This album is included in the following sets:
This set contains the following albums:
- Producer's Note
- Full Track Listing
- Cover Art
The 1938 Barber Première Concert
We used two different source recordings in order to put together for the first time a complete record of this historic concert. Part One was recorded from an off-air test disc, Part Two from a re-broadcast of NBC's master lacquers. As such there is a slight discrepancy in sound quality, with marginally higher hiss levels on the first disc. Copies of the first half of this concert have circulated amongst collectors for some time, and the Graener has been issued on CD. I also believe the Debussy and Dvořák recordings surfaced on LPs some years ago, but never onto CD.
This new restoration tackles some of the inherent problems of the aircheck disc for the first time, using audio technology not previously available to restoration engineers to remove or dramatically reduce radio interference and also tackle various hum frequencies and assorted radio whistles present throughout the original master. It has also been possible to fix a number of drop-outs in the recordings we were presented with, which had been dubbed onto open-reel tape some years ago. The original recordings were of course mono, but the tape hiss from later transfers was wide and stereo. I have narrowed the stereo field of this hiss, though some very mild stereo spread may still be evident in upper frequencies.
TOSCANINI The Barber Première Concert (1938)
GRAENER Die Flöte von Sanssouci
1. 1. Introduction and Sarabande (4:27)
2. 2. Gavotte (3:02)
3. 3. Air (2:55)
4. 4. Rigadoun (5:27)
BARBER Adagio for Strings - world première performance
5. Barber: Adagio for Strings, Op. 11 (7:37)
BARBER Essay for Orchestra No. 1 - world première performance
6. Barber: Essay for Orchestra No. 1, Op. 12 (7:56)
DEBUSSY Ibéria
7. [Debussy — Ibéria (Images, No. 2)] 1. Par les rues et par les chemins (6:47)
8. [Debussy — Ibéria (Images, No. 2)] 2. Les Parfums de la nuit (6:58)
9. [Debussy — Ibéria (Images, No. 2)] 3. Le matin d'un jour de fête (4:33)
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 9, "From the New World"
10. I. Adagio — Allegro molto (10:40)
11. II. Largo (10:32)
12. III. Scherzo (7:10)
13. IV. Allegro con fuoco (10:22)
CD ONE
CD TWO
NBC Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Arturo Toscanini
Broadcast live on 5th November, 1938, NBC Studio 8H, New York
Disc One taken from aircheck discs
Disc Two taken from NBC master lacquer discs
Pristine Audio XR remastering by Andrew Rose, June 2007
Durations 49:42, 38:43
