Hi, Don. I have several Reiner ones, but there are many more by other
conductors. You know where bits and pieces turn up--vocal selections on
Eddie Smith vocal records. At some point, copies of these broadcasts
existed, because Smith got access to a lot of them to raid them for vocal
records focusing on particular singers. Pretty hard to find them now, tho.
If anybody has a collection of them, I sure would love to know about it.
Best, John
On Tue, Mar 18, 2014 at 7:38 PM, Don Tait ([log in to unmask]) <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I have tapes or private CD-Rs of some of those broadcasts. From circa
> 1941/2. Each 30 minutes. All I have are conducted by Fritz Reiner, who
> presumably took the train up from Pittsburgh for the gig. I got the
> recordings
> from fellow Reiner collectors and have no idea who might have conducted
> other
> programs. As one might expect, the selections are short and the musical
> gruel is pretty thin. The "theme music" for each program is the French
> horn
> "bedtime" music from Hansel und Gretel.
>
> I do not remember whether the announcer(s) said from where the
> broadcasts originated. Sorry.
>
> Don Tait
>
>
> In a message dated 3/18/2014 3:38:10 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
> [log in to unmask] writes:
>
> Starting in 1934 and continuing for a number of years thereafter, the
> Detroit Symphony appeared on a radio program, the Ford Symphony Hour.
> Some
> of the most distinguished conductors of that time regularly guested on
> this
> show, which also featured big name soloists. Preserved broadcasts show
> that the orchestra was an excellent one during this period, and the
> acoustics audible on these recordings sound OK, with a touch of nice hall
> ambiance. A number of these broadcasts are sought after by collectors. I
> don't know where these shows were recorded, but I assume they predate the
> Ford Auditorium referred to previously.
>
> Best,
> John Haley
>
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 18, 2014 at 3:57 PM, Leo Gillis <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
> > Hi Tom,
> >
> > I must second that statement.
> > The Ford Auditorium had one of the worst acoustics
> > it has ever been my (dis)pleasure to experience.
> > No real music lover was saddened at the news of its demolition a couple
> > years ago.
> > I used to joke that the best sounding concert I ever attended there was
> > Marcel Marceau :-)
> >
> > Meanwhile, a couple miles away on Woodward is the magnificent Orchestra
> > Hall,
> > which has one of the best acoustics of any hall anywhere,
> > and it was built in a matter of 5 months - probably not to any
> > 'scientific' principles!
> >
> > In between these two extremes, the excellent auditorium (and entire
> > building)
> > of Cass Technical High School is now demolished.
> > Perhaps you have some info on the recording session for Berlioz'
> > Symphonie Fantastique that Paul Paray and the DSO did there for
> Mercury?
> > Despite my hometown bias, this is still one of my favorite versions of
> > that work.
> >
> >
> > -- Leo Gillis
> >
> >
> >
> > --------------------------------------------
> > On Tue, 3/18/14, Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >
> > Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Old Mercury recording venue gets a rebuild
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2014, 7:11 PM
> >
> > ...
> >
> > As bad as Northrop was as a recording venue, the absolute
> > worst was the Edsel Ford Auditorium in Detroit. This was
> > another "modern" venue designed by "science." It was almost
> > unusable for stereo recording and barely usable for mono
> > recording. Mercury ended up using the old orchestra hall,
> > then called the Paradise Theatre and used at other times by
> > a local evangelical church. Then Cass Technical High
> > School's wonderful auditorium was "discovered," just in time
> > for 35mm recording and improved stereo cutting.
> >
> > -- Tom Fine
> >
> >
>
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