In reply to Dave Lewis,
"Ovation" was not a high-budget project. I was producing the Minnesota
Orchestra broadcasts in those days and also producing session recordings by
them for Vox Productions, the proprietor of which, George H. de
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, was also responsible for the Caruso issue on Murray
Hill Lps, the subject of many recent posts. As I recall, he offered to
supply pressings of *Petrouchka* as a promotional gesture. The first disc,
therefore, consisted of earlier MSO recordings as Dave notes. They were all
transferred by me and the tape masters were cut and pressed by Vox, if
memory serves. They were the first historical recordings of the MSO to be
reissued. While I repent of the quality of some of the cuts on that disc, I
am gratified that I was able to offer far better reissue quality on the
Minnesota Orchestra's Centennial CD Collection, which I produced in 2002.
Leibowitz's *Gurrelieder* is one of the best of the recordings of that work
but its Vox reissue was not covered in sonic glory. Although the catalogue
now has plenty of issues of it, it took several decades before another
creditable recorded performance came along.
Ciao,
DDR
On Tue, Aug 2, 2016 at 4:46 AM, David Lewis <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I have here a set which my late friend Jud Yalkut was very proud to own and
> never expected to find myself: Haydn Society HSL-100, Schoenberg's "Gurre
> Lieder" conducted by René Leibowitz with soloists, chorus and the New
> Symphony Society of Paris. Engineered by André Charlin, copyright 1952. Or
> is it? The discs and booklet notes are from Vox, VBX 204, released in 1962.
> One might assume that the previous owner swapped out their Haydn Society
> discs and book for those of the Vox reissue, but is it possible it was sold
> this way? Haydn Society having some album sets left over which Vox
> cannabalized?
>
> Also I have a set, "Ovation," celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the
> Minnesota Orchestra in 1978 and produced by a chap named Dennis Rooney.
> Inside is a disc on the Minnesota Orchestra label presenting a survey of
> the orchestra's recorded output ranging from 1925 to 1961, and then a Vox
> disc of Skrowaczeski conducting Stravinsky and Prokofiev which absolutely
> belongs to this set -- the liners are printed on the back cover of the
> gatefold. Was it more economical to just use the Vox pressing of the second
> disc and to concentrate the budget on the first?
>
> thanks,
>
> Uncle Dave Lewis
>
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