# Best album releases from the 1930s - 1960s



## Lyricus (Dec 11, 2015)

Hey everyone, I'm looking for interesting or solid releases that are still worth listening to from the 30s onward. Some choice selections I have already include:

Bruno Walter & Columbia, Mahler's 9th (1938)
Rachmaninoff with Stokowski & Philadelphia, Piano Concerto No. 2 (1940)
Mark Weber's In Old Vienna (1942 - just delightful, though the odd man out)

What else is out there that is top quality? What should I keep my eyes open for? I'm much more familiar with the output of the 70s and later, so I'd like to fill in any gaps.

(Originally wanted 1950s and 1960s, too, but I will hold off and do those individually.)


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

You're question is just too broad. My list alone would have hundreds of entries. And I listen to relatively few pre-LP recordings. Can you find a way to narrow it? 

Or you might start with the desert island discs thread and try to identify which of those are pre-1970. There are quite a few.

OK - one suggestion. If you're looking for a replacement for Ormandy, try Szell. Or von Karajan (1963). Or Klemperer. Or Walter. Or Toscanini. Or Furtwangler. (See what I mean.)


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

When I started collecting 78s to transfer and restore, I went after recordings I thought had no parallel in modern recordings. I have restored transfers I've done of all of these I can post if you are interested.

Schnabel's Beethoven Diabelli Variations
Walter/VPO Mahler 9th
Walter/VPO Wagner Die Walkure Act 1
Busch's Handel Concerto Grosso Op 8 1 to 6
Kajanus Sibelius Symphony 5 / Tapola / Pohjola's Daughter
Gluck's Orfeo with Kathleen Ferrier conducted by Stiedry


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

The first two that spring to mind are Casals' Bach cello suites and Schnabel's Beethoven cycle.


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## Lyricus (Dec 11, 2015)

bigshot said:


> Walter VPO first act of Die Walkure 1935. Never been topped.


Definitely color me interested! I don't suppose any other act was recorded with VPO during this time (given the circumstances)?



jegreenwood said:


> You're question is just too broad. My list alone would have hundreds of entries. And I listen to relatively few pre-LP recordings. Can you find a way to narrow it?
> 
> Or you might start with the desert island discs thread and try to identify which of those are pre-1970. There are quite a few.
> 
> OK - one suggestion. If you're looking for a replacement for Ormandy, try Szell. Or von Karajan (1963). Or Klemperer. Or Walter. Or Toscanini. Or Furtwangler. (See what I mean.)


I changed it to 30s-40s to narrow it down.


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## WildThing (Feb 21, 2017)

Gosh. Where to even start?

I can only reiterate that Schnabel's Beethoven sonata cycle is absolutely essential, and his way with these pieces is still unparalleled. But there are a plethora of amazing Beethoven recordings from the 30s and 40s. Toscanini's recordings with the NBC Symphony Orchestra for starters. The 1939 symphony cycle, and the 1940 Missa Solemnis. Then there's Furtwängler's legendary 9th from Berlin 1942, which is the angriest and most intense performance of the symphony I've ever heard.

If you like Bruno Walter's Mahler 9 from 1939, his recording of the 5th in 1947 is revelatory.

Furtwängler's Bruckner 8 with the Vienna Philharmonic from 1944.

In the solo piano repertory, there's the first complete recording of Bach's WTC by Edwin Fischer. Also another one of the century's greatest pianists, Alfred Cortot, made some legendary Chopin recordings during this period -- his 1933 Preludes on EMI is great.

The 30s and 40s set a high water mark in Wagner performance as well, and there are just so so many great recordings of singers and conductors that are very much worth hearing. In particular the greatest heldentenor in history, Lauritz Melchior was in his prime, and once you hear his Siegfried, Tristan, and Tannhauser no one else really measures up. Just a few recommendations I would offer would be the Tristan und Isolde under Fritz Reiner with Kirsten Flagstad from 1936, the 1941 Tannhauser under Leinsdorf at the MET (released by Pristine Classical), and besides the Act I of Die Walkure under Walter already mentioned there's another recording available under the Pristine label of the complete opera from a 1940 MET broadcast featuring Kirsten Flagstad, Lauritz Melchior, and Marjorie Lawrence that's electrifying.

Last but not least are two of my favorite recordings of Verdi's Requiem from back to back years with two of the greatest tenors of the 20th century and two of the greatest overall casts in any recording of the work: Serafin with Beniamino Gigli from 1939 and Toscanini with Jussi Björling from 1940.

This is just the tip of the iceberg really, and really only covers what immediately came to my mind.


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## David Phillips (Jun 26, 2017)

Kajanus's Sibelius 1st Symphony is great too!


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## premont (May 7, 2015)

bigshot said:


> When I started collecting 78s to transfer and restore, I went after recordings I thought had no parallel in modern recordings. I have restored transfers I've done of all of these I can post if you are interested.
> 
> Busch's Handel Concerto Grosso Op 8 1 to 6


You must mean opus 6, 1 - 6. But why not mention opus 6, 7 - 12, which I find equally good.
And while we are at Busch, I think his recording of the Brandenburgs and Bach's violin partita d-minor should be mentioned too.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Karajan first Beethoven symphonies set on DG might be a good buy.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Pugg said:


> Karajan first Beethoven symphonies set on DG might be a good buy.


The OP limited the scope to 1930's and 40's (after my first post )


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

jegreenwood said:


> The OP limited the scope to 1930's and 40's (after my first post )


He / she better ask the mods to change it then.


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## Lyricus (Dec 11, 2015)

Pugg said:


> He / she better ask the mods to change it then.


He has. Very strange that one cannot change it without moderation intervention.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Lyricus said:


> He has. Very strange that one cannot change it without moderation intervention.


Just send a PM and they do it for you, very easy.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

Lyricus said:


> Definitely color me interested! I don't suppose any other act was recorded with VPO during this time (given the circumstances)?


They recorded Act 2 as well, but it wasn't as good. The end of the opera wasn't recorded until the late 40s and that was by Traubel and Janssen conducted by Rodzinski. I have a transfer of that as well if you're interested.

Here is the one you asked for... Enjoy!

Wagner: Die Walkure Act 1 (1935)
Bruno Walter / Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Lauritz Melchior, Lotte Lehmann, Emmanuel List
http://www.vintageip.com/xfers/walkureact1walter1935.mp3


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

premont said:


> You must mean opus 6, 1 - 6. But why not mention opus 6, 7 - 12, which I find equally good.
> And while we are at Busch, I think his recording of the Brandenburgs and Bach's violin partita d-minor should be mentioned too.


Yes, my memory failed me on that. The set of 78s I transferred was all 12. It was a mammoth set. Incredibly rare to find a complete set in perfect shape. It took me months to restore.

I'll add Max Von Schillings' late 20s recordings of Parsifal, but I'm probably alone in suggesting that. Von Schillings was a dedicated Nazi and was responsible for ruining the lives of many Jewish musicians. He was a great conductor though if you can put that out of your mind. His Parsifal recordings show how the music should be phrased and paced. Today everyone drags their feet and stretches it all out like taffy.


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

You'll find plenty of what you're looking for on this list I made a few years ago. Many of these have already been mentioned above.


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