0001-0200
Cat
No		 Prefix
No in
Set
 Artist/Title
0001 GEMS 2 George Copeland - The Victor solo recordings
0002 GEM 1 Benjamin Britten - Premiere recordings 1938-46
0003 GEM 1 Reynaldo Hahn
0004 GEMS 2 Schnabel plays Beethoven
The 'Named' Sonatas
A blazing intensity of interpretative vision as well as a breathtaking manner of execution' Stephen Plaistow. 'Schnabel is able to reconcile a calm and concentrated slowness with a breathtaking pulse and stirring inner life. No-one now distils these imaginative essences quite as he did' Richard Osborne. 'Here the sound has literally been given new life' L'Interêt. 'Extraordinary fidelity to Schnabel's sound. We can now hear his refined tonal palette, wide dynamics and subtle pedalling…Few historical reissues qualify as revelatory. This one does!' Tower Records Magazine. These were some of the comments on the original issue of this edition of the complete Beethoven Sonatas. Now, in this 2 CD set, the 'named' Sonatas have been collected together for a new public to appreciate the genius of composer and interpreter: the Pathétique, Moonlight, Pastoral, Waldstein, Appassionata, Les Adieux and Hammerklavier Sonatas. Bar code: 7 27031 00042 6
0005 GEMS 2 Leonard Bernstein - Wunderkind
0006 GEMS 2 Schnabel plays Mozart
0007 GEM 1 The Busch Quartet plays Brahms
0008 GEM 1 Mengelberg conducts Strauss
0009 GEMS 2 Marc Blitzstein - Musical Theatre premieres
0010 GEM 1 Ania Dorfmann - The Columbia recordings 1931-38
0011 GEM 1 Orson Welles - Macbeth
0012 GEM 1 Simon Barere
0013 GEM 1 Songs of France - Madeleine Grey, Claire Croiza & Yvonne Printemps
0015 GEMS 2 Orson Welles Julius Caesar
This full-length Caesar follows Shakespeare pretty closely and Welles himself takes three roles in this dramatic and ground-breaking production, always the most popular of the Mercury Theatre presentations. As marvellous encores are included the Richard II and wartime 'England' speeches from Richard II and Henry V of the great Shakespearean Maurice Evans. This release completes our issues of Orson Welles' Shakespeare. A 2 CD set.
0016 GEMS 2 Edwin Fischer plays Bach Vol I
0017 GEMS 2 Edwin Fischer plays Bach Vol II
The Well-Tempered Clavier Book II, Fantasia and Fugue in A minor, Prelude and Fugue in E flat major, 'St Anne' (Bach-Busoni). This is of course among the most celebrated series of recordings in our piano legacy 'uttered out of a deep passion, which expresses itself in a voice of exemplary linear clarity that's typically delicate and luminous rather than forceful or harsh' as The Irish Times said of Volume 1 (GEM 0016). A 2 CD set.
0018 GEM 1 Erno Dohnanyi
0019 GEM 1 Beethoven: 'Spring' / 'Kreutzer' sonatas etc. - Busch/Serkin
0020 GEMS 2 Twelfth Night / Julius Caesar etc. - Orson Welles
0021 GEM 1 Marcel Journet
0022 GEM 1 Gershwin and Grofe - Paul Whiteman and his Concert Orchestra
0023 GEM 1 Robert Simpson - Three String Quartets
0024 GEMS 2 Wagner Conductors on Record
0025 GEM 1 Adolf Busch and Rudolf Serkin
BRAHMS and SCHUMANN
Busch's own teachers and many of his musical friends were of Brahmas' own circle and he made music too with associates of Clara Schumann. These performances - of the Brahms Sonatas in G major and A major and the Schumann Sonata in A minor, together with three Hungarian Dances - show depth and clarity, wit and style to perfection and bring classic sensibilities to romantic music with the rapport unique to Busch and Serkin.
0026 GEM 1 Dennis Brain
0027 GEM 1 Clifford Curzon
0028 GEM 1 Antonio Paoli
0029 GEMS 2 The Merchant of Venice - Orson Welles / Macbeth - Evans/Anderson
Welles' Shylock is a marvel of this Mercury Theatre production! Music is by Elliot Carter. The seven scenes from MACBETH also included are a rare and appropriate companion, performed by the two great Shakespeareans Maurice Evans and Judith Anderson. This issue completes our re-release of these milestone Shakespeare productions. A 2 CD set.
0030 GEMS 2 Giovanni Martinelli
He was one of the greatest tenors of the century. When he began, Caruso was at the apogee of his career and Gigli was still to conquer the world. During Martinelli’s career such great tenors as Pertile, Lauri-Volpi, Slezak, Zenatello and Björling, to name but a few, were rivals. but he remained one of the brightest stars, with a style and sound that were uniquely his own. These two CDs present almost the whole of his recordings for Victor 1925-29. (The remainder are on GEMM CD 9184). They comprise some of the most important tenor recordings of the century, in new and fine transfers by Roger Beardsley. A 2 CD set.
0031 GEM 1 Noel Mewton-Wood
0032 GEM 1 Efrem Zimbalist
0033 GEM 1 Lotte Lehmann - Die Winterreise
0034 GEM 1 Kirsten Flagstad - The Great Arias
Her story is the stuff of legend, her career one of the most glorious of any heroic soprano, Her musical partners themselves almost gods. This anthology shows Flagstad at her grandest, her most powerful - and ends with the delicacy of Im Abendrot. Arias are included by Beethoven and Weber, as well as the great Wagnerian showpieces and collectors may note that the usually heard final chords of Dich, teure Halle (Elizabeth's Greeting) have here, happily, been excised. It is an anthology for that Desert Island.
0035 GEM 1 Amelita Galli-Curci - Lo! Here The Gentle LarkThese electrical recordings are of one of the great voices of the century: 'flawless beauty of tone, so satiny a timbre, such delicately lovely phrasing, such innate God-given talent and feeling for the true bel- canto'. She spoke directly to the public, a gift of only the greatest artists, and is still taken to the hearts of cognoscenti. These later recordings of her bring the voice into better focus and have real presence.
0036 GEM 1 Antal Dorati and the Ballets Russes
0037 GEMS 2 Othello starring Paul Robeson, Jose Ferrer, Uta Hagen
0038 GEM 1 Solomon
Few pianists have been so loved and admired for their goodness and wisdom, as Solomon. Deeply sophisticated, a true Classicist, unity of form and beauty of sound informed all his work. These profound post-war recordings, of Scarlatti, Haydn and the Beethoven Sonatas op. 2, no. 3 and op. 111, reach both mind and heart. In the Piano Masters series, for which further Solomon releases are being prepared. Bar code: 7 27031 00382 3
0039 GEMS 2 The Recorded Viola - Volume IV
0040 GEM 1 The Connoisseur's Peter Dawson
0041 GEM 1 Clifford Curzon - Volume II
His greatest as a pianist is in direct inverse proportion to his own aristocratic reticence and the neglect of his recordings hitherto. The latter we are attempting to rectify. These recordings of the Brahms D minor Concerto (1946) and Nights in the Gardens of Spain (1945) are both with the National Symphony Orchestra, under Enrique Jorda, and both illustrate his magisterial sophistication, his strong yet gentle musical personality, his complexity.
0042 GEMS 2 Edwin Fischer plays Mozart - Volume I
His interpretations were distinguished by a profound respect for the text, his ability to submerge himself in the work played, and the depth and purity of his expression. Like all the greatest art, at the centre is a core of simplicity. On his first volume are: the Concerto no. 17 and the Rondo K 382, with his own Chamber Orchestra, the Concerto no. 20 with the LPO, Concerto no. 22 with Barbirolli and his Chamber Orchestra, Concerto no. 24 with Collingwood and the LPO, and the Sonata no. 10, K 330 and Romance in Ab, K Anh. 205 (attrib.). With Fischer's intellectual and artistic integrity went, unusually, a sense of humour. That lightness, combined with natural authority, make his pianism special. A 2 CD set.
0043 GEMS 2 Edwin Fischer plays Mozart - Volume II
As Paul Badura Skoda, a pupil, has said of Fischer: 'he was endowed with a strange mixture of conflicting qualities powerful manliness and sweetness of feeling are portrayed in his playing'. Here is one of the great pianists, in notable performances of the Piano Concerto n. 25, cond. Josef Krips and the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Piano Sonata no. 11 K331 and the Minuet K1. Volume I is a 2 CD set on GEMS 0042.
0044 GEM 1 William Murdoch plays Beethoven
Now unjustly forgotten, the Australian-born but London-based pianist was a formidable interpreter of a broad repertoire, who recorded much in the two decades before the war. Here, for the first time on CD, are his landmark Beethoven recordings, issued by Columbia to celebrate the centenary of the composer's death - the Pathétique and Appassionata sonatas, and the Archduke Trio, with Albert Sammons and W. H. Squire. This last is an exceptionally balanced and poetic account.
0045 GEMS 2 Pablo Casals - The Bach Cello Suites
These Suites, played by Casals, are a monument of recording history, as much a grand edifice as the Busch Beethoven Late Quartets (GEMS 0053 - January), but they have not been issued before in such marvellous sound and in the order in which they were recorded, between 1936 and 1939. Included also are Bach 'encores', with pianists Blas Net, Nikolai Mednikoff and Otto Schulhof. A 2 CD set.
0046 GEM 1 Wilhelm Backhaus
The latest volume of the 'Piano Masters' series presents a landmark of the piano repertoire - his 1937 HMV recording of the Schumann Fantasy in C, together with the equally prized electrical discs of his Bach, Schubert and Schumann. This is the first CD reissue of the majority of these perform ances, all recorded in the decade 1927-37.
0047 GEM 1 Antonio Cortis
Dubbed 'il piccolo Caruso', Cortis, who died in 1952, was a Spanish tenor of vast renown; his voice had a ringing top always under perfect control, with both thrilling power and caressing subtlety. He was a true spinto and his 'Nessun dorma' remains the standard by which others are judged. This disc contains the very best of his Victor and Italian HMV recordings, many of them of considerable rarity; they may be counted among the finest tenor recordings ever made.
0048 GEMS 2 Lawrence Tibbett - 'Dear Rogue'
He was an international artist but an American phenomenon; star of the Met, film star, social lion. His performances in Falstaff, Simon Boccanegra, The Emperor Jones, Porgy and Bess and then the US première of Peter Grimes became the stuff of legend. His recordings sold in millions. Here is the vocal essence of him - in marvellous new Roger Beardsley transfers.
0049 GEMS 2 Samuel Barber
These are important première recordings of works by one of America's greatest composers. Trained in the classics, influenced by the Romantics, championed by Walter, Koussevitzky and Toscanini, Barber's early acclaim matured into public affection and international musical eminence with these works: Overture to The School for Scandal cond. Janssen, Adagio for Strings (fr. String Quartet op. 11), NBCSO/Toscanini, Capricon Concerto op. 21, Dover Beach op. 3, Barber/Curtis String Quartet, Essay no. 1, op. 12, Philharmonia/Ormandy, Sonata for cello and piano op. 6, Garbousova and Kahn, Symphony no. 1, op. 9 (in one movement), NYPSO/Walter.
0050 GEM 1 The Elgar Concertos
Sammons shows beguiling purity of tone and impeccable technical address. 'As the unerringly eloquent Sammons effortlessly negotiates every twist and turn of Elgar's glorious passagework . . . one feels more than ever that (he) was born to play this music . . . As one listens spellbound, one can't imagine Elgar's sublime inspiration being given any other way - surely the hallmark of a truly great performance.' Gramophone. With the New Queen's Hall Orch./Sir Henry Wood. For many years the Squire recording of the cello concerto was considered the best and today it remains a fine and valuable interpretation, with the Halle Orch./Sir Hamilton Harty. Also included is Harty's conducting of Dream Children. All transfers are new and by Roger Beardsley. This version of the violin concerto is felt by many to provide even greater satisfactions than the famous recording of the young Menuhin.
0051 GEM 1 Bruch - Milstein - Heifetz - Casals
Concerto no. 1: Milstein with the NYPSO under Barbirolli
Scottish Fantasy: Heifetz with the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra conducted by William Steinberg
Kol Nidrei: Casals with the LSO under.
Sir Landon RonaldNeither the Milstein nor the Heifetz were performances issued originally in Britain. To have three of the greatest artists of the century on one disc, performing Bruch's phenomenally popular concerti, is to have three performances of the greatest beauty and importance - and delight.
0052 GEMS 2 Joseph Schmidt
These are the rare early opera and song recordings, 1929-32, of 'the pocket Caruso', 'the tiny man with the great voice'. Schmidt's wonderfully silver, lyric tenor was known around the world in the 1930s, on records, in films and by wireless. His passion, exquisite taste, beauty of phrasing, sense of style and effortless high notes made him as famous as Tauber and Gigli. But the horrors of war - in France, Austria and Switzerland - killed him tragically young in 1942. These discs contain, among other marvels, his fabulously rare Ultraphon recordings. Transfers by Roger Beardsley. A 2 CD Set.
0053 GEMS 3 Beethoven: The Late Quartets - The Bush QuartetThese great classics of music and, in these Busch Quartet interpretations, equally classics of recording history, have of course been reissued before – and have won awards in their previous incarnations. These transfers are entirely new (by Roger Beardsley, with notes by Tully Potter) and a part of our series of Busch reissues: it is hoped that offered too is anew clarity and freshness of sound. The Quartets nos. 11-16, together with the Grosse Fuge op. 133.
A 3 CD set.
0054 GEMS 2 Victor de Sabata and the Berlin Philharmonic
His operatic repertoire was vast, his orchestral leadership pioneering, subtle, classics of the art of conducting. His infrequent recordings are infinitely precious and included on these discs is a unique live recording of the Tristan Prelude and Liebestod. As the then leader of the LPO once put it: 'with him the orchestra got white hot!' Brahms Symphony No. 4, Strauss Tod und Verklarung, Respighi Feste Romane, Kodaly Dances from Galanta and from Tristan, as well as the Prelude and Liebestod, excerpts from a performance at La Scala with Cobelli, Zanelli, Righetti, Stignani, Rossi-Morelli, with that orchestra. A 2CD set.
0055 GEM 1 Lili Kraus
The 1938-39 Solo Parlophone Recordings. Known primarily as a leading Mozart interpreter, especially in her later years, Lili Kraus was also an exponent of many other major composers for the piano. Her studies with Bartók and Schnabel led to an active international career and a series of sought-after discs for Parlophone dating from the late 1930s. Here for the first time on CD, is a generous sampling of those solo recordings from Kraus's prime years, focusing on composers other than Mozart: Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin - and Bartók.
0056 GEM 1 Leonid Sobinov
In the words of a contemporary: 'Sobinov was a celebrity almost from the very start (in Moscow, Milan, Monte Carlo and Madrid) and the gentle, caressing timbre of his voice, his vocal charm, his wonderful enunciation and his elegant stage presence, along with a highly developed intellect, all combined to make him a first class exponent of a wide repertoire'. Many of his discs, of which he recorded very few, are of surpassing rarity. Bar code: 7 27031 00562 9
0057 GEM 1 Benny Goodman - Clarinet Classics
As a jazz clarinettist he had no peer and his involvement in his own and other swing bands changed jazz for ever. But his enthusiasm and virtuosity led him to investigate, and triumph in, the most important works of the classical clarinet canon, and to commission new works. These are fine new transfers of the Mozart Quintet, w. the Budapest String Quartet, Bartók's Contrasts, w. Bartók and Szigeti, Debussy's Rhapsody No. 1, NYPSO/Barbirolli, and Brahms Sonata No. 2, Beethoven's Don Giovanni Variations, Weber's op. 38, 3rd mvt., all w. Nadia Reisenberg, piano.
0058 GEM 1 Constant Lambert - Volume I - Conductor
Composer, arranger, conductor, controversial critic, Constant Lambert was a polymathic colossus of 20th century British music. The recordings on this first disc illustrating his Protean qualities show his considerable abilities as a conductor as well as being of important and delightful music: Warlock's Capriol Suite and The Curlew, w. John Armstrong, baritone, Rawsthorne's Street Corner Overture and Symphonic Studies and Delius' On Hearing the First Cuckoo In Spring, with excerpts from Hassan and Koanga. Volume II, Constant Lambert as composer, follows shortly.
0059 GEM 1 Toscha Seidel
Seidel was one, with Heifetz, Max Rosen, Elman and Milstein among others at the time, of Leopold Auer's most gifted students. Triumph in Europe was followed by triumph in the USA. Auer called him one of the great violinists of the world - but his recordings were relatively few, even of his beloved Brahms, and his reserved personality and lack of stage presence prevented his glittering among the stars of his time. But the recordings here are impressive - Brahms' Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2 and Hungarian Dance No.1 and Grieg's Sonata No. 3 - and this release celebrates the centenary of his birth. He died in 1962.
0060 GEMS 2 The Ultimate Showboat
On this 2 CD set are the American original cast recordings (English original cast recordings are on GEMM CD 9105), revivals, film and radio productions and significant performances, 1928 to 1947. Featured artists include Paul Whiteman, Bing Crosby, Paul Robeson, Jules Bledsoe, Al Jolson, Helen Morgan, Countess Olga Albani, Elisabeth Welch, Allan Jones, Irene Dunne, Carol Bruce, Jan Clayton, Kenneth Spencer, Charles Fredericks and the Cleveland Orchestra under Artur Rodzinski. Since the Showboat of Kern and Hammerstein hove into view in 1927, Broadway has never been the same!
0061 GEM 1 Ezio Pinza
Pinza sang for 22 seasons at the Met and for many years in Italy. He was venerated in South America. His voice is instantly recognisable, one of the greatest basses of the century - emotionally powerful, perfectly produced and of extraordinary beauty. He was dynamic, innately musical and of firm masculine appeal. Hearts fluttered when he sang. All these recordings, newl transferred by Roger Beardsley, come from his finest years, 1927-30, and are glorious.
0062 GEM 1 Vaughan Williams
This release combines Vaughan Williams not only as composer, but as arranger, collaborator and conductor, in recordings which are justly famous, in nearly all instances, or rare or unissued on CD in others. And, except in the case of the folksong material, where even the most skilled and sensitive sound engineering can even now only go so far in correcting original recording failings, the sound is transfer state-of-the-art. Eight Folk Dances (arr. Cecil Sharp), National Folk Dance Orch. cond. Vaughan Williams, Ten Folk Songs and Carols (arr, VW), The English Singers, On Wenlock Edge, Peter Pears, Benjamin Britten, Zorian Quartet, Tallis Fantasia, Boyd Neel String Orch., recorded under the supervision of VW, Symphony no. 4, BBCSO cond. VW and the Symphony no. 5, Hallé Orch. cond. Barbirolli. A 2 CD set.
0063 GEM 1 Gérard Souzay
Liedel and Melodies
The voice beautiful, the musical intelligence subtle, Souzay has ever exemplified his own maxim that the prime vocal requisites are style and imagination - but not one without the other. His elegance and extraordinary feeling began to astound connoisseurs with these, his earliest recordings, and he quickly became inheritor of the great tradition of his teachers, Claire Croiza, Vanni-Marcoux, Pierre Bernac.
0064 GEM 1 Robert Merrill
Merrill's operatic career lasted for over 30 years, much of it as the Met's undisputed leading baritone. His range was amazing, the voice of magnificent resonance. He was a great vocal actor, as these recordings all demonstrate: indeed, Vision fugitive is named by many collectors as the most beautiful baritone recording ever made. Arias from Hamlet, Hérodiade, L'Africana, Carmen, La Traviata, Zaza, Andrea Chénier and songs including The Blind Ploughman, Jonah and the Whale and In the Gloaming - as well as Kleinsinger's amazing Brooklyn Baseball Cantata
0065 GEM 1 Stravinsky Father and Son
These late 1940s recordings are indispensable to anyone wanting to understand Stravinsky's works and his artistic intentions as a composer. And the disc includes also two Etudes from op 7 played by his second son ,Soulima, who specialised in performing his father's music for some 60 years, often with Stravinsky himself. Dumbarton Oaks, Danses Concertantes, Scherzo à la Russe, Divertimento from Le Baiser de la Fée, all conducted by the composer.
0066 GEM 1 Bernstein conducts Stravinsky and Ravel
The music of Stravinsky and Ravel - by the time he recorded this performance of the Piano Concerto, Bernstein practically owned the piece! - were stepping stones to his early recognition and success. It is easy to hear why he was so rapidly regarded as a boy wonder, not least by Copland and Koussevitzky, not least thanks to these 1946-47 recordings of L'Histoire du Soldat, the Octet for Wind Instruments and Ravel's Concerto (which was not issued on 78s in Europe). Bar code: 7 27031 00662 6
0067 GEM 1 The Marchesi School
The Marchesi School was responsible for many of the greatest singers in operatic history and, thanks to the gramophone, its methods and marvels have been preserved, for future generations to admire the technique, the precision and the glory of its pupils. Some of the items included here, both recordings and illustrations, are of very considerable rarity. The singers are: Blanche Marchesi herself, Suzanne Adams, Frances Alda, Sigrid Arnoldson, Blanche Arral, Emma Calvé, Ada Crossley, Yvonne de Tréville, Emma Eames, Selma Kurz, Miriam Licette, Nellie Melba, Elizabeth Parkina, Ellen Beach Yaw, Frances Saville and John Freestone. This really is a most marvellous issue for vocal connoisseurs and collectors.
0068 GEM 1 Robert Casadesus
A new 'Piano Masters' release - In honour of the 100th anniversary of his birth, we present an overview of his earliest recordings, which have been unavailable since their first publication. Included in the booklet is an extensive interview done over thirty years ago with Robert and Gaby Casadesus by the producer of this reissue, and published for the first time. Schumann: Etudes Symphoniques op 13, Ravel: Sonatine in F sharp and the Menuet from Le Tombeau de Couperin, Chopin Ballades and Mazurka op 17, no 4, and items by Fauré and De Séverac. Bar code: 7 27031 00682 4
0069 GEM 1 Constant Lambert Volume II
Lambert's ballet music brought together not only some of the brightest talents of the day, Ashton, Beaton, Lambert himself - but demonstrated his deep attachment to Margot Fonteyn. How tragic it was that his penchant for living life perhaps too fully,was to lead to his early death so soon after his last recording of The Rio Grande. Music from the ballets Horoscope, Apparitions, Dante Sonata, w. Louis Kentner, and The Rio Grande, for chorus, contralto, piano and orchestra, w. Kyla Greenbaum, and Gladys Ripley. All items are conducted by Lambert with the Liverpool PO, Philharmonia and Sadlers Wells orchestras. Volume I (Lambert as conductor) is on GEM 0058. Bar code: 7 27031 00692 3
0070 GEMS 2 Claudio Arrau PIano Masters Series
Virtually all his early recordings, examples even then of his exceptionally wide repertoire, great culture and limitless musical enthusiasm. Most of these recordings were made in the 1920s, and some are virtually unknown - certainly they have not appeared on CD: Weber Sonata no.1, Shumann Carnaval, Balakirev Islamey, Chopin Etudes, and other works, Busoni, Debussy, Stravinsky, Liszt - and Paganini-Liszt. High original recording quality is allied to wonderful new Beardsley transfers in this major addition to a fast-growing series of most important releases. Bar code: 7 27031 00702 1
0071 GEM 1 Wagner The Supreme Operatic Recordings
The first in the series which aims to offer just that - the Supreme operatic recordings of a composer, that is, those recordings which have stood the test of time, which remain quite outstanding in terms of singing, and often recording quality too. And these are not items culled from our existing catalogue; all have been newly selected and newly transferred from the very best available copies of originals. It is a series which has been long in the planning and is issued in collaboration with The Record Collector, the journal for vocal collectors and connoisseurs. Represented on this first issue are Elizabeth Rethberg, Lauritz Melchior, Friedrich Schorr, Emmy Bettendorf, Frida Leider, and Albert Reiss.
Bar code: 7 27031 00712 8
0072 GEM 1 Werdi The Supreme operatic recordings
As with the November releases in this series, of Mozart and Wagner, here are to be found the most wonderful recordings of Verdi arias:from a broad range of his operas, but always Verdi at his most sublime, can be heard Martinelli, Lauri-Volpi, Rethberg, de Luca, Gigli, Pinza, Tibbett, Seinemeyer, Ponselle, Tagliavini, Schipa, Spani,Zenatello, Cortis, Kurenko and Korjus. Again the choices were of course incredibly difficult and to choose the SUPREME recordings of any composer invites controversy but collectors will be delighted by these fine, new Roger Beardsley transfers.
Bar code: 7 27031 00722 7
0073 GEM 1 Mozart The Supreme Operatic Recordings
Naturally, the same principles apply to this second release - and should there be, as we trust, a healthy demand for such wonderful singing of the greatest operatic composers, then of course second and third volumes of each will follow, to include all those marvellous arias not capable of being released here. On this disc are represented Kipnis, Leider, Tauber, Schumann, Schiøtz, Nemeth, Supervia, Dawson, Lemnitz, Ginster, Domgraf-Fassbänder, Reichelt, Walter Ludwig, Korjus, Lotte Lehmann, Böhmer and Lotte Schöne. Bar code: 7 27031 00732 6
0074 GEMS 2 Mengelberg conducts Beethoven
Mengelbergâs famous Telefunken recordings of the Beethoven symphonies are intense and highly individual. His understanding and clarity of control of an orchestra, here the Concertgebouw, was inspired and these masterly transfers, by Mark Obert-Thorn, open up new vistas for the listener. Symphonies nos. 1, 3 (Eroica), 4, 5, 6 (Pastoral), 7 and 8, w. the ballet music from The Creatures of Prometheus. And collectors will appreciate that the recording of the 5th Symphony is indeed the 1937 version, not the later remake. A 3 CD set.Bar code: 7 27031 00742 5
0075 GEM 1 Donizetti The Supreme recordings
In the most famous and certainly most popular arias and ensembles from Don Pasquale, L'Elisir d'Amore, La Favorita, La Fille du Régiment, Linda di Chamonix, Lucrezia Borgia and Lucia dl Lammermoor. we hear Pareto, Lotte Schöne, Schipa, Galli-Curci, Cortis, Pinza, dal Monte, Sigrid Onegin, de Luca, Homer, Pons ... As ever with this series, the aim is to make these new transfers examples of the very finest recordings of the composer's works, ever. Bar code: 7 27031 00752 4
0076 GEM 1 Jesus Maria Sanroma
A pupil of Cortot, Sanroma's piano tone was particularly beautiful and his work with Schnabel encouraged his great interest in contemporary music. A pianist under-rated in Europe (but certainly not in America) it is more than time to re-evaluate the recordings of an extremely fine artist. A second volume of his work will follow, in this Piano Masters series. Macdowell Piano Concerto no. 2, Campos Eight Puerto Rican Dances, Prokofiev five of the Visions fugitives, Debussy Nocturne in D flat, Schönberg Six Little Piano Pieces, Krenek Little Suite. Bar code: 7 27031 00762 3
0077 GEM 1 Maryla Jonas
A fellow-pupil, with Malcuzynski and Halina Czerny-Stefanska, of the great Polish teacher Turczynski, Jonas was also taught by Paderewski and by von Sauer - a wonderful pianistic lineage for a very fine player whose career was cut tragically short by the effects of Nazi persecution during the war. Her Chopin interpretations are among the greatest ever; her reputation in America fully deserves wider knowledge and appreciation. On this première CD are Chopin Mazurkas, Waltzes, Nocturnes and the Polonaise no.9, op 71, no.2, Schumann's Kinderszenen, Handel, Rossi and Schubert. Piano Masters series. Bar code: 7 27031 00772 2
0078 GEM 1 Golden Operetta Volume II
The success of Volume I (GEMM CD 9255), offers the opportunity for more marvels of romance from Millöcker, Auber, Strauss, Offenbach, Lortzing, Lehár and others, and features the voices of Björling, Schiøtz, Tauber, Lotte Lehmann, Elisabeth Schumann and Lauri-Volpi .. and when in such star-studded and classic performances - no wonder! Bar code: 7 27031 00782 1
0079 GEMS 2 Bach: St. Matthew Passion
conducted by Ralph Vaughan Williams
This uniquely important recording, of a work which Vaughan Williams held close to his heart and conducted often but never recorded commercially, has never before been issued in any form; the master tape exists in only one cpoy. It is of one great composer conducting the work of another and may be compared to Mendelssohn's famous 1829 performance of the same work, in terms of its musical and emotional significance. We are most conscious of the privilege of being in a position to release this performance, recorded live at the Leith Hill Music Festival in 1958, a few months before VW's death. A 2 CD set. Bar code:7 27031 00792 0
0081 GEM 1 Dame Clara Butt 'Abide With Me'
Although her singing of patriotic songs made Clara Butt a symbol of the British Empire, there was much more to her than that. Here she can be heard also in love songs, religious pieces and ballads of her time; some of the finest recordings made by the greatest contralto of the twentieth century show her not just as a popular public figure but as a very fine singer, a first rank artist indeed. (The repertoire on this disc is as that on PAST CD 7012, now n.l.a. - the essence of Clara Butt - but all transfers are new). Included are: The Enchantress, Abide with Me, Land of Hope & Glory, The Lost Chord, Annie Laurie, Barbara Allen ,The Minstrel Boy, Handel's 'Largo', Softly Awakes my Heart and thirteen other tracks . A further Clara Butt CD will also be released shortly. Bar code: 7 27031 00812 5
0082 GEMS 1 Broadway Through The Gramaphone Volume I
New York in European Footsteps 1844-1909. In 1909, shortly after phonograph records were introduced to the public, the Victor Talking Machine Company began to issue medleys of musical shows playing on Broadway at the time, along with recordings of blockbuster shows of similar vintage then to My Fair Lady today.
These were the cast albums of their day, now important historical documentation of the showsí musical highlights and the manner in which the songs were once performed. This first 2-CD set (Volumes III and IV have already been issued, Volume II follows immediately) includes many rarities as well as items from more familiar shows and operettas - and is as essential to the collector as those other fine productions of Jack Raymond, Music from the New York Stage and now the Ultimate series. Bar code: 7 27031 00822 4
0083 GEMS 1 Broadway Through The Gramophone One Volume II
Broadway Prior To WorldWar I
Completing the issue of this essential and scholarly 4-volume series (GEMS 0082-85), produced by Jack Raymond and transferred by Roger Beardsley, is this 2 CD set with further rare or unique material, including Naughty Marietta, The Quaker Girl, The Count of Luxembourg, Ziegfeld Follies of 1914, and many other shows. Bar code: 7 27031 00832 3
0084 GEMS 2 Broadway Through The Gramaphone Volume III
The Musical Stage In The War Years 1914-1920
Original cast medleys from 32 shows by Franz Lehár, Victor Herbert, Irving Berlin, Harry Tierney, Sigmund Romberg, Ivan Caryll, Rudolf Friml, Jerome Kern and others - and with lyrics by such as Harry Graham, B.C. Hilliam ('Flotsam') and P.G. Wodehouse. This is the third volume of our latest scholarly survey, produced by Jack Raymond of MUSIC FROM THE NEW YORK STAGE fame, of all the original cast Broadway shows, an essential purchase for collectors and connoisseurs - and also for those who will be enchanted to discover so many well-known tunes and lyrics in this cornucopia of delight. All in new and very splendid Roger Beardsley transfers of, in many cases, extremely rare material. Volume IV, covering the years to 1929, appears next month and Volumes I & II in due course. A 2 CD set. Bar code: 7 27031 00842 2
0085 GEMS       BROADWAY THROUGH THE GRAMOPHONE VOLUME IV
FROM THE GREAT WAR TO THE TALKIES 1920-29
Original cast medleys from shows by Vincent Youmans, Richard Rodgers, Noël Coward, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Ray Henderson, Jerome Kern, Rudolf Friml and others. This is the fourth volume of our latest scholarly survey, produced by Jack Raymond of MUSIC FROM THE NEW YORK STAGE fame, of all the original cast Broadway shows, an essential purchase for collectors and connoisseurs - and also for those who will be enchanted to discover so many well-known tunes and lyrics in this cornucopia of delight. All in new and very splendid Roger Beardsley transfers of, in many cases, extremely rare material. Volume III (GEMS 0084) appeared in April and Volumes I & II will appear in due course. A 2 CD set. Bar code: 7 27031 00852 1
0086 GEM       DAME CLARA BUTT
BRITAIN'S QUEEN OF SONG
At last it seems that the great lady is receiving her due, in a new century. That magnificent, unique voice, allied to musical intelligence and personality of a rare order, are finding a new appreciation among lovers of the finest singing.
Includes Elgar's Where Corals Lie, O Don fatale from Don Carlos, Il segreto from Lucrezia Borgia, Deep River, Rock of Ages, Eileen Alannah, Kathleen Mavourneen, Dvorák's Four Biblical Songs - in new Roger Beardsley transfers and as a companion to last month's release of her anthology 'Abide with Me' on GEM 0081. Bar code: 7 27031 00862 0
0087 GEM       DIE FLEDERMAUS
Unforgettable tunes and immeasurable charm have ever made this operetta the most popular of all. And in this classic, abridged version of 1929, in fine, open and now new sound, we have a perfect edition. Starring Adele Kern, Margret Pfahl, Waldemar Henke and Willy Domgraf-Fassbänder, with the orchestra and chorus of the Berlin State Opera cond. Herman Weigert. The Overture, which was not part of the original recording of this interesting and important edition, is here conducted by Richard Tauber. Bar code: 7 27031 00872 9
0088 GEM 1 Rossinin The Supreme Operatic Recordings
The latest in this acclaimed series of new transfers of some of the most wonderful Rossini in the greatest ever performances: Schipa, Tibbett, Supervia, Chaliapin in Il Barbiere, for example, or Martinelli and Journet, Spani, Franci, Tamagno in Guillaume Tell, or the finest, ecstatic Cenerentola, Conchita Supervia. A feast! Bar code: 7 27031 00882 8
0089 GEM 1 Puccini The Supreme Operatic Recordings
The latest in this outstanding series offers Gigli, Bori, Pinza, Schipa, Seinemeyer, Lauri-Volpi, Alda, Schöne, Spani, Björling and Eva Turner in some of the most famous and best-loved arias from Puccini's operas - in the most superb performances ever - and all in new, Roger Beardsley transfers. Other volumes in the series include Wagner, Verdi, Mozart, Donizetti, Rossini and Bellini. Bar code: 7 27031 00892 7
0090 GEM 1 Bellini The Supreme Operatic Recordings
The latest in this acclaimed series of new transfers of the very finest of operatic recordings of Bellini, in the supreme performances: from Norma, I Puritani and La Sonnambula and featuring, Lauri-Volpi, Pinza, Ponselle, Vanelli, Galli-Curci, Schipa, dal Monte, Chaliapin, Tetrazzini, Pareto and Maria Callas. Bar code: 7 27031 00902 3
0091 GEM 1 Earl Wild Piano Masters series
This CD presents a glimpse of Wild's virtuosity during the early years of his career. These 1947-48 radio transcriptions of 'the last romantic' offer, in the Buxtehude Suite in D minor and Hindemith's Sonata no. 3, what are almost certainly première recordings, together with the Ravel Pavane, Liszt 'Sospiro' Etude and eight Chopin Waltzes and Etudes. This is tremendous Chopin playing. Bar code: 7 27031 00912 2
0092 GEM 1 Nelson Eddy Operatic Arias & Concert Songs
y the mid-1930s Nelson Eddy was close to world stardom as a Hollywood box-office phenomenon. But he was always justly proud of his years as an opera singer and his many enthusiastic admirers will be keen to see this release as a reminder of that side of his marvellous career. Mozart, Haydn, Wagner, Massenet, Bizet arias and concert songs by Schubert, Moussorgsky, Tchaikovsky and Strauss. (Other Eddy and Eddy/MacDonald releases are available on PAST CD 7026 and 7824) Bar code: 7 27031 00922 1
0093 GEM 1 Lotte Schoene
With such stunningly beautiful vocal timbre, musicianship and acting ability, as well as physical charm and personality, how can Lotte Schoene not be more widely known and appreciated! This is truly, utterly marvellous coloratura singing, to be taken to the heart: arias from Don Pasquale, Manon, Così, Magic Flute, Rigoletto, Butterfly, Turandot and other operas.? Bar code: 7 27031 00932 0
0094 GEMS 3 Dame Eva Turner The Collected Recordings
It is no exaggeration to describe this CD set as the definitive edition of the recordings of the great Dame Eva. Many items exist in unique copies (and thus can appear legally only on this release), some being private recordings, some rescued from imminent oblivion by concerned collectors, others from her own collection. These are alternate takes and some discs which will have been heard only by their owners - until now. The extensive, illustrated notes are by Richard Beeb, without whom this release would not have been possible. Transfers are very largely by Roger Beardsley and are thus state of the art. This must be one of the most significant vocal releases of the decade. A 3 CD set. Bar code 7 27031 00942 9
0095 GEM 1 Witord Malcuzynski Piano Masters series
A pupil of a pupil of Busoni, of Paderewski (himself taught by Leschetizky), his pianistic pedigree could scarcely have been more distinguished. Like all of this lineage he was especially noted for beauty and variety of sound and his personality, both tasteful and truly charismatic, has still a power combined with delicacy which makes his playing of both Chopin - here the Concerto no. 2 with the Philharmonia under Paul Kletzki and three solo pieces, and Liszt - the Concerto no. 2 with the Philharmonia under Walter Susskind - of permanent value. Included also is Szymanowski's Theme and Variations. op. 3. Bar code: 7 27031 00952 8
0096 GEM 1 H.M.S. Pinafore
The post-war D'Oyly Carte Company returned to the recording studios with principals in their prime, and these late '40s - early '50s performances, conducted by Isidore Godfrey, established themselves as beloved classics, in the catalogue for many years. This release is the first of the planned series, in sound wonderfully restored from those days of transition from 78s to early LPs: GEMS 0097, a 2 CD set containing Trial by Jury and The Pirates of Penzance appears next month and further releases early in 2001. These are the recordings which feature the great Martyn Green, Darrell Fancourt and Muriel Harding. They are known to be much sought after by the very many G & S enthusiasts throughout the world - and, importantly, have not yet appeared on CD. Transfers by Roger Beardsley. Bar code: 7 27031 00962 7
0097 GEMS 2 Gilbert & Sullivan Trial By Jury / The Pirates Of Penzance
Long-awaited on CD, the second release in the classic Isidore Godfrey-conducted series of G&S, this 1949 recording has been wonderfully restored by Roger Beardsley. The D'Oyly Carte Company of those great days featured of course Muriel Harding, Martyn Green and Darrell Fancourt. ( H.M.S. Pinafore appeared last month on GEM 0096. More to come!). A 2CD set. Bar code: 7 27031 00972 6
0098 GEM 1 Conchita Supervia in Opera
Amongst the many singers of the twentieth century there have been a handful who achieved a greatness that places them on a different plane from all the others. In that Pantheon one must include the Spanish mezzo, Conchita Supervia. She was quite unique, both vocally and in terms of power of personality. In new, Roger Beardsley transfers are her finest operatic recordings, from Carmen, Samson et Dalila, Mignon, Faust, Hansel and Gretel, L'Italiana in Algeri, La Cenerentola, Le Nozze di Figaro and La Bohème. Bar code: 7 27031 00982 5
0099 GEM 1 Carmen Jones
At last on CD, the original 1940s New York cast recordings of this splendid Oscar Hammerstein updating of grand opera, with a marvellous cast, headed by Muriel Smith. A smash hit in its day it is still a delight, orchestra and chorus being directed by Joseph Littau and Robert Shaw. And as a perfect companion piece, the Carmen Fantasy, displayed by the great virtuoso Isaac Stern. Bar code: 7 27031 00992 4
0100 GEM 1 British Film Music Volume I
Not only are major works by major composers offered but here are presented the original recordings of what are, in almost all cases, most important films. Such collections have not previously been released:
The Red Shoes (Easdale), Scott of the Antarctic (Vaughan Williams), Oliver Twist (Bax), The Overlanders (Ireland), Men of Two worlds (Bliss), Nicholas Nickleby (Berners) and While I Live (Williams), inc. The Dream of Olwen. Volume II - GEM 0101 - appears next month and will include previously unknown and unpublished material and further extensively researched volumes are in preparation, for what is fast becoming a very serious area of musical interest. Bar code: 7 27031 01002 9
0101 GEM 1 British Film Music Volume II
As with Volume I - GEM 0100 - not only are major works by major composers offered, but here are presented the original recordings of what are, in almost all cases, most important films. Such collections have not previously been released. Things to Come includes four sides recorded by Bliss, recently re-discovered and containing music from the original score, now lost. Their first publication here is very much a special occasion: also Coastal Command, The Story of a Flemish Farm and 49th Parallel (Vaughan Williams), Malta G.C. (Bax), Dangerous Moonlight (Addinsell), Theirs is the Glory (Warrack), Western Approaches (Parker) and (Bath). As previously mentioned, this is fast becoming a very serious area of musical interest and, after much research, further volumes follow shortly, of both British and American film music. Bar code: 7 27031 01012 8
0102 GEMS 2 Wilhelm Backhaus Complete British Acoustic Recordings 1908-25
A pupil of d'Albert and early noticed as a supreme virtuoso, these early recordings of Backhaus span a period nearly twenty years: they include the first ever recording (much abridged) of a piano concerto - the Grieg - and some extremely rare issues, including much repertoire which he was never to record again. This is the first complete reissue, in superb transfers and with our usual generous disc timing, of his British pre-electric 78s. A 2 CD set. Bar code: 7 27031 01022 7
0103 GEMS 1 BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS and SUITES
Bach conducted by KOUSSEVITZKY is not 'period' Bach, it is big Bach, and those familiar with the magic he worked with the Boston Symphony Orchestra will need no further encouragement. Most of these recordings, of 1945-49, have never before been issued outside the USA, and nowhere on CD. A 3 CD set, transferred by Mark Obert-Thorn. Bar code: 7 27031 01032 6
0104 GEM 1 Artur Schnabel plays Mozart Volume II
In his early sixties Schnabel wrote of Mozart's music: 'It is the best that man can accomplish', just before he began to take a fresh look at this 'symbol of man's place in the Universe'. Those who know these magnificent performances will understand - but may not have heard them in quite such superb transfers. The Sonatas nos. 13 and 16, K. 333 and 570, the Piano Quartet no. 1 in G minor, K. 478, with members of the Pro Arte Quartet, and the third and fourth movements of Schubert's Sonata no. 17 in A minor, Op. 42, D. 845. Volume I is a 2 CD set on Bar code: 7 27031 01042 5
0105 GEM 1 Oscar Levant
The latest release in the Piano Masters series is the first CD offering a comprehensive cross-section of Levant's 1940s studio recordings, concentrating on Debussy, Chopin and several then-modern composers - Poulenc, De Falla, Jelobinsky, Shostakovich and Khachaturian. He was an interpreter of both sensitivity and panache, of total technical command and his playing was of exceptional strength, poetry and imagination. Transfers by Seth Winner. (The Piano Masters series now numbers 15 releases: a list is available on request). Bar code: 7 27031 01052 4
0106 GEMS 2 Landowska plays Scarlatti Sonatas
In this comprehensive reissue of Landowska's Scarlatti Sonatas are to be found both the First and Second Albums of Twenty Sonatas, plus repertoire from the Treasury of Harpsichord Music, including the C P E Bach Concerto in D for Harpsichord and Strings of 1745. Her playing of these Sonatas has ever bewitched listeners and this release has been long awaited by the legion of her admirers. The detailed and extensive notes are by Denise Restout and the transfers by Seth Winner. This is the seventh of our releases of this incomparable musician. A 2 CD set. Bar code: 7 27031 01062 3
0107 GEM 1 Vaughan Williams Sixth Symphony and Film Music
The classic late '40s performance of the 6th Symphony, with the LSO under Boult, established the work as a massive success, with a public impact comparable to those early performances of Britten's Peter Grimes or the War Requiem. Vaughan Williams' wartime music for films is among the most evocative ever written, standing quite comfortably apart from those films and, except on Pearl CDs, rare or impossible to find on disc in these original recordings: Scott of the Antarctic and The Loves of Joanna Godden (Philharmonia cond. Irving), Coastal Command, 49th Parallel and The Story of a Flemish Farm (BBC NO and LSO cond. Mathieson) Bar code : 7 27031 01072 2
0108 GEM 1 FROM BERLIN TO BROADWAY a selection
This single disc, selected from the much praised releases GEMM CDS 9189 and 9294, both 2 CD sets, captures the essence of Weill's revolutionary approach to the music theatre of the 1930s and '40s, in original cast recordings. It is a perfect introduction to the classic recordings of Weill's music and Brecht's lyrics - by Lotte Lenya, Harald Paulsen, Brecht himself, Walter Huston, Gertrude Lawrence, Mary Martin, Kenny Baker - and, too, Weill himself. Bar code: 7 27031 01082 1
0109 GEM 1 Orson Welles Dramatic Readings
Such is the great Orson Welles' vocal mastery that each of these speecheshas a different weight of tone, a personal dramatic character, from the quiet of John Donne to the energy of Roosevelt to the deep resignation of John Brown - there are 14 monologues in all, including speeches of Pericles, Tom Paine, Patrick Henry, Daniel Webster, American presidents Jefferson, Lincoln and Wilson, and finishing with the Song of Songs. The latest in Pearl's PLAYS & POETS series. Bar code: 7 27031 01092 0
0110 GEM 1 The Ultimate Series Rodgers & Hart Volume I
The first volume of Rodgers & Hart launches the exciting new ULTIMATE series. The series is dedicated to collecting together the original cast, or earliest, recordings of the greatest twentieth century composers of shows and musicals. Much of the repertoire is scarce or extremely rare and together these volumes will provide a marvellous overview of the very best of popular entertainment on both sides of the Atlantic.
The series is produced by Jack Raymond, famous for his best-selling Pearl productions of Broadway Through the Gramophone and Music From the New York Stage and really will aim to provide the 'ultimate' for Rodgers & Hart, Gershwin, Cole Porter, Romberg … Later volumes will follow during the year. Bar code: 7 27031 01102 6
0111 GEM 1 The Ultimate Series, Cole Porter Volume 1
This series is dedicated to collecting together the original cast, or earliest, recordings of the greatest twentieth century composers of shows and musicals. Much of the repertoire is scarce or extremely rare and together these volumes will provide a marvellous overview of the very best of popular entertainment on both sides of the Atlantic. The first in the series, Rodgers and Hart Volume I, appeared in February and further issues will be made during the year. Bar code: 7 27031 01112 5
0112 GEM 1 The Ultimate Series Sigmund Romberg Volume 1
The third release in this important series collecting together original cast recordings of the greatest twentieth century composers of shows and musicals. Much of this scarce repertoire - here from Maytime, Blossom Time, The Student Prince, The Desert Song and My Maryland - has never been reissued, and certainly not on CD. Bar code: 7 27031 01122 4
0113 GEM 1 The Ultimate Series George Gershwin Volume 1
The fourth release in this major series of original cast and earliest recordings of the greatest twentieth century composers of shows and musicals includesGershwin's Primrose and The George White Scandals 1920, '22, '23 and '24, as well as Mayfair and Montmartre, Little Miss Bluebeard and Sinbad. Bar code: 7 27031 01132 3
0114 GEM 1 The Ultimate Series
Rodgers & Hart Volume II
The fourth volume of this important series includes, as ever, scarce and rare material, here from original cast recordings of Mississippi, Jumbo, On Your Toes, Babes in Arms, I Married an Angel and Too Many Girls. Bar code: 7 27031 01142 2
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