1941 RICHARD STRAUSS CONDUCT ALPINE SYMPHONYRecord78rpm

$

299

A series of great  classical orchestral and instrumental performances by major conductors, composers and instrumentalists.

Ultra rare WARTIME pressing of Richard Strausses last major recording of his 1915 Alpensymphonie with the Bavarian State Orchestra recorded in the early war in 1941 in the famous Munich State Opera house, shortly before that venerable temple of the arts went up in flames in the allied bombing of Munich.

Eine Alpensinfonie (An Alpine Symphony), Op. 64, is a large symphonic poem[1] composed by Richard Strauss between 1911 and 1915. A typical performance entails upwards of forty-five minutes of continuous music. It depicts a full-day excursion on a mountain in the Bavarian Alps, recalling in vivid orchestral expression the composer's own experiences hiking at age fourteen. Strauss dedicated the work to Count Nicolaus Seebach and the Royal Kapelle (Orchestra) in Dresden, the ensemble which gave the premiere in 1915.

 

 

  

6x 12" original issue ELECTROLA 78 rpm records, 11 sides. In great, but not original red Electrola Album.

Condition:

EXCELLENT. Very light short scratches should not sound on sides 2,3,4,, light rubs on 6,7, light scuffs on 9,10,11. Red album is great with sound sleeves and bindings and vivid red spine and covers.

A short critical appraisal of this recording:

One of the more interesting of Strauss' recordings was perhaps the first complete performance of his An Alpine Symphony, made in 1941 and released on Electrola, because Strauss used the full complement of percussion instruments required in this spectacular symphony. The intensity of the performance rivaled that of the digital recording Herbert von Karajan made many years later with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

 

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A note to grading Victrola/ Pathe/ Shellac 78 rpm discs:

Pls note that I try to be extremely conservative and consistent in my grading. All records are graded with the same criteria, regardless of genre.

I noticed that my grading seems to be more conservative than what I have seen from other sellers, so here some notes.

Surface VISUAL GRADING:

EXCELLENT - clean and shiny, as new. E minus is the same, with light scuffing.

Very Good Plus - Clean, with a little more scuffing. Some grooves spots may have some light greying. Little if any distortion.

Very Good - a clean copy, some scuffing, some greying on a single groove or a few small groove bands. Enjoyable record, maybe light distortion on some top notes.

=> Everything up to here is a great and enjoyable record

Very Good Minus - May have areas of visible wear, may have some scuffing or dulled surface. Still a great record, but ticks, pops and some distortion.

Good Plus - a worn and scuffed copy. May have other defects separately stated. Plays well, but with noise, may require filtering.

All other defects (if any: Chips, cracks, scratches, lamination cracks, label damage, needle digs) will be stated SEPARATELY.

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Number of Records
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Up to 20 Records

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