marvellously sung by Tourel and Stevens, each with other important singers, offers good sound, articles and photos. Unforgettable. (4 CDs for the price of 3)

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Bellini

NORMA

Metropolitan Opera 1937

Cigna - Martinelli - Castagna - Pinza / Panizza.

Repeatedly sought by opera lovers writing to us, we finally present our 2016 restoration of this famed broadcast. Best sound to date. Commentary by Milton Cross; extensive Notes and rare photos.

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Vincenzo Bellini

NORMA

Joan Sutherland

Marilyn Horne - John Alexander - Richard Cross - others

Chorus and Orchestra of the Vancouver Opera

Richard Bonynge, 26 October 1963

World Premiere Release

Joan Sutherland's debut as Norma

Free Bonus Disc

SUTHERLAND: RARE BROADCAST ARIAS AND SCENES

Traviata - Meistersinger - Alcina - Lucia - Rigoletto - Tosca

IRVING GUTTMAN MEMORIAL

Sutherland's debut in the role in a much celebrated performance taken from the house lines. Also includes scenes of Sutherland as Tosca with Gobbi, Eva in Meistersinger, and other operatic excerpts as shown above. Extensive texts lush with many rare photographs of the production. (3 CDs for the price of 2)

From the booklet notes by Henry Fogel:

"The role of Norma is one of the most challenging that a soprano can confront and Sutherland was one of the most important proponents of that role in the second half of the twentieth century (perhaps she, Callas, and Caball were at their own level, with a host of others occupying the rungs below that). What is special about this set is that it gives us a live broadcast of Sutherland’s first public performances of that role . . .

"Listening now to Sutherland’s first attempt, one is astonished at her mastery of the role. There is nothing tentative about any aspect of her singing here. It is true, as has often been noted, that Sutherland did not display the unique kind of vocal acting that one heard from Callas. But it is in no way true that her Norma is a bland exercise in vocalism for the sake of a pretty sound. The combination of rage, hurt, tenderness, and humiliation that Norma experiences in this opera is present throughout Sutherland’s performance. Her interactions with Marilyn Horne’s brilliant Adalgisa are, in fact, alive and fully nuanced."

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Mozart

LE NOZZE DI FIGARO

Ezio Pinza - Licia Albanese - Jarmila Novotna - Salvatore Baccaloni - others

Milton Cross, commentator

Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra

Ettore Panizza, 7 December 1940

Restoration of the original NBC transcriptions

and

LE NOZZE DI FIGARO

ACT II COMPLETE

Pinza - Sayao - Stevens - Rethberg

Orchestra of the San Francisco Opera

Erich Leinsdorf, conductor

12 October 1940

This famous Met performance now offered in highly improved sound with full commentary by Milton Cross plus the bonus of a complete Act II from the San Francisco Opera (1940) with Pinza, Sayão, Stevens and Rethberg. Not to be missed if you cherish this era and these voices and this work. (3 CDs)

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Verdi

OTELLO

Metropolitan Opera 1940

Martinelli - Rethberg - Tibbett, others / Panizza

This broadcast chosen by famous critic and author John Steane as the preferred performance of this opera with Rethberg at her very best as Desdemona. Our 2016 restoration in good sound with broadcast commentary by Milton Cross. Extensive Notes and rare photos.

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Leoncavallo

PAGLIACCI

Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera

Martinelli, Tibbett, Mario, Cehanvosky, Tedesco

10 March 1934

Vincenzo Bellezza, conductor

and

PAGLIACCI

? Recitar!?(Martinelli) Vitaphone 1927

Final scene Chicago Opera, 1940

Martinelli, Zaplicki / Abravanel

IL TROVATORE

Met 15 February 1936

Act II, Sc. 1; Act IV portion; Act IV, sc. 2 complete

Martinelli, Rethberg, Bonelli, Meisle / Papi

Bonus: Interview with Martinelli and Albanese

GOOD SOUND FOR THIS ERA

From Henry Fogel’s review published in FANFARE magazine's Nov/Dec 2014 issue:

I have only been familiar with this 1934 Met Pagliacci on a dismal Walhall transfer, and found I could never get through it. What we have here is miraculous. . . . Caniell has cleaned up the material superbly fixing pitch inconsistencies, bringing out real color from the voices, and reversing serious dynamic compression.

There is another Martinelli Pagliacci, from 1936, but with Bonelli instead of Tibbett, and yet another from 1941 with Tibbett. But Martinelli surpasses himself here in 1934; this is the one to hear. . . the sound has plenty of ring, and he knew the style as almost no one else did. His sense of how to shape the music was innate and deeply held within him, and his willingness to give everything he had in performance made his appearances real events. . . This is a truly great performance, one that merits the over-used word unique.. . . I found myself swept up from his entrance to the operas conclusion.

Tibbett is the other major asset of this performance. His is a richly sung and highly dramatic Tonio. Not only the Prologue, but the duet with Nedda is a true highlight.

This is a performance of rare dramatic fire and with musical thrills galore, lovingly and brilliantly restored. If you care at all about Pagliacci and/or the verismo operatic tradition, you must know this performance, and only in this transfer.

The other Pagliacci excerpts are valuable (the restoration of the 1927 Vitaphone recording shows us the younger Martinelli and reproduces the voice with remarkable color). . . The Trovatore excerpts (one scene is not from the Met but from a 1927 Vitaphone recording) are further illustration of Martinelli’s skill, and his ability to sing lyrically when the music requires. Rethberg and Bonelli are excellent. . . the restoration is as good as it gets. The 18-minute interview with Martinelli and Albanese . . . is a wonderful additional bonus. As usual, the notes and photos that accompany the discs are all one could ask for.

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NEVER BEFORE AVAILABLE

PARSIFAL

Act I complete

Torsten Ralf, Emanuel List, Herbert Janssen, Rose Bampton, Jorge Danton

Conducted by Erich Klieber

Teatro Colón 1946

Also: Parsifal

Act I: Prelude and Transformation Scene to the end of the act

Act III: Good Friday Scene to the end of the act

Torsten Ralf, Ludwig Weber, Herbert Janssen, Robert Easton

Conducted by Fritz Reiner / Rudolf Moralt

Covent Garden 1937 / Vienna 1949

Also Parsifal: Rare 78 rpm discs

The album opens with a disc premiere of a 1946 Teatro Coln performance of Act I (complete) with Torsten Ralf, Emanuel List, Herbert Janssen and Rose Bampton conducted by Erich Kleiber in somewhat cramped sonics. Thereafter, in great sound, ensues a Parsifal from Covent Garden 1937. This includes the Prelude, the Transformation Scene through to the end of Act I; Act III: The Good Friday Scene to the end of Act III. Gurnemanz is marvelously sung by Ludwig Weber, Torsten Ralf is Parsifal and Herbert Janssens much-celebrated performance as Amfortas communicates the reasons why he was so revered in this role. The bonus recordings offer rare 78s from Parsifal. The booklet offers extensive texts about the work, the composer and the singers together with rare pictorials and extensive recording notes. We believe this to be an edition that will be much cherished by connoisseurs of vocal art.

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Borodin

PRINCE IGOR

Completed by Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov

Lyric Opera of Chicago

Boris Christoff - Igor Gorin

Consuelo Rubio, David Poleri, others

Rudolf Nureyev & Sonia Arova in the Polovtsian Dances

12 October 1962

Oskar Danon, conductor

Bonus

IGOR GORIN

Arie Antiche and Radio Interview

Gala performance included Nureyev in the Polovtsian Dances. Good sound, broadcast commentary; rare photos. Bonus: Interview w/Igor Gorin who sings Arie Antiche

From Henry Fogel’s review published in FANFARE magazine's Nov/Dec 2014 issue:

The principal value of this important release is Gorin’s Igor, a towering achievement vocally and dramatically. His rich, resonant, firmly focused voice is based on an extremely sound technique, and he sings with presence and character. Those who really love this opera should know this performance, which is as richly characterized and beautifully sung as any.

In addition to Gorin, this performance boasts Boris Christoff in the dual roles of Galitsky and Konchak . . . In his excellent notes, producer Richard Caniell notes that Christoff is not in quite as firm voice as he was on his earlier EMI Boris Gudonov recording. That may be true, but he sounds pretty good to me here, and with much firmer tones than he shows on the later EMI set.

There is one more highlight in Prince Igor, and that is the tenor David Poleri’s sensitive and lovely singing here. This version of Vladimir’s Cavatina can stand with some of the finest.

So the monumental presence of Christoff and the rich Prince of Gorin are the reasons for serious collectors to explore this set. That is especially true because of the added bonus of a 1961 studio recording originally on the Golden Crest label called Arie antiche, with Gorin accompanied very nicely by pianist Willard Straight. . . . A brief interview rounds out the Gorin material here.

As usual, Immortal Performances’s production standards are top of the line. The notes are both informative and interesting . . . overall this is a natural sounding early 1960s monaural radio broadcast, and for this kind of material the sound is really terrific.

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FLORENCE QUARTARARO

Unknown Recordings - Arias - Duets

The Complete Collection

The greatest singer of whom youve never heard.

Henry fogel, WMFT radio

Here are all the privately recorded songs, arias and duets from Madame Quartararo’s collection, one third of which was published by us on Guild label in 2003 to widespread acclaim. Now, following repeated requests we publish the remainder of the recordings we hold (2 CDs) together with a free third CD re-offering the recordings we previously released on CD. The album was the subject of a radio program in August 2013 on WFMT in Chicago. The host of that program also wrote the notes for our album.

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Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari

I QUATTRO RUSTIGHI

Corena - Noni - Orell - Perea Labia - Dubbini - Carlin - others

Orchestra of Radio Italiana, Milano

Public Performance at the Teatro dell’Arte

Alfred Simonetto, 13 June 1951

Also

Wolf-Ferrari: Overture to Le Segreto di Susanna(1946)

Wolf-Ferrari: Overture to Le Donne Curiose(1944)

NBC Symphony, Arturo Toscanini

Commentary – Ben Grauer

One of the few comedic masterpieces written in the past century, set to a witty text, rich with melodic and orchestral invention, offering an array of singers perfect for their roles. One of the most charming performances we’ve ever offered; we can’t recommend it too highly. Bonus – Wolf-Ferrari overtures conducted by Toscanini. Extensive booklet notes about the performance, singers, composer; highly detailed synopsis, full libretto on-site, good sound, best so far.

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LIBRETTO

I Quattro Rusteghi Act I

I Quattro Rusteghi Act II

I Quattro Rusteghi Act III

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Verdi

RIGOLETTO

Piaro Campolonghi - Maria Callas - Giuseppe Di Stefano

Opera Nacional, Mexico City

Humberto Mugnai, 1952

THE CALLAS LEGACY

Our 2012 restoration of this important performance offers vivid sound with considerable clarity and immediacy, revealing a shining loveliness to Callas voice previously absent due to a loss of overtones and the wrong pitch of numerous available albums. Includes two extensive articles about Callas. The broadcast transcriptions, with commentary in Spanish, offer natural tone, brightness and punch in the sonics. Please Note: A few performance failures marred this broadcast. These mishaps have been corrected in this restoration. Full details are to be found in the album booklet.

From Henry Fogel's review, Fanfare Nov./Dec. 2012:

"Callas’s remarkable Gilda is this Mexico City performance from the beginning of her career, which imparts a special value to this release. . . especially when they learn that the sound is significantly superior to all prior versions . . . Even Myto’s, which was the best CD version, is easily surpassed by Richard Caniell’s efforts for his Immortal Performances label."

"The Inn scene with Sparafucile, Maddalena, and Gilda was a wreck in the original. . . [something] one cannot live with on repeated hearing in recorded form. . . [Caniell] replaced it with the same music from the EMI . . . and explains openly what he did in his superb notes . . . he has pulled it off brilliantly, getting the EMI sound to match the Mexico recording extremely well. He includes the Inn Scene material from the original as a bonus track, if anyone wishes to hear the mess."

"Caniell’s notes about this performance, and about his approach to restoration, are a model of what kind of material should accompany historic reissues but rarely does."

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Gounod

ROMEO ET JULIETTE

Chorus and Orchestra of the
Metropolitan Opera (1 February 1947)

Jussi Björling, Bidu Sayão, John Brownlee, Nicola Moscona, Mimi Benzell

Conducted by Emil Cooper

Bonus: Romeo e Giulietta

Act II complete

La Scala 1934

Beniamino Gigli and Mafalda Favero

This justly celebrated performance, which presents Björling and Sayão at the height of their vocal and dramatic capacities, has been well circulated through numerous releases including the Mets own edition, offered for $125, but none of them come near the sonics of our edition. The album includes the broadcast commentary and offers a booklet lavish with photos and texts devoted to the singers, performance, composer and work as well as biographies and recording notes. As a bonus a premiere release of the complete performance of Act II of Romeo which was broadcast from La Scala in 1934 with Gigli and Mafalda Favero in sound superior to what has been previous made available (in excerpted form) by EMI and others. Hearing Björling and Gigli in the same music presents a fascinating contrast in great singing and style.

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Richard Strauss

DER ROSENKAVALIER

Lotte Lehmann

Risë Stevens - Marita Farell - Emanuel List - Friedrich Schorr - others

Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera

Artur Bodanzky, 1939

Though the source remains an A.M. radio recording, our 2012 restoration offers better sound than previously available, together with with some commentary and 2 interviews with Lotte Lehmann, as well as 34 rare photographs of the stage performance, articles about the singers and biographies. The bonus offers historic recordings from Der Rosenkavalier (1928-29).

From Henry Fogel’s review, Fanfare May/June 2013:

"Richard Caniell’s restoration of this 1939 broadcast surpasses all previous issues in quality, even including the Mets own lavishly produced (and lavishly priced) LP set. The sound is fuller, the voices truer and more natural, the sonic grit minimized to a degree I would not have thought possible . . . The sound is now listenable to anyone with an ear attuned to historic recordings, in a way that it never has been.

"So why can you not be without this? Primarily, but not solely, Lotte Lehmann in one of her greatest roles, caught in terrific voice and in a real performance. . . . Her Marschallin is one of the truly great operatic characterizations, worthy of mention with Chaliapin’s Boris and Caruso’s Canio, and to have it in this form is to have a treasure. In addition we get the young Risë Stevens’s deftly characterized and beautifully sung Octavian, a relatively unknown Sophie in Marita Farell, but one who sings with the pure silver tone this music wants.

"This is a hugely important release to anyone who cares about this opera; even if you have the performance in an earlier incarnation, replacement is urgently recommended."

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Richard Strauss

DER ROSENKAVALIER

Irene Jessner - Jarmila Novotna - Nadine Conner - Emanuel List - others

Milton Cross, commentator

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra

George Szell, 19 February 1944

WORLD PREMIERE RELEASE

and

DER ROSENKAVALIER EXCERPTS BERLIN 1928

Barbara Kemp - Delia Reinhardt - Marion Claire - Fritz Krenn

Berlin Staatsoper

Although this cast and Szell can be heard in a 1946 broadcast, this premiere release offers all concerned in better voice and sound, with commentary by Milton Cross. (3 CDs)

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Richard Strauss

DER ROSENKAVALIER

Lisa Della Casa

Christa Ludwig - Elisabeth Söderström - Oskar Czerwenka - Ralph Herbert - others

Milton Cross, commentator

Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera

Erich Leinsdorf, 26 December 1959

BONUS

DER ROSENKAVALIER SCENES

Lisa Della Casa, Mildred Miller, Dorothy Warenskjold

Los Angeles Philharmonic / Arturo Basile, 12 March 1959

World Premiere on Disc

Plus

Dorothy Warenskjold

Standard Hour Concerts 1948 - 1949

Debussy - Alfano - Charpentier

San Francisco Opera Orchestra / Pierre Monteux

An exceptional performance with Della Casa at her ravishing best - good sound, commentary, extensive notes and photos. Bonus scenes from Rosenkavalier with Della Casa, Miller, Warenskjold, Los Angeles Philharmonic, 1959. Never previously published. Excellent sound. (4 CDs for the price of 3)

From the booklet notes by Richard Caniell

"My regard for the performance released here centers on the remarkable trio of singers it assembles: beginning with Lisa Della Casa as the Marschallin, singing with elegance and exquisite tone, yet capable of an enriching characterization which was not yet hers to give in her first Met broadcast in the role (1956 Kempe). She has Christa Ludwig, the best of the Octavians after Risë Stevens . . . In the Strauss commemorative issue of Opera Quarterly (Summer 1999), Robert Baxter assesses all the recorded Rosenkavaliers and states as to Ludwigs Octavian, that she embodied an ideal. Her ample, creamy voice neither Jurinac nor Fassbnder can match Ludwig’s opulence makes her a vocal paragon. No other Octavian sings with such unfailing beauty and ease. Joined to these two in laudable casting was Elisabeth Söderström as Sophie, the soprano who Stephen Hastings, in his remarkable book The Björling Sound, refers to as the finest Swedish singing actress of her generation.

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STRAUSS: SALOME

TWO PERFORMANCES

SALOME

Cebotari - Patzak - Höngen - Rothmüller - others

Vienna State Opera at Covent Garden

Clemens Krauss, 30 September 1947

AND

SALOME

Welitsch - Jagel - Thorborg - Janssen - others

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra

Fritz Reiner, 12 March 1949

Two of the greatest performances of Salome in one CD set. Improved sonics over all previous releases. This, at last, is the sound and production both performances deserve. Cebotari and Welitsch recordings are the bonus. (4 CDs for the cost of 3)

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Saint-Saëns

SAMSON ET DALILA

René Maison - Risë Stevens - Leonard Warren - Nicola Moscona - others

Milton Cross, commentator

Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera

Wilfred Pelletier, 13 December 1941

WORLD PREMIERE RELEASE

BONUS

Samson et Dalila: Césare Vezzani - Marie Duchêne

Act II, Scene 3 complete; Act III Mill scene

Never previously available, this offers Risë Stevens in her first Dalila in sound good for the era, with commentary, articles and photos, plus a rare French recording of Act II, Scene 3 complete.

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SET SVANHOLM

Unknown Lieder Recitals

1949 & 1952

Schubert - Brahms - R. Strauss - Rangström - Grieg- Sibelius -Wagner

Scenes from Tristan und Isolde (1950) and Die Meistersinger (1949, 1956)

Svanholm, famed in Wagnerian roles, is presented here in two little known lieder recitals, U.S. (1949) and Vienna (1952), providing new insights into his vocal art. A new release in our Famous Voices of the Past series.

From Raymond Beegle's review, Fanfare May/June 2012:

"Although Set Svanholm is several years younger than Karl Erb, they represent the same Zeitgeist, comprised in part, of simplicity and directness, as well as a deep connection with nature and the human heart. One finds a kindred clarity, brilliance, and beauty of sound, a helden quality . . . . "

"Svet Svanholm’s two recitals presented on this disc are very compelling, and at times magical. There are moments approaching perfection, as in the Library of Congress performance of Dein blaues Aug although one encounters throughout both performances chronic technical difficulties . . . The purity and sincerity of Svanholm’s delivery carries the day . . . No one today sings the songs of Schubert and Brahms with the depth and guilelessness he possessed, though many are more polished. "

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Verdi

SIMON BOCCANEGRA

Tibbett - Rethberg - Martinelli - Pinza - Warren

Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera

Ettore Panizza, 1939

In Honor of the Verdi Bicentennial

This renowned performance has been repeatedly released on CD by many labels, all being clones of the Met set. This means highly compressed, lifeless sound with a metallic resonance. Our 2013 restoration offers the best sonics ever available with considerable vocal presence, natural tone and dimensionalization of the ensembles so as to recreate in dynamic values, one of the most exciting and truly great performances of the late 1930s.

From Henry Fogels review, Fanfare Nov/Dec 2013:

"Until now, this 1939 Met broadcast could only be recommended to collectors who had a wide tolerance for historic sound. What Richard Caniell of Immortal Performances has done here is close to miraculous. . . . The dynamic range has been extended, removing the effects of electronic compression. (Surface) noise has been removed without removing color from the voices; and the whole jumps out of the speakers as the incredible performance that it is.

"Tibbett is gigantic as Boccanegra. . . this is one of the great operatic portrayals ever, period . . . the same can be said about Pinza. Beauty of tone, nobility of expression, strength and eloquence, it is all there. Rethberg perhaps gains the most from Caniell’s remastering. . . her voice glows with a warmth that previous editions of this performance managed to minimize. Martinelli's feeling for the style is complete, he has power, and he also has the ability to moderate his voice and sing softly . . . There are moments that are truly thrilling, alongside moments where one wishes for more tonal beauty . . . . But the greatness of the artist is always present when Martinelli sings.

"Immortal Performances’s usual stunning production standards are present. The booklet contains intelligent, thoughtful notes on the performance and the artists, wonderful rare old photos, and insightful comments on the opera itself. Real Verdi lovers . . . would be quite foolish to pass this one up. It provides operatic thrills that frankly none of the studio recordings can duplicate, not even the best of them."

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REMASTERED 2017

Verdi

SIMON BOCCANEGRA

Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera 1939

One of our most sought restorations released some years ago now offered in a new 2017 restoration in significantly improved sound. Offered to previous purchasers at a reduced rate; others will discover the electrifying experience of hearing this unequalled performance in a new and better edition.

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Wagner

TANNHÄUSER

Lauritz Melchior, Kirsten Flagstad, Kerstin Thorborg, Lawrence Tibbett, others

Metropolitan Opera

18 January 1936

Artur Bodanzky, conductor

Also:

TANNHÄUSER

Act III Complete

Melchior, Müller, Janssen, Jost-Arden

Chorus and Orchestra of the Bayreuth Theater

Karl Elmendorff and other conductors

A recreation of the 1930/1931 Bayreuth performances restoring all the music cut in the Columbia recording. See more details at the bottom of the review section for this release

Best sound over all other editions. Includes articles about the composer, the work, singers & performance.

From Henry Fogels review published in FANFARE magazine's Nov/Dec 2014 issue:

To have in one performance, even if it existed only in our dreams, Melchior, Flagstad, Thorborg, Tibbett, and List is to have as close to a Wagnerian ideal as there is. . . .The key to any performance of Tannhäuser is the tenor in the title role, and it is doubtful that there was ever a better one than Melchior. Seven Met broadcasts exist in some form featuring the great Dane, most having been released on multiple labels . . . Of those, I am familiar with 1941 (on Arkadia CDs), 1942 (Music & Arts), 1944 (Gebhardt), and 1948 (Myto). In all cases the transfers are not very good, exhibiting pitch problems, muffled sound leading to colorless voices, and dynamic compression.

For this transfer . . . Caniell has gotten a far superior, more natural, orchestral and vocal sound from the material than is even heard on some of the other labels later performances. What we have here sounds like the voices we know from later studio recordings, caught in the heat of performance.

Melchior was as good as it gets in this fiendishly (difficult) role, retaining freshness of voice throughout the opera and characterizing the music with more specificity and dramatic meaning than he is usually credited with. The sound itself is glorious, his ability to sing an even, gentle legato and then to let his voice peal forth with glorious power without ever losing richness of tone is unique to him among Heldentenors. Captured here in his prime, he gives a performance to treasure.

This is the only recording Tibbett left of a complete German role . . . and if there has ever been a Wolfram with a richer or more beautiful timbre I have not encountered him. He, like Melchior, is capable of a seamless legato, and his singing of the Hymn to the Evening Star has far more of a face to it than his studio recording.

Flagstad too contradicts the clichés about her glorious voice being married to a too stolid temperament. She sings with variety of color and dynamic shadings, and inflects with specificity in a way that brings Elisabeth vividly to life. And indeed that voice is something of a miracle of nature in its glow and evenness from top to bottom.

The principal issue in this Tannhäuser is Margaret Halstead’s Venus, a completely unacceptable singer in the company of Melchior, Flagstad, Tibbett, and List. She was apparently a last-minute substitute for Gertrude Wettergren. Caniell has substituted Kerstin Thorborg from a 1941 Met broadcast . . . The insertions are extremely natural and smooth, sonically and musically, and one is not jarred. For those who wonder about the justification for this kind of technical wizardry, Caniell has inserted after the conclusion of the first act some excerpts of Halstead’s performance. It is fairly gruesome singing, with intonation problems and a hollowness of sound that is really hard on the ear. What is particularly impressive is that instead of just lifting Thorborg/Melchior from 1941, because he wanted to keep Melchior from 1936 (where Thorborg wasn’t present) he had to keep switching between the two performances when they sang sequentially. That one cannot hear it is an impressive achievement.

Thorborg’s rich vocal colors and sensitive shaping of Venus’s music more than justifies Caniell’s decision to bring her in from 1941 to remove the disastrous Halstead. None of the insertions are audible, and if we weren’t told . . . we would never realize that this was not a single performance.

The individual bonus recordings speak for themselves all are famous among collectors, and all have been restored lovingly and beautifully. . . As is normal for Immortal Performances, there are excellent notes about the opera itself, the singers involved, and the history of the recording as well as insights into the thought processes of Caniell in putting this together.

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Wagner

TANNHÄUSER

Lauritz Melchior - Kirsten Flagstad - Herbert Janssen - Kerstin Thorborg - others

Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra

4 January 1941

Erich Leinsdorf, conductor

Milton Cross, commentator

Bonus:

Bonus: Excerpts from Tannhäuser 1939

Kirsten Flagstad - Herbert Janssen

This much circulated broadcast, offering luminaries from the Golden Age of Wagner at the Met, is offered here in its best most natural sound. Commentary by Milton Cross and a bonus of excerpts from a 1939 performance (Flagstad, Janssen). The totality, with extensive notes, photos and biographies, re-create this historic occasion with stunning immediacy. (3 CDs)

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Wagner

TANNHÄUSER

Lauritz Melchior, Helen Traubel, Herbert Janssen

Kerstin Thorborg, Alexander Kipnis, others

Metropolitan Opera

19 December 1942

George Szell, conductor

Also:

HOLLYWOOD BOWL CONCERT

Lauritz Melchior - Helen Traubel

Lohengrin Bridal Chamber Scene (complete)

Grail Narrative

Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra

Eugene Ormandy, conductor

1948

This famed performance offered in our recent restoration has very good sound. Includes Milton Cross commentary and curtain calls, extensive articles about the performance, singers and composer, as well as rare photos.

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Verdi

La Traviata

Puccini

Madama Butterfly

Albanese Centenary - Double Album

4 discs for the price of 3

La Traviata

Licia Albanese - Charles Kullman - Lawrence Tibbett

Chorus and Orchestra of Metropolitan Opera

Cesare Sodero, 5 December, 1942

BONUS:

Albanese singing in excerpts from La Wally, Andrea Chnier, and Otello

Madama Butterfly

Licia Albanese - Armand Tokatyan - John Brownlee - Lucielle Browning

Chorus and Orchestra of Metropolitan Opera

Gennaro Papi, 5 January 1941

BONUS:

Albanese singing in excerpts from Otello, Pagliacci, Faust,, and Carmen

Albanese’s first Met performances of these roles in good sound. Certain portions of the 1942 broadcast (Traviata) augmented by passages from 1944. Albanese’s youthful voice is a complete delight.

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Wagner

TRISTAN UND ISOLDE

Act III Complete

Leider - Melchior - Olszewska - Schutzendorf

Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra

Artur Bodanzky

11 March 1933

Also: Act I: Prelude & excerpts - Act II Liebesnacht to Act end

PREMIERE RELEASE

The Heritage Series

Bonus: Two selections from Wesendonch lieder

Finally a complete Act III with the missing 19 minutes plus some gaps filled in from the unpublished 1936 Met broadcast. Act II complete from entry of Tristan to the end, with the hole in the EMI Act II duet seamlessly filled in. Missing is Isolde’s “ein fremdes Land”. This completes our traversal of Leider’s unforgettable vocal art.

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Wagner

TRISTAN UND ISOLDE

Orchestra and Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera

Lauritz Melchior, Kirsten Flagstad, Friedrich Schorr

Karin Branzell, Ludwig Hofmann, others

9 March 1935

Artur Bodanzky

Commentator: Milton Cross

Bonus:

Intermission Program: Farrar and Martinelli

First Victor Recording by Flagstad of the Liebestod

Flagstad’s famed first Isolde with Melchior’s incomparable Tristan, in sound superior to all previous issues. The broadcast commentary, articles, and photos go far in recreating this historic event.

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Wagner

TRISTAN UND ISOLDE

Covent Garden

Royal Opera, London Philharmonic

Melchior, Flagstad, Klose, Janssen, Nilsson, others

Acts I and II, 18 June 1937

Act III with Branzell and Schöffler, 22 June 1937

Sir Thomas Beecham, conductor

Bonus:

TRISTAN UND ISOLDE

Act Two Complete, 22 June 1937

Covent Garden

Melchior, Flagstad, Nilsson, Schöffler, Branzell

Sir Thomas Beecham conducting

THE CORONATION SEASON

One of the most important releases in our history, this unforgettable performance in a new restoration: best sound ever, extensive notes and rare photos. Includes long missing Act I? finale from 18 June 1937. Bonus: extra Act II from 22 June 1937. Steane talks about the Covent Garden 1937 season; Beecham conducts Vaughan-Williams Flourish for the Coronation, London Philharmonic and Chorus 1937 premiere on disc. The ultimate edition!

From Henry Fogel’s review published in FANFARE magazine's Nov/Dec 2014 issue:

. . . an utterly remarkable performance of Tristan und Isolde available now in a version that so completely supersedes all prior versions as to render them irrelevant. Richard Caniell has given his usual attention to detail, removing hiss, grit and noise to the extent possible but without destroying the color of the voices and the orchestra. . . If you told me I could take only one to that mythical desert island, I would choose this one.

Flagstad is often accused of being matronly, stolid, lacking in passion. To be sure, there are performances of hers that merit at least some of that criticism, though for me it always pales when set against the sheer glory of the voice itself. But this performance, perhaps inspired by Beecham, shows Flagstad not only at her vocal best, but responsive to text and to dramatic moment. She is girlish, she is impassioned, she is anguished, she is furious, she is tender; she is, in short, a complete Isolde. In no prior releases of this performance did her voice glow and shine the way it does in Immortal Performances’s transfer. The rich beauty of her top notes comes through with remarkable impact.

Melchior too benefits from the sonic improvements of this edition . . . This is the Tristan of ones dreams, combining urgency, vocal beauty, and a very musical way of putting forth a phrase.

The other prime beneficiary of the superb sonic restoration here is Beecham, or rather Beecham and the orchestra. No other edition of this performance offers this degree of richness and variety of orchestral color, this dynamic range, and in particular this beauty of string tone. . . What we have here is one of the greatest performances of that opera ever to be captured in recorded form, finally transferred in a way that respects the quality of the music-making and brings it all vividly to life.

Richard Caniell also gives us extensive and thoughtful notes that are way beyond what we get in most releases, either by the major record companies or certainly those specializing in historic material. . . And one must also note the wonderful photographs included in the two accompanying booklets.

There are many labels, major companies and small independent producers, that make historic material available. None does it with the consistently high standards of Immortal Performances. Those of us who believe that the history of the art form of opera must be well documented, for our own enjoyment and for future generations, owe this company an enormous debt of gratitude.

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Wagner

TRISTAN UND ISOLDE

Orchestra and Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera

Lauritz Melchior, Kirsten Flagstad, Kerstin Thorborg

Julius Huehn, Ludwig Hofmann, others

2 January 1937

Artur Bodanzky

Commentator: Milton Cross

Bonus:

BBC Interview: Flagstad talks about singing Wagner

DIE WALKRE: Act II - Todesverkündigung

(Never previously published)

Kirsten Flagstad - Lauritz Melchior

San Francisco Opera Orchestra, 1939

Edwin McArthur, conductor

Best on-pitch sound over all previous editions, commentary and curtain calls by Milton Cross, extensive texts about the performance, singers, composer, recording notes and rare photos. Bonus offers the Todesverkündigung from Walküre, Act II, San Francisco Opera, 1939, never previously published.

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Wagner

TRISTAN UND ISOLDE

LAURITZ MELCHIOR - KIRSTEN FLAGSTAD

Branzell - Huehn - List - Gabor

Artur Bodanzkyr

Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera

16 April 1938

Bonus: BBC “Vintage Years

Tribute to Kirsten Flagstad

This broadcast, previously published by Sony in ruinously electronic sound is here presented in its natural sonic, with broadcast commentary, offering what may well be Flagstad’s most inspired and marvelously sung portrayal of Isolde among her many recordings of this role. Melchior is, as always, a supreme Tristan and Brangäne is richly sung by Karin Branzell. Add to this a memorial program about Flagstad by the BBC and you’ll discover why we consider this set among the best things we’ve ever produced.

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Wagner

TRISTAN UND ISOLDE

Orchestra and Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera

Lauritz Melchior - Helen Traubel - Kerstin Thorborg

Julius Huehn - Alexander Kipnis - others

6 February 1943

Erich Leinsdorf, conductor

Commentator: Milton Cross

Superb sounding restoration, far superior to our previous release on Naxos (1998), offers a performance of stunning power and eloquence. Add to this the concluding commentary by Milton Cross plus articles and photos and the original event is re-created with striking authenticity. (3 CDs)

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Wagner

Tristan und Isolde

ACT III COMPLETE

Lauritz Melchior, Göta Ljungberg, Herbert Janssen
Ivar Andresen, Genia Guszalewicz, Peter Klein

Celebrating Tristan performances
in which these singers appeared together.

A seamless fusion of broadcast and 78 rpm recordings.

This is a memento of occasions in which Melchior and Ljungberg sang together in the 1930s at the Met and Covent Garden, in performances which included Janssen and Andresen. A powerful and utterly haunting performance in excellent sound for this era. The booklet offers rare photographs of the singers in their roles, biographies, a track-related synopsis and an extensive article about the memorable qualities which these voices brought to Wagner’s tragedy. The bonus recording is an excerpt from Wagner’s Die Meistersinger, Act II, Gut'n Abend, Meister, sung by Ljungberg and Friedrich Schorr (conducted by Lawrence Collingwood, London Philharmonic, 1931)

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Verdi

IL TROVATORE

Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera

11 January 1941

Jussi Björling, Norina Greco, Francesco Valentino, Bruna Castagna
Nicola Moscona, Maxine Stellman, others

Ferruccio Calusio, conductor

Bonus:

FIRESTONE HOUR - JUSSI BJÖRLING

10 March 1952

Never previously available

This thrilling performance presents the Björling broadcast in superb sound with commentary by Milton Cross. The notes are by Stephen Hastings, the much-esteemed author of The Björling Sound. Also included are biographies and recording notes, plus rare photos.

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THE RUSSIAN LEGACY

VINOGRADOV

Premiere

Arias, Duets and Songs

Volume II - New Discoveries

Volume II - New Discoveries We first issued a 4-disc album devoted to the singing of Georgi Vinogradov (Guild Historical 2250-3) which drew critical raves and which won Best Vocal Album 2004 from a jury of eleven famed music critics convened by Classical Record Collector magazine. Since then many inquiries have been received as to whether any other recordings existed of this extraordinary tenor. Our answer to this is this second volume which offers all the discs we had, which were omitted from the first album, or those since located. Here is a lyric tenor voice that possesses those singular attributes that make his singing unforgettable and worthy of standing in the ranks of the truly great, such as Schipa, Gigli and a very few others.

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Wagner

DIE WALKÜRE

Vocal Ensemble and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera

Melchior, Flagstad, Lawrence, Schorr, Thorborg, others

18 December 1937

Artur Bodanzky, conductor (and others)

Bonus

DIE WALKÜRE

Act I, Scene 3

Marjorie Lawrence - Lauritz Melchior

Erich Leinsdorf, 1940

A reconstruction of the 1937 broadcast in which Flagstad sings Sieglinde, drawn from private recordings, with some Act I passages in not very good sonics, the balance in good sound for the era. With Milton Cross commentary and curtain calls. Extensive booklet notes and rare photos.

From Henry Fogel’s review published in FANFARE magazine's Nov/Dec 2014 issue:

Given the almost knee-jerk reaction to Flagstad among critics as matronly, many will be surprised at the femininity of her Sieglinde. Her voice positively glows, and she and Melchior are a thrilling pair . . . It is true that Flagstad lacks the ability or willingness to inflect with the kind of specificity that was a Lehmann specialty. But this Sieglinde makes her impact through, as Caniell himself puts it, floods of glorious tone.

(The booklet annotator) Dewey Faulkner points out the thrilling singing Marjorie Lawrence does in the opening war cries, and in so much else of her singing. She had both the low and high notes required by the role, a voice of glowing beauty, and a keen dramatic sense as well. Her Brünnhilde is somewhat more human and more vulnerable than many we have encountered, and it is a complex and convincing portrayal.

Schorr was the Wotan of his day for a reason, and it is demonstrated here by both his ability to characterize with tone color and his ability to sing the music both beautifully and forcefully at the same time. The interchanges between Schorr and Lawrence never feel like merely great Wagnerian singing, but actually engage us as real music drama.

The sound after the first act gets progressively better, and in much of Acts II and III is actually quite good, and far superior to any prior versions. The voices and the orchestra really come to life in this transfer . . . While the base for the performance is the December 18, 1937 Met broadcast of Die Walküre [which had the dream cast of Melchior, Flagstad, Lawrence, Schorr, List, and Thorborg], producer Richard Caniell had to make replacements from other performances, mostly from the Met in 1935, 1940, and 1946 . . . relying on portions of the December 18, 1937 broadcast recorded by a collector who focused only on Flagstad in the second and third acts. . . three quarters of what we hear is conducted by Bodanzky, and the remainder by Leinsdorf (1940 Met) or Paul Breisach (1946 Met).

The bonus excerpts from the 1940 Met broadcast with Lawrence as Sieglinde and Melchior as Siegmund, and Leinsdorf conducting, is a perfect extra. Immortal Performances includes some commentary by Milton Cross, which of course re-creates the atmosphere of the way so many of us heard these broadcasts . . . The usual lavish booklet, with superb essays and photographs, accompanies the discs.

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Wagner

DIE WALKÜRE

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra

Melchior, Bampton, Traubel, Janssen, Thorborg, Kipnis, others

2 December 1944

George Szell, conductor

An electrifying performance conducted by Szell in the best sound ever, with broadcast commentary, excellent and extensive notes, historic photos, which combine to bring the historical occasion to vivid life.

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Wagner

DIE WALKÜRE

ACT III COMPLETE

Helen Traubel - Herbert Jannsen

Vocal Ensemble

New York Philharmonic Symphony

Artur Rodzinski

BRÜNNHILDE’S IMMOLATION

Helen Traubel

Artur Rodzinski

25th November 1945

and

TRISTAN UND ISOLDE

ACT II COMPLETE

Lauritz Melchior - Helen Traubel - Kerstin Thorborg - Alexander Kipnis - Herbert Janssen

Metropolitan Opera

Erich Leinsdorf, conductor

23 December 1944

WORLD PREMIERE RELEASE ON DISC

A celebration of the vocal art of Helen Traubel in two thrilling performances. The Walküre concert is complete for the first time; the Tristan never previously released. (2 CDs)

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TOSCANINI

ARTURO TOSCANINI

Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York

All Beethoven

Leonore No. 3

Sixth Symphony (World Premiere)

Eighth Symphony

Ninth Symphony

Rosa Tentoni – Rose Bampton –Charles Kullman – Ezio Pinza

Schola Cantorum of New York

1935 and 1936 concerts

These restorations were undertaken in association with the Toscanini Estate and represent some of the most important performances by Toscanini from the 1935-1936 season. (2 CDs)

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ARTURO TOSCANINI

NBC Symphony Orchestra

All Tchaikovsky Benefit Concert

Voyevoda Overture, Op. 3

Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 (Pathétique)

Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 23

Vladimir Horowitz, pf

NBC Symphony Orchestra

19 April 1941

Symphony No. 6 in B Minor

Rehearsal Extracts of 1st and 4th Movements

Best sound over all previous editions. Extensive notes and broadcast commentary and ovations.

From the Recording Notes by Richard Caniell: This 1941 broadcast of the Sixth Symphony and Piano Concerto was released by us through Naxos, but they omitted the Voyevoda and the commentary without our knowledge or permission, and the sound was denigrated in a loss of overtones, in some sound compression of the tuttis and in a thickening of the bottom end, hence this release of the complete concert.

Our original tape of this broadcast from Gardner revealed the transfer from the lacquers to be good, the surface noise sporadic and not excessive and the dynamics needing only a little emphasis to reverse the leveling which the original broadcast engineers imparted to the sound transmission. Its many pitch problems were solved by the young conductor John Sullivan, who is our music consultant. We believe the All-Tchaikovsky Benefit Concert to be a worthy addition to our knowledge of Toscanini’s involvement with these works and represented the first occasion when Horowitz and Toscanini collaborated in the First Piano Concerto.

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ARTURO TOSCANINI

Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York

FAREWELL CONCERT

All-Wagner

Die Meistersinger: Act I Prelude

Siegfried Idyll

Tristan und Isolde: Prelude and Liebestod

Die Walkuere: Ride of the Valkyries

Carnegie Hall, New York

29 April 1936

Also

PENSION FUND CONCERT

Hadyn: Symphony No. 101

Respighi: The Pines of Rome

Sibelius: The Swan of Tuonela

Wagner: Goetterdaemmerung: Siegfried’s Death and Funeral March

Weber: Euryanthe: Overture

Carnegie Hall, 13 January 1945

Bonus: Tannhauser: Overture and Bacchanale

Carnegie Hall 3 February 1935

1936 Farewell Concert with commentary; also includes a world premiere broadcast of the Tannhauser Overture (3 Feb. 1935). Extensive articles, best sound.

Also

1945 Pension Fund Concert Haydn - Respighi - Sibelius - Wagner - Weber.

This final concert was recorded for Walter Toscanini by the Carnegie Hall Recording Service. Unforgettable performances. (2 CDs)

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ARTURO TOSCANINI

NBC Symphony Orchestra

All Wagner Benefit Concert

Lauritz Melchior - Helen Traubel

Carnegie Hall - 22 February 1941

Lohengrin - Tannhäuser - Die Walküre

Götterdömmerung

Bonus: Rienzi Overture, The Flying Dutchman Overture (with rehearsal segment), Tannhäuser Prelude to Act III (Original full length version)

Three discs for the price of two

Remastered from a new source with a substantial improvement in sonics over our previous Guild Music release. Plus: two rehearsal portions from Die Walküre. Bonus:?Overture to Rienzi, Flying Dutchman rehearsal &?broadcast, Tannhäuser Prelude Act III

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ARTURO TOSCANINI

BEETHOVEN - NINTH SYMPHONY IN D MINOR

NBC Symphony Orchestra

Vina Bovy - Kerstin Thorborg - Jan Peerce - Ezio Pinza

Chorus of the Schola Cantorum

6th February 1938

Also

COMPLETE CONCERT NBC - 5 APRIL 1941

Rossini Overture: Il Signor Bruschino

Mendelssohn Symphony No. 3 in A Minor

Berlioz: Overture to Les Francs-Juges

Berlioz: Roméo et Juliette, Op. 17

Love Scene - Queen Mab Scherzo

Berlioz: Damnation of Faust: Rákóczy March

The first Beethoven Ninth conducted by Toscanini with the NBC had him untypically pleased. Here it is in excellent sound for the era. The second CD offers the entire concert of 5 April 1941: Rossini, Mendelssohn, and Berlioz. Another offering for Toscanini’s 150th anniversary

TOSCANINI 150TH ANNIVERSARY

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ARTURO TOSCANINI

COMPLETE 1939 BEETHOVEN CYCLE

NBC Symphony Orchestra

BOXED SET - 10 CDS FOR THE PRICE OF 8 - LIMITED EDITION

BEST SOUND OVER ALL PREVIOUS RELEASES

Full Broadcast Commentary: Gene Hamilton

BONUS

Rehearsal and broadcast Beethoven Third Piano Concerto (with Rubinstein); interview with Robert Hupka and two True Stereo Beethoven Overtures, 1939.

Finally, the ultimate presentation of the complete broadcast series in a restoration that offers best sound over all previous releases. Full commentary, extensive articles, photos, plus the tenth CD offers a rehearsal (orchestra) for the broadcast of the Beethoven Third Piano Concerto followed by the broadcast of that work (with Rubenstein) in better sound than the RCA Victor CD. Also Hupka interview about accidental stereo and two examples from the 1939 Beethoven Cycle.

TOSCANINI 150TH ANNIVERSARY

Limited edition which has now been re-published. Available now.

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World Premiere Release

ARTURO TOSCANINI

New York Philharmonic

1935 Brahms Cycle

Now completed with the long missing first broadcast 17 February 1935.

Haydn Variations

Double Concerto

First Symphony in C Minor

Issued in association with the Toscanini Estate Good sound for the era.

With Commentary.

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ARTURO TOSCANINI

BRAHMS CYCLE 1935

Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York

Concerts of 24 February, 17 March, 31 March, 7 April

Derived from private recordings that have preserved four of the six concerts that were broadcast, our restoration offers Heifetz in the Violin Concerto and Horowitz in the First Piano Concerto, among many other works. On-pitch transfers with best sound. Another valuable addition to our Toscanini Legacy series.

From Colin Clarke’s review published in FANFARE magazine's Nov/Dec 2014 issue:

As a window into Toscanini’s fire-hot Brahms, this can hardly be bettered. . . . There is more impetuosity in the orchestral contributions to the Heifetz account of the violin concerto, which acts as an indispensable complement to that violinists Boston and Chicago commercial accounts. The warmth, both orchestrally and from the solo, comes through the intervening years. The violin (sound) is excellently preserved here. . . .

Matching the high level of soloist for the violin concerto is Vladimir Horowitz for the First Piano Concerto. . . sonic problems here are particularly intrusive . . . yet, on the other side of the coin, the gossamer strings of the central slow movement serve surprisingly well . . . If the soloist and conductor are (famously perhaps) not ideally matched, there is plenty of fire from both in the finale. . . . this remains a stimulating and unmissable performance.

Toscanini followers will need no prompting to purchase this set. The sterling work at Immortal Performances continues.

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ARTURO TOSCANINI

BRAHMS - A GERMAN REQUIEM 1935

Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York

Elisabeth Rethberg - Friedrich Schorr

Chorus of the Schola Cantorum

WORLD PREMIERE RELEASE

In Association with the Toscanini Estate

Also

Brahms: Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24

Brahms Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83

Brahms and Toscanini: BBC Interview: Ian Carson - Manoug Parikian

This long sought broadcast is now made available after a lengthy restoration as a world premiere release made in association with the Toscanini Estate. It also includes Brahms Handel Variations (Rubbra) from NBC 1939, the Second Piano Concerto with Horowitz (Lucerne 1939) and an interview with Manoug Parikian, concertmaster of the Philharmonia orchestra about playing Brahms under Toscanini’s direction. Extensive articles, Recording Notes, Requiem text, documentation and biographies.

TOSCANINI 150TH ANNIVERSARY

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ARTURO TOSCANINI

Verdi

FALSTAFF

TWO PERFORMANCES IN ONE SET (5 CDS FOR THE COST OF 4)

FALSTAFF

STABILE - SOMIGLIA - CRAVENCO - VASARI

OLTRABELLA - BIASINI -BORGIOLI - LAZZARI

Others - Chorus of the Vienna State Opera

Vienna Philharmonic, Salzburg

9 August 1937

Also: FALSTAFF Act I - same cast as above (29 August 1936)

and

FALSTAFF

VALDENGO - NELLI - ELMO - MERRIMAN

STITCH-RANDALL - GUARRERA - MADASI

Others - Robert Shaw Choral

NBC Symphony Orchestra

1, 8 April 1950

(Commentary by Ben Grauer)

Bonus: FALSTAFF rehearsal Act I, NBC March 1950

The Salzburg performance is here offered in the best, most natural sonics achievable, unlike the bloated, bottled releases we’ve heard, in an edition that we believe superior in all ways. The 1950 broadcast with full commentary and curtain calls offers sound better, in some ways, then the excellent RCA/BMG release and offers a bonus of an orchestral rehearsal for Act I never previously available. This is the ultimate edition.

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ARTURO TOSCANINI

FIRST BROADCAST NBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

25 December 1937

Vivaldi: Concerto Grosso in D Minor

Mozart: Symphony in G Minor

Brahms: Symphony No. 1, in C Minor

Bonus

Interview and Commentary

Musicians - Chotzinoff - Sarnoff

Rehearsal: Coriolan Overture

Toscanini: A Lifetime of Influences
by Richard Caniell

This well-known first concert by Toscanini and the NBC Symphony offers best sound over all previous editions. Also included: a musician tells about rehearsing for this concert, then Chotzinoff tells the story of visiting Toscanini to gain his agreement, Sarnoff tells the audience about Toscanini signing a three year contract, and a Hupka interview in which he tells about recording Toscanini and the photographs he took. Lastly, there is a 17 minute rehearsal segment of the Beethoven Coriolan Overture, the presence of which is connected to a second booklet in the album (44 pages) entitled Toscanini, A Lifetime of Influences by Richard Caniell in which this rehearsal was a pivotal experience. Booklet article by Robert Matthew-Walker, rare photos.

TOSCANINI 150TH ANNIVERSARY

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LUCERNE CONCERTS

La Scala Orchestra

BEETHOVEN - WAGNER - R. STRAUSS

TOSCANINI

5, 7 July 1946

The 7th of July Concert, published complete for the first time, is in excellent sound. This album also includes a performance of Strauss Death and Transfiguration, professionally recorded at the Festival. (It is erroneously stated in our booklet material that this Death and Transfiguration is a world premiere we have since learned this is not the case.) The bonus offers two performances: Smetana’s The Moldau and Strauss’ Don Juan from the 1949 Venice Music Festival in less good sonics. Booklet text concerning the performances, recording notes and photos, combine to present a vivid aural portrait of Toscanini’s first European performances after the war.

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ARTURO TOSCANINI

DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG

Vienna State Opera Chorus - Vienna Philharmonic - Salzburg 1937

Nissen - Reining - Noort - Wiedemann - Others

COMPLETE

Also

DIE MEISTERSINGER

Nissen - Kullman - Lehmann - Wiedemann - Others

Act III Scenes - Salzburg 1936

This well-known, much revered recording in a restoration that offers improved sound in many portions even over the celebrated Andante release. The 1936 Meistersinger offers Act III, Scenes 1 through 3, and the Prize Song through to the end of the opera in good sound for the era. Extensive articles, photos, documentation and biographies.

TOSCANINI 150TH ANNIVERSARY

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ARTURO TOSCANINI

BEETHOVEN

MISSA SOLEMNIS

BBC Choral Society
BBC Symphony Orchestra

28 May 1939

Milanov - Thorborg - Von Pataky - Moscona

LONDON MUSIC FESTIVAL 1939

Also

BBC Toscanini Recordings 1935-1939

BEETHOVEN

Creatures of Prometheus Overture

Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68

Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92

BBC Toscanini Recordings 1935 -1939

NEWLY RESTORED

The Missa Solemnis is offered in superior sound to the BBC’s own CD release and with its many problems now resolved. In addition the two BBC Recordings of the Sixth and Seventh Symphonies are heard in a restoration that draws out their inherent color and dimension.

TOSCANINI 150TH ANNIVERSARY

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RARE RECORDINGS FROM THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC SERIES

ARTURO TOSCANINI

Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra
of New York

28 April 1935

MISSA SOLEMNIS

Martinelli, Rethberg, Telva, Pinza

Chorus of the Schola Cantorum

Bonus:

1935 Met Simon Boccanegra

Act I, Scene 1 complete

Rethberg, Martinelli, Pinza, Tibbett

Harvey Sachs , in his famed book about Toscanini, writes of the three Philharmonic performances of the music that they were:

. . . of breathtaking depth and majesty; they are
relaxed and flexible yet precise and fluent

This important performance, previously published in exceedingly poor, off-pitch sound, is here offered in a sonically restored edition. The booklet text is by John Steane, the article about the composer and the Missa is by Richard Caniell, as are the extensive Recording Notes. The bonus offers the complete Act I, Scene 1 of Simon Boccanegra, Met 1935, a conjunction suggested by Mr. Steane as an interesting contrast in hearing two performances by Martinelli, Rethberg and Pinza in the same year. The album also offers two short interviews with Rethberg and Martinelli about their experience with Toscanini, together with photos of the singers in both broadcasts making this an album to treasure.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: NEWLY REVIEWED, COMPLETELY REMASTERED DISCS

The 1935 Missa Solemnis conducted by Toscanini means the world to our Sound Engineer, Richard Caniell, and he has spent untellable hours, weeks, from month to month over the past three years on it. Even after we released it and it was reviewed and purchased by many music lovers, he nonetheless kept returning to it, hoping to yet improve its sonics. Recently he achieved a significant break-through in sound improvement in clarity, in tone, in the divisions between the choral voices and the orchestra, and in more natural sound (which was greatly injured by the private recording and AM transmission). We now offer this re-mastered version, which includes a brief booklet dedicating the album to John Steane, as well as describing the improvements. (See link below to reviews of this new edition in Fanfares pages). For those who have previously purchased the earlier edition from us, the two remastered CDs will be provided for a minimal cost-covering fee of $10.00, to be included with some other of your purchases, or with the addition of postage costs if obtained by itself. (Contact us.)

( Click here to read more details.)

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ARTURO TOSCANINI

NBC Symphony Orchestra

Two Complete Concerts

20 April 1940 Concert

Elgar: Introduction and Allegro for Strings, Op. 47

Mozart: Symphony No. 41 Jupiter in C Major, K. 551

Dvorak: Scherzo Capriccioso, Op. 66

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

9 April 1944 Concert

Wagner: Parsifal Prelude and Good Friday Spell

Mendelssohn: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E?Minor, Op. 64

Jascha Heifetz, violin

Bonus: Rehearsals for the 20 April 1940 Concert

Very good sound, includes a free third CD of rehearsal portions of the four works heard on 20 April 1940. The 9 April 1944 Wagner has improved sound and the Mendelssohn Violin concerto (Heifetz) is on pitch.

From David Canfield’s review published in FANFARE magazine's Nov/Dec 2014 issue:

This set is recommended highly, and not only to Toscanini enthusiasts who will particularly welcome its issuance, but to all aficionados of great conducting and historical musical documents.

The sound is rich and full, and rather astonishing for the technology of the era, given its presence and vitality.

The Elgar Introduction and Allegro that opens the concert is a vibrant reading, with the solo string quartet of the NBC orchestra playing with almost a Heifetz-like intensity. . . Toscanini extracts every ounce of passion from his forces in this dynamic performance.

Toscanini reduced the size of his string section for the following Jupiter Symphony of Mozart to maintain proper balance between the sections. . . . Every line herein is clearly delineated and every woodwind interjection clearly audible in Toscanini’s meticulous balancing. [My] colleague [Mortimer] Frank is quoted in the program notes as preferring this performance of the Jupiter to the two later Toscanini readings captured on tape, calling this performance free from excessive haste, texturally transparent, and remarkably flexible in rhythm.

[The estimate of Pictures of an Exhibition (Orchestrated by Ravel) is given considerable length in this review, so you are referred to the complete text. Other aspects of the album connected to the 9 April 1944 concert and the Bonus disc of rehearsal excerpts are also set forth in the complete text of this lengthy assessment.]

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ARTURO TOSCANINI

Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York

Two Complete Concerts

2 February 1936 Concert - Carnegie Hall

Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2

Brahms: Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major

Robert Casadesus, pf

Beethoven: Coriolan Overture

Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major

Bonus: Beethoven Triple Concerto (1942)

Complete Concert 19 April 1936

All Debussy

Le Martyre de Saint-Sébastien: Le Cour d'Lys

Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune

Nuages - Fêtes - Ibéria

La Damoiselle Élue

(Bid Sayão - Rose Bampton)

Womens Chorus of the Schola Cantorum

La Mer

Four discs for the price of three

This private off-the-air recording of a memorable concert in Toscanini’s last year with the Philharmonic has been very extensively worked upon to correct many pitch variances, minimize surface noise, fill in turnover gaps, and improve the dynamics that were compressed by the radio broadcast limiters. While in better sound than some home-recorded discs, the surface noise can rather high in some places, and while these don’t offer sonics of modern recordings, they are all we have and are, thus, a treasurable part of our cultural legacy.

The bonus Beethoven Triple Concerto, though noisy, has remarkable presence and focus of sound, hugely improved over the gravely over-filtered Naxos version that we endured with their re-engineering of our restoration, now released in this album with much relief.

The All Debussy concert offers somewhat better tone and dimension than what has been previously available, with many pitch problems corrected, and dynamics expanded to compensate the poor microphone placement and radio limiters of the time. The magazine Musical America devoted an entire page to this concert, its reviewer (Oscar Thompson) writing that . . . as a program, this was the outstanding novelty of the orchestral year, one which was among the most distinctive of Toscanini’s American achievements . . . in finish, balance of parts and beauty of tone, Toscanini’s orchestral performance could scarcely have been surpassed.

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ARTURO TOSCANINI

PHILHARMONIC-SYMPHONY OF
NEW YORK

COMPLETE CONCERT: 1 March 1936

Weber - Verdi - Debussy

Goldmark - Wagner

with Dusolina Giannini, soprano

Milton Cross, commentator

and

COMPLETE CONCERT: 23 February 1936

Beethoven: First Symphony

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4

Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 27

Rudolf Serkin, pf (American Debut)

Bach: Toccata and Fugue - Orchestrated by Sir Henry Wood

(with full broadcast commentary)

The legacy of private recordings made of the New York Philharmonic broadcasts of the 1935 and 1936 seasons when they were directed by Toscanini have had little circulation and those which have been reproduced have been in appallingly bad sound (with gaps every 15 minutes while the private recordist changed discs). The reasons for this dismal state of affair is set forth in this album but there is a bright side: our discovery of the first generation copy of the original lacquers. These provide superior sonics and, while the lacquers are sporadically noisy, a rich experience of the two concerts is now possible. There are no gaps and broadcast commentary is included for both performances. The booklet offers extensive texts about the performances and includes detailed recording notes. This is the first in a planned series of Toscanini New York Philharmonic restorations we will be releasing, albums that we believe will justly be considered the ultimate editions.

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RED CROSS BENEFIT CONCERT

New York Philharmonic and NBC Symphony Orchestras

Leonard Warren, Zinka Milanov, Jan Peerce, Nan Merriman, Nicola Moscona

600 Voice Chorus

WAGNER - VERDI - SOUSA

TOSCANINI

Madison Square Garden - 25 May 1944

Of all the many wartime benefit concerts conducted by Toscanini, this one, performed in the old Madison Square Garden before an audience of over 19,000 music lovers, was the most stupendous. For this occasion the New York Philharmonic and the NBC Symphony were fused into one orchestra of over 200 musicians. With a chorus of 600 voices, and with famed soloists from the Metropolitan Opera, this is a concert of historic importance. Superb sound; extensive program notes. The bonus presents the VE Day broadcast in which Toscanini conducted the Beethoven Fifth Symphony

This immense concert offers, among other memorable performances, what may be the most electrifying, deeply moving performances of the Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde ever conducted by the Maestro. For those who revere these artists, musicians and conductor, this is the ultimate, never to be forgotten, memento of an unparalleled musical event.

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ARTURO TOSCANINI

VERDI REQUIEM

BBC Choral Society

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Milanov - Roswaenge - Thorborg - Moscona

Broadcast 27 May 1938

with commentary and ovation

Bonus

Beethoven Fourth Symphony in B-Flat Major, Op. 60

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Broadcast 19 May 1938

with commentary and ovation

The Immortal Performances restoration of the 1938 Verdi Requiem BBCSO is startlingly better than Testament and shows what has been greatly missing until now - its fine presence and frequency range.

Christopher Dyment, author of Toscanini in Britain

Best sound over all previous editions. Extensive notes and broadcast commentary and ovations.

Recently, Mr. Caniell’s attention returned to this BBC 1938 Verdi Requiem broadcast previously released in a good transfer by Testament, though our sound engineer had different ideas of how it should sound. Testament’s exceedingly wide distribution cancelled his intent to work on, and release, the BBC until now, 10 years later. During these intervening years of enlarged experience with restoration techniques, Mr. Caniell re-affirmed that while the Testament edition was good, its sound was compressed in a way that could be made far better.

Mr. Caniell’s transfer is taken from the tapes given to him by Richard Gardner, Toscaninni’s sound editor. Mr. Caniell writes in his Recording Notes: What you have in your hands is the result of my endeavor to open up the tonal spectrum, reduce the thick bottom end, and enliven the performance by restoring lost overtones. In addition, I endeavored to further restore the dynamics between piano and forte, recreating, so far as possible, the heaven-storming crescendi that the Old Man achieved with the BBC forces.

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FROM TOSCANINI'S PERSONAL COLLECTION

ARTURO TOSCANINI

NBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

4 March 1938

VERDI REQUIEM

Milanov, Kullman, Castagna, Moscona, Westminster Choir

Benefit Concert - Carnegie Hall

Bonus:

All-Verdi NBC Concert, 31 January 1943

Peerce, Della Chiesa, Moscona / chorus

Two Complete Concerts

Of the six recordings of Toscanini’s performances of the Verdi Requiem known to me, the 1938 NBC performance seems to me in many ways the most beautiful and most remarkable of them all.

Harvey Sachs, author of Toscanini

One of Toscanini's most memorable achievements with this great work, never broadcast in the U.S., in good sound. Perhaps Milanov's greatest singing of this music. This virtually unknown performance with the NBC Symphony, from Toscanini's personal collection, was passed down from Toscanini to Richard Gardner, his sound engineer, who in turn gave it to our archivist and sound engineer, Richard Caniell. A stupendous performance! Bonus: All Verdi NBC Concert, 31 January 1943 with Peerce, Della Chiesa, Moscona and chorus. The concert includes music from Forza del Destino, Nabucco, Traviata, Otello and the first U.S. performances of Hymn of the Nations in an electrifying performance. Much of this program has not been previously released.

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ARTURO TOSCANINI

VERDI - TE DEUM AND REQUIEM 1940

NBC Symphony Orchestra

Westminster Choir

Milanov - Björling - Castagna - Moscona

Also

MEMORIAL PROGRAMS

This much-circulated broadcast is here presented in the best sonics ever heard together with the full broadcast commentary. Also includes Memorial comments connected with Toscanini’s death as well as the WQXR program The Impact of Toscanini. Articles, biographies, Recording Notes.

TOSCANINI 150TH ANNIVERSARY

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ARTURO TOSCANINI

La Scala Chorus and Orchestra

Verdi

TE DEUM AND REQUIEM

Renata Tebaldi – Cloe Elmo – Giacinto Prandelli – Cesare Siepi

24 June 1950

Also

Rossini: Mose in Egitto

La Scala Chorus and Orchestra

Renata Tebaldi –Jolando Gardino – Giovanni Malipiero – Tancredi Pasero

11 May 1946

This important performance surpasses in sound all previous releases. Includes commentary in Italian and interview with Tebaldi about her experience with Toscanini. Bonus features Tebaldi singing in Mose in Egitto at La Scala Re-Opening 1946. (2 CDs)

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ARTURO TOSCANINI

THE VICTOR RECORDINGS RESTORED

1929-1936

Their natural sound cleansed and envitalized as you’ve never previously heard them.

Rossini: Overtures to L’Italiana in Algeri

Barber of Seville

Semiramide

Haydn: Symphony No. 101 in D Major, “Clock”

Mozart: Symphony No. 35 in D Major, K 386 “Haffner”

Mendelssohn: Scherzo (Midsummer Night’s Dream)

Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor (1933)

Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A Major

Verdi: La Traviata Preludes I & III

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice: Dance of the Blessed Spirits

Dukas: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Haydn

Wagner: Lohengrin Preludes to Acts I & III

Wagner: Siegfried’s Rhine Journey (Götterdämmerung)

Wagner: Siegfried Idyll

The excellently recorded, familiar Victor discs receive here a restoration that puts their cherished qualities into new and more dimensional sound. A complete delight!

TOSCANINI 150TH ANNIVERSARY

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