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A fine cross-section of material in Mark Obert-Thorn's 50th Pristine Audio transfer release
Producer's Note This program presents a wide cross-section of Leo Blech’s repertoire, from opera and operetta to ballet and concert music. Blech had recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra before (a pioneering Schubert 9th in 1927); but the impetus for having the present series done with them rather than with his usual Berlin State Opera Orchestra may have been HMV’s contract with the LSO, which mandanted a certain number of sessions each year with the ensemble. Over three days of recording in both Kingsway and Queen’s Hall, Blech led the orchestra in some 23 sides, all but three of which are presented here. (The odd side, the Mozart Divertimento Minuet, had to wait until the following year for Blech to record a discmate with the Berlin Philharmonic.) The missing items from the London sessions, all by Mendelssohn, were two orchestrated “Songs without Words” on a 12-inch side, and the finale of the Italian Symphony on two 10-inch sides. (Longtime Blech reissue collectors may have them on the 1978 Past Masters LP, PM-14.) The sources for the transfers of the Cherubini and Mendelssohn works, as well as the last two Grieg dances, were American Victor “Z” pressings. The Mozart ballet music and the Brahms Serenade movements came from pre-war Victor “Gold” label pressings, while the first two Grieg dances came from a later “Silver” label disc. The Weber overture was transferred from an Italian Voce del Padrone pressing, and the remaining items came from British HMV shellacs. An electrical problem in the original recording sessions produced low frequency sputters and pops on several of the masters. These are particularly noticeable in the quiet passages on the first side of the Mendelssohn. I have removed the worst of them and attempted to filter the rest, but some of the noise remains on a few of the recordings. Mark Obert-Thorn
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Leo Blech Biographical notes from Wikipedia
Leo Blech (21 April 1871 – 25 August 1958) was a German opera composer and conductor who is perhaps most famous for his work at the Königliches Schauspielhaus (later the Berlin State Opera (Staatsoper Unter den Linden)) from 1906 to 1937, and later as the conductor of Berlin's Städtische Oper from 1949 to 1953. Blech was known for his reliable, clear, and elegant performances, especially of works by Wagner, Verdi, and Bizet's Carmen (which he conducted over 600 times), and for his sensitivity as an accompanist.
Early life and educationBlech was born to a Jewish family in Aachen, Rhenish Prussia. After attending the Hochschule in Berlin where he studied piano with Ernst Rudorff and composition from Woldemar Bargiel he took private lessons with Engelbert Humperdinck.
CareerAfter working briefly in sales, Blech earned a position as conductor at the Stadttheater Aachen in 1893. From 1899 to 1906, he conducted at the Neues Deutsches Theater in Prague, before moving to the Königliches Schauspielhaus in Berlin. In 1913 he was promoted to General Music Director. Between 1923 and 1926, Blech took various positions at opera houses in Berlin and Vienna, including the Deutsches Opernhaus, the Volksoper Berlin, and the Vienna Volksoper. In 1926 he returned to the Schauspielhaus, now called the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, where he remained until Adolf Hitler's anti-semitic policies forced him in 1937 into exile in Riga, where he was conductor of the Latvian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. With an eye to the substantial German and foreign reputation of Blech Hermann Göring issued an order to major Karl Heise, head of the Schutzpolizei in Riga from September 1941, to issue an exit visa for Blech for neutral Sweden - making Blech the only Jewish survivor of Riga to escape by such high level intervention. During and after World War II, Blech conducted at the Royal Opera, Stockholm. In 1949 he returned to Berlin to conduct at the Städtische Oper, where he worked until 1953. One of his pupils, conductor Herbert Sandberg, married his daughter Lisel.
Compositions
Blech also composed orchestral works, choral works, chamber works, and songs.
Notes from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Blech
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