Nice to hear your good opinion of the Befer transfers; they're done by my friend Bob Hodge, their chief engineer, who's very particular and works like blazes trueing things up on their Archeophone (as much as the management's time frame and the cylinders themselves will allow him to be - I've worked with him on cylinder projects, and some BA's just won't completely true). He also transfers at 1/2 speed for steadiness, then doubles for finishing. I'll pass along the good word; he's a superb technician with great "ears" who doesn't receive enough positive feedback, and your thoughts will cheer him considerably.
The DD _Nutcracker_ stayed in the catalogue until at least 1926, if not till the end, as they're in the 1925 catalogue; I have a paper label copy of the first disc and a quiet late etched copy of the second. The committee at West Orange which passed on DDs made some strange decisions which affected couplings and completeness (especially later on), but at least Sodero was the only Edison staffer who was given carte blanche as to repertoire selection. (One coupling was undoubtedly done for economic and logistical reasons; Sodero's 1916 ASO "Henry VIII" Dances by Edward German are given complete, but nos. 1 & 3, the most heavily orchestrated, are one side, and the lightly scored pastoral no. 2 on the other. ) Sodero was often a brisker conductor than his successor Irwin Schloss, who did the electrical Grieg and most electrical Edison orchestrals. Carlo Peroni also conducted a few electrical DD's, and his are excellent - the other Xmas Edison we play is his 1928 "Dream Pantomi me" from _Hansel & Gretel_ coupled with the "Pastoral Symphony" from _The Messiah_. I have 4 of the 5 London Edison NMB _Nutcracker_ cylinders myself, and enjoy them as well; in case you're wondering, they're conducted by George W. Byng, the London studio's music director. A very merry Christmas to you! P. Carli ________________________________________ From: [email protected] [[email protected]] on behalf of Dan Kj [[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, December 17, 2011 3:10 AM To: [email protected]; Antique Phonograph List Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Nutcracker Suite I have the 2 Edison discs, but they are rather noisy pressings; it would be nice to find later paper-label pressings - if they were in the catalogue long enough. I recently bought (and overpaid, but I didn't know) an electric Edison of the Peer Gynt Suite, and although 2 discography sources showed it to be similar to the acoustic Edison with 2 parts on each side, it actually has just "Morning" and "Ase's Death" played so slowly and lugubriously that they almost fill each side! They did something similar a couple of years earlier, with Victor Herbert's Suite of Serenades - even though all 4 parts would easily fit on 2 Edison sides, only 2 parts were recorded with a lot of wasted blank space. Back to the Nutcracker: 5 decent Edison cylinders from the London branch. Although played by the "National Military Band", the harp part was wisely retained in Waltz of the Flowers. My copy of Flowers looks new, but has a waver that makes the harp unpleasant to hear; the Syracuse University Belfer Lab people have overcome most wavering on most of their transfers, so this is quite enjoyable. All in one zipped folder, for your convenience: http://www.box.com/s/xjg5yibnpno8sygv561y Do check the Belfer site - the transfers are excellent, and you are allowed to download all of them. No telling when anything on the Internet might disappear, so save save save. http://library.syr.edu/splash/cylinders/ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Philip Carli" <[email protected]> To: "Antique Phonograph List" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 10:25 PM Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Nutcracker Suite > A happy choice in many formats and performances in the acoustic and early > electric era. If you don't have the Long Play version, the original 10" > DD sides from 1918 offer a really colorful and energetic performance as > well (indeed led by Sodero - he gets really tight playing from the strings > in the Overture Miniature), lacking the March, which was subsequently > issued by Edison in 1920 in a version by Conway's Band. We have two > versions for the season: four sides of Herman Finck and the Palace Theatre > Orchestra's second recording of the suite, done in 1914 for English > Columbia (brilliantly recorded, with the slowest yet most precise version > of the March I've heard), and Percy Pitt leading the B.B.C. Wireless > Symphony Orchestra in 1927 on six sides (stylish and brightly colored in > the manner of 1920s English orchestras - those narrow-bore piston-valve > French horns and straight-toned double-reeds really cut). Also, the Pryor > Band's 1912 Victor recording of the Overture is re > ally wonderful - as finished woodwind playing as has ever been recorded, > and rather startlingly delicate. P. Carli > ________________________________________ > From: [email protected] [[email protected]] on > behalf of Jim Cartwright [[email protected]] > Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 9:37 PM > To: 'Antique Phonograph List' > Subject: [Phono-L] Nutcracker Suite > > Since World War II, Tschaikowsky's Nutcracker Ballet , always a popular > concert item has become a Holiday Season favorite. I just cranked up my > Edison C-2 Long Playing > > Phonograph & listened without record change interruptions to the slightly > abridged Edison long-playing diamond disc record (30004) of Casse-Noisette > (Nutcracker) Suite performed by Edison's "house" orchestra, the American > Symphony Orchestra, no conductor listed on the label but no doubt directed > by Cesare Sodero. At this time of year I recommend this record to all > collectors of antique phonographs despite its low volume level & the > occasional skip or repeat but be sure to fully wind the phonograph before > starting since the music lasts almost 20 minutes. Merry Christmas! > > > > Jim Cartwright _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.org ________________________________ This email message and any attachments may contain confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are prohibited from using the information in any way, including but not limited to disclosure of, copying, forwarding or acting in reliance on the contents. If you have received this email by error, please immediately notify me by return email and delete it from your email system. Thank you. _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.org
