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Michael Biel wrote: > I don't know about keepng Reizen a secret and exporting Pirogov, because > BOTH of them are on the Borodin Prince Igor set I have sitting here!! I > don't know when Igor was recorded, but this LP release is numbered in > the late 1950s. For the Boris you mention, you are talking about 1948 > and 49 which is the 78 era and the Stalin era. Anything is possible to > have happened under Stalin, but I don't think they were keeping Reizen a > secret because he kept on recording and his records were issued. > > Looking things up a little, it does seem that the two Boris recordings > were made a year apart, Reizen in 48 and Pirogov in 49 The 1948 and 1949 recordings are identical except where Boris is heard. The first - with Reizen - was available only in the USSR; the second was available only outside the USSR. Where Pirogov was a very fine singer, Reizen was among the greatest basses ever to record. A favorite of Stalin, his technical and musical abilities were remarkable. His last appearance on the Bolshoi stage was in a signature role (Prince Gremin) the day after his 90th birthday. My question is only whether MK had a hand in the decision to remake the scenes with Boris for export - i.e., to keep Reizen secret. I believe other recordings had similar modification and there is also a mystery about Reizen not singing Wotan in the performance of Walkuere for the Nazi visit when he so magnificently recorded the Farewell. Mike -- [log in to unmask] http://www.mrichter.com/