Here's an unassuming little album cover that caught my attention at some point (can't remember when) probably because the featured composer - Johann Georg Albrechtsberger - was unfamiliar to me. Indeed, as the liner notes - translated into English from the Hungarian original (a little elastic in the translation department, but they get points for using the word "pedagogical" accurately - plenty of native English speakers can't do that!) - say, Albrechtsberger has a place in history not so much for his composing but for his apparent role as one of Beethoven's teachers. I haven't confirmed the accuracy of this tale yet, however I have to say this contemporary of Mozart composed some really interesting music and this LP has been a recent favorite.
The record comes from the Qualiton Record label out of Hungary. The label bears a striking resemblance to other Hungaroton records I have so I'm guessing this was an offshoot of the parent company.
This record features two unlikely concertos - one for Harp and one for Trombone. What makes this even more interesting is that fact that the featured instruments are both period-specific! The trombone used for the solo here dates back to the year 1702. With great skill the soloist Gyorgy Zilcz manages to coax quite tuneful and pitch-appropriate sounds out of this ancient piece of plumbing. And while the concerto itself isn't terribly sophisticated - it is highly enjoyable! The same can be said for the Harp concerto. The harp used for this recording was borrowed from the Hungarian National Museum (along with the trombone) and, if the liner notes are to be believed - the harp once belonged to none other than Marie Antoniette herself. Though she would never become proficient on the harp she was noted as a music enthusiast. The harp itself has quite a tone to it - seen here in the service of the soloist Hedvig Lubik:
Albrechtsberger, as the liner notes point out, is historically considered a "minor master" composer. Yet I have to admit to really enjoying this record. I have no idea if this ever made it to digital. But I do know my LP was a fabulous $1 investment - guaranteed to get my money's worth for years to come. I really love offbeat records like this. Which reminds me............
I recently bumped into a really cool website dedicated to a fascinating offbeat record label from the 1950s called REMINGTON. I happened to have a few Remington records in my collection. Imagine my surprise to learn about this short-lived company's history. I believe the company got going about 1952 or so and only lasted until about 1958. Founder Don Gabor saw the potential to produce and market quality classical music at budget prices on the (then) new 33 & 1/3 long playing LPs. He kept costs down by cutting his platters from master tapes of European performers (who were working relatively cheaply after World War II). Unfortunately he also cut costs by using some less than ideal vinylite compound to press them with. Notoriously bad pressings (though not impossible to enjoy, mind you) they were. Yet some of these buggers have become COLLECTABLE sometimes fetching BIG BUCKS. Not all of them - but some. If you want to know more I would suggest heading over to the Remington website here:
http://www.soundfountain.org/rem/dongabor.html
Here are the two LPs I have so far........
The Beethoven trios disc I got as part of a ebay lot sale of 10 Beethoven albums - a dollar each - SHIPPED! This LP was part of a later series known as the MUSIRAMA series (as if you couldn't tell from the label). One of the things I really love about these records is the cool label and cover art. Turns out, Remington hired the guy who revolutionized album cover art for Columbia Records in the late 40s to design their label and quite a few covers - a guy by the name of Alex Steinweiss. Here's a link to an awesome website that will tell you all about Steinweiss:
http://www.soundfountain.org/rem/remcovart.html
Seriously cool info at that site. Here's the cover of that Dvorak New World Symphony LP - the label pictured above (in the Steinweiss style):
Steinweiss was the one who put forward the proposition to Columbia that unique and artistic cover art used on LP sleeves would boost sales - and he was RIGHT! Personally, I think some of the cover art of these early classical LPs are super-cool! As for the music, the Beethoven disc is great musically - really spirited playing. But the pressing quality is quite funky - despite the fact that the disc is MINT (helped by the fact that it came with a custom plastic inner-sleeve still intact - check this out):
I like that logo. Still - if Remington could afford custom inner sleeves, ya think they could spend a few extra bob on the pressing quality of the LPs themselves?? Ah, well - all part of the cheapness charm. The Dvorak record has a really odd sound effect to it - like a rockabilly slapback echo or something. Not totally annoying, but slightly weird for a classical album. Doesn't inhibit my enjoyment one bit though. No way were any of these records going to pose serious competition to the BIG GUYS like Toscanini. But Remington was the FIRST budget classical label - and they would force the majors into competition with their own budget-line releases (some of which were quite good as well)!
Here's Columbia Records answer to Remington - the Entre series. This Schubert record is quite good, actually. I really like the music as well as the cover art and the label too. I have a few other Entre series LPs - great mono sound and solid performances. Yes, Virginia - competition is GOOD for the consumer indeed.
I REALLY like this RCA / Camden budget LP of Holst's Planets. Dig that crazy cool cover art (the magenta label isn't so bitchen, but what the hey........)! This line of Camden releases were RCA's way of reissuing old 78 rpm performances on LP. Most of the performances are excellent since the featured orchestras and conductors were TOP NOTCH in their day. However, figuring out who is really playing on these records is a bit of a challenge since RCA reissued the music with TOTALLY made-up orchestra names (to avoid paying extra royalties - those cheap bastids!). So the above LP is credited to the Dominion Symphony Orchestra - which is a total fabrication! As of right now - I have no idea who the real orchestra is, but it's a pretty cool performance.
When the stereo era hit in the late 50s, Camden got hip to pressing some Living Stereo discs featuring European orchestras (still working cheaply - good for maintaining a nice profit margin!). The above LP is a GREAT performance of Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony by the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. The record sounds excellent and the performance has a nice bite to it - not sloppy or second-rate sounding at all! I'd sure snap up more of these buggers (the one above only ran me $1.99 at a pretty overpriced record shop in New York City about a month ago). But they are pretty thin on the ground from what I've seen so far.
This is the kind of stuff that really gets me going. I love old LPs and their history. There is a LOT of great music out there to be plundered cheaply in the classical realm. I highly recommend any of the albums featured this month to those of you hearty souls out there digging in the bins. These platters can take you to better realities and other dimensions! Happy trails!
