What about Wagner? Beecham left a complete recording of Tristan, much of
Meistersinger, and numerous excerpts that are all done in grand style.
According to Wiki he performed all the operas except Parsifal numerous
times and to great acclaim.

cj


On Tue, May 6, 2014 at 10:17 PM, DAVID BURNHAM <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> My original comment which started this thread was my surprise that Beecham
> could play the piano - not because I thought conductors were not
> instrumentalists, (I don't believe there are many conductors who aren't
> proficient on some instrument), but because, as far as I know, Beecham
> never had any formal training in music, certainly not in conducting.
> Fortunately for us, he had a natural aptitude which is evident in his
> extensive recorded legacy, but I don't think he studied with anybody; his
> family was financially loaded so he or they paid for orchestras to come to
> chez Beecham as his "toys" for him to practice with. He by and large
> conducted popular repertoire, "Lollipops" and main stream symphonies etc.
> I don't think I've ever heard a Bruckner or Mahler Symphony under Beecham,
> nor Prokofiev, Shostakovitch or Schoenberg. But he did make a point of
> dusting off obscure repertoire, like the Lalo Symphony. None of this is
> intended to be a put down
> of Beecham; I revere his readings and would never leave a Beecham
> recording in the store if I didn't already have it. My favourite of all
> the recorded "Messiah"s is his 1947 version - the first and only complete
> Messiah on 78s and Beecham's only complete Messiah. The 1959 version
> leaves out some of the "B" sections of arias, ("He Was Despised" and, I
> believe, "The Trumpet Shall Sound")
>
> db
> On Tuesday, May 6, 2014 9:14:28 PM, David Lewis <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Although of minor relevance to the thread, Stoki added xylophone to his
> >arrangement of Handel's "Water Music" which he recorded for Victor in, I
> >think, 1927.
> >That would be heresy these days, but I found the effect quite novel and
> >musical.
> >
> >David N. "Uncle Dave" Lewis
> >Lebanon, OH
> >
> >
> >On Tue, May 6, 2014 at 7:53 PM, Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]
> >wrote:
> >
> >> Related to this discussion:
> >>
> >> In the December 1958 issue of Hi-Fi Review:
> >> http://tinyurl.com/lcsjutn
> >>
> >> There is an article by Colin McPhee about the music of Bali. Photos show
> >> drums and other native instruments.
> >>
> >> -- Tom Fine
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jack McCarthy" <
> >> [log in to unmask]>
> >> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> >> Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2014 7:18 PM
> >> Subject: [ARSCLIST] Stokowski and percussion instruments
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> In 2012-13 I served as consulting archivist for the Philadelphia
> >>> Orchestra's
> >>> celebration of the centennial of its hiring of Stokowski as conductor.
> In
> >>> the PO archives I came across a letter from Stoki during his 1928 Asia
> >>> trip
> >>> in which he informs the PO that in Java he had purchased four Javanese
> >>> gongs
> >>> and was shipping them to the Orchestra. I was later able to track the
> >>> gongs
> >>> down - they are owned by the Curtis Institute.
> >>>
> >>> Eichheim, who traveled with Stoki for part of the trip, also composed a
> >>> piece entitled "Java" that Stoki premiered with the PO in 1930. It
> called
> >>> for tuned gongs. I presume they used the ones Stoki had purchased.
> >>>
> >>> For an exhibit I did as part of the centennial celebration, I was able
> to
> >>> display Stoki's letter, two of the actual gongs, and the program from
> the
> >>> 1930 performance of "Java."
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Jack McCarthy
> >>> Certified Archivist
> >>> Archival/Historical Consultant
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> -----Original Message-----
> >>> From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
> >>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Carl Pultz
> >>> Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2014 8:10 AM
> >>> To: [log in to unmask]
> >>> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Dora Labbette, Soprano with string quartette:
> The
> >>> Flowers of the Forests, 1925?
> >>>
> >>> I'm rereading Oliver Daniel's "Stokowski." He tells about Stoki's
> >>> Asia/south
> >>> seas trip in the 20s when the conductor studied percussion with Indian
> >>> physicist Jagadis Bose and collected instruments. Eichheim's "Bali"
> stems
> >>> from this journey, which Stoki later recorded. Some of those
> instruments
> >>> may
> >>> have ended up on his famous recording of "Gurrelieder." It was an
> enduring
> >>> interest, as well into the 50s he was playing percussion works by
> >>> Harrison,
> >>> et al, and premiered McPhee's Tabuh-Tabuhan in 1953.
> >>>
> >>> -----Original Message-----
> >>> From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
> >>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Donald Tait
> >>> Sent: Monday, May 05, 2014 8:08 PM
> >>> To: [log in to unmask]
> >>> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Dora Labbette, Soprano with string quartette:
> The
> >>> Flowers of the Forests, 1925?
> >>>
> >>> Reiner also studied percussion as a student in Budapest. Including
> >>> timpani, which might help explain the added prominence of and
> occasional
> >>> added timpani parts in his CSO recordings (it's harder to tell with his
> >>> Pittsburgh and other recordings). I remember talking to Sam Denov, who
> was
> >>> then a retired member of the Chicago Symphony's percussion section. He
> >>> said
> >>> "Reiner was DEATH on percussion." Meaning that he not only heard
> >>> everything,
> >>> which was a given, but that he knew exactly what he wanted and wouldn't
> >>> settle until he got it. Sam was speaking from his personal CSO
> >>> experience....
> >>>
> >>> Also, Reiner made piano rolls in 1925 et seq. Four-hand versions in
> which
> >>> he was credited as being one of the two pianists and others in which he
> >>> was
> >>> credited as the "conductor." Philip Hart wrote about it on page 44 of
> his
> >>> biography of Reiner.
> >>>
> >>> Don Tait
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >
> >
> >
>