Tape Recordings recovered
I recently found a superb technician who serviced a Revox which had rather languished after being bought several years ago. You will find him at www.taperecorder.co.uk . I was then able to play all the tapes that I had recorded in the late 1960's and some of them have come up quite well using similar techniques to my 78 transcription process. The first two recordings presented here are of Beethoven Symphonies recorded at the behest of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) by the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) under the baton of James Loughran using a slimmed down orchestra with, if memory serves, natural horns and suitable timpani. The complete cycle was broadcast during the Beethoven bicentenary year in all EBU member countries. Neither the EBU nor the BBC nor the LSO archivist had any knowledge of the commercial availability of these recordings when approached in the spring of 2010.
To find that I had recorded Schoenberg's Serenade was unexpected. The piece has a bizarre beauty and as a Eric Dolphy fan, a bass-clarinet so well-recorded is a joy. There is no mention of this recording on the University of Southern California library website which seems to be as complete a list as you can get.
Next, Two Prom Concerts. James Loughran conducting the BBCSO in Tchaikovsky on a Saturday night with a lively audience. Charles Groves with the same orchestra and John Ogdon as soloist in Messiaen's Turangalila play to a quietly respectful audience (especially during the long pauses between movements which I have reduced in length). Both audiences erupt at the end!
Haitink's recording of Mahler's 9th Symphony with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1970 won many admirers. His Prom performance with them that same year is my next offering. But, be warned, the start is missing and the third movement has 30 seconds or so of damaged sounds. Apart from that you have the rest of the symphony in reasonable nick. The audience here are remarkably restrained in their initial applause. Quite why defeats me.
An asterisk next to a title indicates that the file has been re-uploaded in MP3 320 KBit/s for higher fidelity
1 Beethoven, Symphony No.2 Loughran, LSO
- Beethoven, Symphony No.2 in B flat major, Opus 21
- played by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Loughran
- A few notes/bars missing at the start, sorry
| Movement | Description | approx. timing (m:s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adagio molto —Allegro con brio | start |
| 2 | Larghetto | 11:41 |
| 3 | Scherzo: Allegro | 23:48 |
| 4 | Allegro molto | 27:07 |
2 Beethoven, Symphony No.3 Loughran, LSO
- Beethoven, Symphony No.3 in E flat major, Opus 55
- played by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Loughran
| Movement | Description | approx. timing (m:s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allegro con brio | start |
| 2 | Marcia funebre: Adagio assai | 18:05 |
| 3 | Scherzo: Allegro vivace | 34:20 |
| 4 | Finale: Allegro molto | 40:00 |
3 Schoenberg, Serenade* Vesuvius Ensemble
- Schoenberg, Serenade Opus 24
- played by the Vesuvius Ensemble, members are listed at the end of the recording.
| Movement | Description | approx. timing (m:s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | March | start |
| 2 | Minuet | 04:52 |
| 3 | Variations | 12:33 |
| 4 | Sonnet (Petrarch Sonnet no.217) | 16:50 |
| 5 | Dance Scene | 20:41 |
| 6 | Song without words | 28:00 |
| 7 | Finale | 30:24 |
4 Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 5 Loughran, BBCSO
- Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op 64
- BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Loughran
- Broadcast from the Albert Hall, Saturday 17 August 1968
| Movement | Description | approx. timing (m:s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andante - Allegro con anima | start |
| 2 | Andante cantabile, con alcuna licenza | 14:36 |
| 3 | Valse: Allegro moderato | 27:47 |
| 4 | Finale: Andante maestoso - Allegro vivace | 33:35 |
5 Messiaen,Turangalila* Groves, BBCSO
- Messiaen, Turangalila Symphony
- BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Charles Groves with John Ogdon (Piano) and Jeanne Loriod (Ondes Martenot)
- Broadcast from the Albert Hall, Wednesday 6 August 1969
| Movement | Description | approx. timing (m:s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction | start |
| 2 | Chant d'amour 1 | 06:40 |
| 3 | Turangalîla 1 | 14:33 |
| 4 | Chant d'amour 2 | 19:31 |
| 5 | Joie du sang des étoiles | 29:35 |
| 6 | Jardin du sommeil d'amour | 36:13 |
| 7 | Turangalîla 2 | 45:45 |
| 8 | Développement de l'amour | 49:43 |
| 9 | Turangalîla 3 | 1:01:05 |
| 10 | Final | 1:06:13 |
6 Mahler, Symphony No.9* Haitink, Concertgebouw
- Mahler, Symphony No. 9
- Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Bernard Haitink
- Broadcast from the Albert Hall, Thursday 3rd September 1970
| Movement | Description | approx. timing (m:s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andante comodo (D major) | start |
| 2 | Im Tempo eines gemächlichen Ländlers. Etwas täppisch und sehr derb (C major) | 22:11 |
| 3 | Rondo-Burleske: Allegro assai. Sehr trotzig (A minor) | 39:55 |
| 4 | Adagio. Sehr langsam und noch zurückhaltend (D-flat major) | 54:06 |
7 Tchaikovsky, Manfred* Maazel, NPO
- Tchaikovsky, Manfred Symphony Opus 58
- New Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Lorin Maazel
- Possibly broadcast on March 23rd 1971 from the Royal Festival Hall
| Movement | Description | approx. timing (m:s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lento lugubre | start |
| 2 | Vivace con spirito | 16:19 |
| 3 | Andante con moto | 26:25 |
| 4 | Allegro con fuoco | 37:32 |
8 Tchaikovsky, Symphony No.6* Haitink, Concertgebouw
- Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 6 "Pathetique", Opus 74
- Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Bernard Haitink
- Broadcast from the Royal Albert Hall, part of a Promenade Concert on 5th September 1970
- There is some interplay between "passionistas" and "puristas" after the third movement. I have not reduced the intervals between movements but I have cut some of the applause before the encore begins.
| Movement | Description | approx. timing (m:s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adagio - Allegro non troppo | start |
| 2 | Allegro con grazia | 20:03 |
| 3 | Allegro molto vivace | 28:31 |
| 4 | FINALE. Adagio lamentoso - Andante | 37:36 |
| extra | Encore | 51:08 |
9 Mahler, Symphony No.2* Haitink, LPO
- Mahler, Symphony No.2 ,"The Resurrection"
- London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Bernard Haitink
- Broadcast from the Royal Albert Hall, part of a Promenade Concert on 14 August 1969
- with the BBC Men's Chorus, BBC Choral Society, London Philharmonic Choir. Soloists: Margaret Price (soprano) and Norma Procter (contralto)
- The very first flurry of notes from the lower strings is missing. I have not reduced the intervals between the movements.
| Movement | Description | approx. timing (m:s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allegro Maestoso | start |
| 2 | Andante moderato | 22:12 |
| 3 | In ruhig fließender Bewegung (With quietly flowing movement) | 32:28 |
| 4 | Urlicht (Primeval Light). Sehr feierlich, aber schlicht | 42:55 |
| 5 | Im Tempo des Scherzos (In the tempo of the scherzo) | 48:18 |
10 The Tempest Paul Scofield
This is the 1974 quadrophonic version reduced to stereo for this broadcast
CAST: Paul Scofield: Prospero Jane Knowles: Miranda Ronnie Stevens: Ariel Patrick Stewart: Caliban Richard Kay: Ferdinand Alan Rowe Master of the Ship/Francisco Anthony Daniels: Adrian Charles Kay: Sebastian Doreen Walker: Singer (Juno) John Justin: Alonso Michael Spice: Antonio Patricia Hooper: Singer (Iris) Prudence Lloyd: Singer (Ceres) Rory Kinnear: Stephano Terence Scully: Trinculo Timothy Bateson: Gonzalo William Sleigh: Boatswain
Part1
Part2
Dir: Ian Cotterell. Music composed by David Cain, and played by Mike Westbrook, Clive Heath, Christopher Hogwood, Brian Godding, Butch Potter, John Mitchell and Tristan Fry.
