Hello Jonathan,
I can't answer your question about that series of recordings, because I don't believe that I have any. I think I saw a few of them at Princeton Record Exchange a few years ago.
Perhaps I can relate a few experiences with Radio Nederland. When I was in high school in the late 1960s I was an avid shortwave listener. Radio Nederland, as it was known then, was one of my favorite stations, and every Sunday night they would broadcast a concert with the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Although these were shortwave broadcasts, the reception in central Vermont was usually excellent, aided by the relay transmitter that Radio Nederland had in the Netherlands Antilles, and favorable sun-spot activity. The shortwave club I belonged to - the North American Shortwave Association - reported that Radio Nederland's programming was rated extremely high by their members.
One Sunday evening Bernard Haitink conducted Bruckner's 3rd Symphony. It was my first exposure to Bruckner, and got me hooked on that composer. I soon bought Haitink's Philips recording of that work, with the Concertgebouw. I found the recording in a local record and audio store in Rutland, Vermont. The fact that a small store in a small central Vermont city would have that recording shows how much our culture has changed!
I became more aware of the vast Dutch radio archive when Philips released two of Willem Mengelberg's live performances with the Concertgebouw, dating from 1939-1940. My first LP records in that series was Schubert's 9th Symphony, followed later by his Mahler 4th. Much more recently, I purchased several of the Q-Disc CD boxes of Dutch radio broadcasts with the Concertgebouw, including one each devoted to Mengelberg and Eduard van Beinum. These were authorized releases, and are excellent.
I know that doesn't answer your specific question, but I wanted to take the opportunity to express my appreciation for the musical legacy preserved by Radio Netherlands, which has enriched music lovers around the world.
Best,
Gary
____________________________
Gary Galo
Audio Engineer Emeritus
The Crane School of Music
SUNY at Potsdam, NY 13676
"Great art presupposes the alert mind of the educated listener."
Arnold Schoenberg
"A true artist doesn't want to be admired, he wants to be believed."
Igor Markevitch
"If you design an audio system based on the premise that nothing is audible,
on that system nothing will be audible."
G. Galo
-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jonathan Marks
Sent: Saturday, January 26, 2019 2:16 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [ARSCLIST] Subject: Radio Netherlands Transcription Discs
Hello. I am the former director of programmes at Radio Netherlands
(1991-2003), the Dutch International broadcasting service. Some may know it as
Radio Nederland. Originally a shortwave broadcast station, Radio Netherlands
was one of the first to start a transcription service to provide FM radio
stations overseas with a catalogue of feature programmes and high quality
music recordings from the Concertgebouw and Holland Festival and jazz from
concerts like the North Sea Jazz festival. In later years the recordings
were done together with the AVRO, a domestic public radio production house.
The station morphed into an NGO in 2012 and has downsized to a point where it
is a shadow of its former self.
I am writing a series of articles because the Netherlands is celebrating
100 years of radio this year. I see that the discs and tapes sent to
radio stations
in the US and elsewhere seem to command quite high-prices on Ebay, even
though they were never intended to be sold.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Radio-Nederland-7LP-NON-COMMERCIAL-De-Nobel-Netherlands-Chamber-Choir-Folk-Songs/323663110189
I have the impression that the quality of the recordings (especially jazz
and classical music) were well ahead of their day. Radio Netherlands was
one of the first in the 1960's to issue stereo transcription discs and was
quick to embrace the Philips Compact Disc once there were sufficient
players in radio stations. But it would be useful get a reality check.
So my question to this group. Does anyone remember these discs? If so,
what memories
does it bring back? What value do you think it played in sharing Dutch
culture with the rest of the world? Was the technical quality of the pressings
anything special?
Happy to hear from anyone with anecdotes to share the stories with the rest of
the world.
Kind regards,
Jonathan Marks
______________________
This e-mail originates from a portable device belonging to:
Jonathan Marks
Director
Critical Distance BV
Stam 69
1275CG Huizen
The Netherlands
Contact me: *[log in to unmask]
______________________
|