I know this is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I really love historic recordings. They give me a romantic “historic sensation” of listening to the same sounds as someone who bought these recordings a long time ago. Just like old books, they transport me to a different era.
With YouTube and Spotify, the amount of historic recordings available is staggering. What you miss, though, is the physical 78 rpm disc and some of the romanticism that comes with it. But at least you have the chance to hear rare records like these 1927-1928 recordings of conductor Erich Kleiber (1890-1956). He is now mainly known as “the father of” Carlos Kleiber, but he was a well-respected “kapellmeister” in his own time, with a focus on the works of Richard Strauss and Alban Berg. The latter displeased the Nazis, which was one of the reasons he immigrated to Argentina in 1936.
A 3-CD box with historical recordings can be a bit overwhelming, so I made a 50-minute selection of the performances I liked best. A thrilling Johann Strauss Fledermaus overture, matched by one of the best performances I know of Rossini’s William Tell overture. I chose the 1928 recording of Smetana’s Moldau. It is sonically less “open” than the 1927 recording, but it has some thrilling moments. The Merry Wives of Windsor by German composer Otto Nicolai and the Roman Carnival overture by Berlioz complete this set. I hope you will enjoy this selection!
The metadata is:
Track 1 JOHANN STRAUSS II (1825–1899) Die Fledermaus – Overture
Staatskapelle Berlin, Spring 1927.
Track 2 GIOACHINO ROSSINI (1792–1868) William Tell – Overture
Staatskapelle Berlin, July 1927
Track 3 BEDŘICH SMETANA (1824–1884) Vltava (Die Moldau) from Má vlast
Staatskapelle Berlin, April - December 1928
Track 4 OTTO NICOLAI (1810–1849) The Merry Wives of Windsor – Overture
Staatskapelle Berlin, June 1927
Track 5 HECTOR BERLIOZ (1803–1869) Roman carnival overture – Overture, Op. 9
Staatskapelle Berlin, 1927
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