Early Stereo Recordings on Music & Arts

Music & Arts recent release of early 50's stereo recordings done by recording pioneer Bert Whyte is a very important issue in that it provides an interesting comparison between his recording and Mercury's of Tabor from Smetana's Ma Vlast. Experimenting at the Mercury sessions of Rafael Kubelik and the Chicago Symphony, Whyte provides a more spacious if slightly bass heavy alternative to the mono Mercury recording. The availability of stereo here makes for an even more impressive sonic experience than that of the fabled Mercury recording. Whyte's recording seems to be of a single take rather than one edited together. There is a better sense of continuity and intensity in the stereo issue than in the mono Mercury release. The only noticeable problem is a very slight trace of overload in a few of the loud portions of the music.

The other parts of the issue involve part of a Leopold Stokowski/Detroit Symphony Concert from 1952. The works involved include Jacob Avshalomov's The Taking of T'ung Kuan and Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony. Sonically, Stokie was experimenting with seating here, so we don't get a left/right string configuration, but strings on one side and winds/brass on the other. There is good dynamic range here. There are a couple of problems with warble on the tape in the Tchaikovsky.

The Tchaikovsky has applause between the first & second movements & Stokowski immediately jumps to the coda in the finale to avoid the false ending & the likelihood of applause there. As typical with most of Stokie's performances, there is great excitement here. The Avshalomov is a pleasant enough piece with oriental traces, that seems to suit Stokie well, though the composer had some problems with tempos in this under rehearsed performance. The orchestra which was early in Paray's tenure seems to be a scrappy bunch, lacking the discipline of the Mercury recordings that gave the orchestra national recognition.

Notes include Avshalomov's recollections of the rehearsal & performance of his work; an Edward Johnson piece on Stokowski; and technical notes by Mark Obert-Thorn who did the restoration of the recordings. The CSO is credited as the "Mercury Symphony Orchestra" in the booklet.

Given the quality of these early stereo recordings, one hopes that more of Whyte's recordings are in the wings waiting to be issued.