An absolutely complete one, almost regardless of who leads, should have an
announcement with the venue.
If it's' clear that Reiner is conducting the Detroit SO and not the Chicago,
then this should do it. A ticket stub should also have that info, as should
a program.
Steve Smolian
-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of John Haley
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2014 9:42 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Ford Sunday Evening Hour broadcasts
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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