Royale 1226 (1951) - Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6
"Rome Symphony Orchestra / Angelo Questa"

This item from Royale's catalogue exists in two different issues. The original from 1951 contains a hitherto unidentified performance which, in addition, misses the last slow movement. Perhaps someone thought the symphony to be over after the fast March movement. The later issue, bearing the old Royale label with the old matrix numbers on it, has later matrix numbers (8066A/B) on the record itself. The release showing these later numbers is the performance played by the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra under Odd Grüner-Hegge, an item which was also issued under the correct names on "RCA's" Allegro/Ultraphonic label (1666). This is one of the cases where "RCA" re-used material for their pseudonymous series which had been legally acquired and correctly issued in their "full price" series sometime around 1956. The reason for issuing a pseudonymous version seems to have been the incompleteness of the original 1951 issue which thus could be "repaired". The front sleeves of these different releases under the same number are differently designed, though the later issue kept the liner notes and also the 1951 copyright mark on the reverse side.

Royale 1237 (1951) - Borodin: Symphony No. 2
"Rome Symphony Orchestra / Angelo Questa"

The same performance has been released (earlier?) on Allegro ALG 3048 where it is said to be played by the "Hastings Symphony Orchestra under John Bath". It is possible that these are the real forces who actually recorded the work, but researching English sources has resulted in nothing re the existence of a conductor named John Bath (Allegro's sleeve notes tell us that he is the son of composer Hubert Bath ("Cornish Rhapsody"). There is evidence that an orchestra existed in Hasting, but no evidence of this being a normal symphony orchestra. (The British label Oriole, though, has released on two 78s a rarely performed work by Saint-Saëns - Ballet music for the play 'Henri VIII' - with John Bath again conducting the Hastings Symphony Orchestra.)

Royale 1257 (1952) - Dvorak: Symphony No. 9
"Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Karl List"

This performance is identical to the so-called Furtwängler "live" version from 1941 (technically and musically a doubted release from the very start), issued on Relief 813 in 1981, and coming from a tape found at a German flea market. In fact, this performance is the RRG studio production made in Munich on July 14, 1944 with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under Oswald Kabasta, the original tape of which still exists in the Munich Radio archives, marked also by two bars missing from the end of the second movement.

Insufficient research led to the wrong attribution to Wilhelm Furtwängler and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the assertion to be a live recording. However, the performance was released under Furtwängler's name a few times again on various CD's, even though it had become clear that it was not by Furtwängler. A particularly condemnable fact is that RELIEF, who had first published the performance, released it again on CD, this time even adding the missing two bars from the end of the second movement, using material from a live performance of the work -- although the owner of the firm, Herr Oberleitner, had been officially informed by the author about the true identity of the performance -- a very special case of serving Furtwängler's memory!

Royale 1259 (1952) - Sibelius: Finlandia op. 26 #7 - "Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Karl List"
Strauss: 'Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche' op. 28
"Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Gerd Rubahn"
Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major
"Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Dr. Felix Guenther"

The performers of the Sibelius and Bach works could not be identified so far. The recording of the 'Till Eulenspiegel', however, is the live performance of the BPO under Wilhelm Furtwängler from November 1943. So, on this 1952 record, this particular performance had been issued for the first time in years, though under pseudonyms, before its first official release on DGG EPL 30589 in 1961 ( see also below under Gramophone 2097 ).

Royale 1260 (1952) - Rimsky-Korsakoff: Scheherazade - "Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Karl List"

This record contains the performance of the Symphony Orchestra of Radio Berlin (which was the orchestra of East German Radio) under Karl Rucht. This recording was issued by Urania on UR-RS 7-19 and URLP 7133 under the correct names of orchestra and conductor. This item marks the beginning of Royale's use of material which also appeared on Urania records, unless further research proves otherwise.

Royale 1261 (1952) - Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 op. 23 - "Maria Huttner, piano / Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Joseph Balzer"

This recording is identical to the one released by Urania on UR-RS 7-2. The pianist is the Belgian Alex de Vries, the conductor is Artur Rother, and the orchestra is the Symphony Orchestra of Radio Berlin.

Royale 1264 (1952) - Grieg: Piano Concerto
"Gerhard Stein, piano / Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Karl List"

This is actually the performance with Friedrich Wührer, piano, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Karl Böhm, released under the real names by Urania on UR-RS7-15. It is a German war-time Vienna radio studio recording from 1944, which is still extant in the archives.

Royale 1266 (1952) - Strauss, Johann: The Gypsy Baron ("complete arias")
"Dresden State Opera Soloists, Orchestra and Chorus / Gerd Rubahn"

The original recording for this release comes from quite the opposite region of Germany! It is identical to the December 1949 production of WDR Cologne. The "complete arias", as Royale labels their excerpts of this Gypsy Baron, are sung by Karl Schmitt-Walter, Willy Schneider, Peter Anders, Sena Jurinac, Marianne Schröder and Georg Hann. The Cologne Radio Chorus and the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra are conducted by Franz Marszalek. This production is still in the archives of WDR Cologne and has been published during the last years on both the LP and CD format.

Royale 1269-71 - Offenbach The Tales of Hofmann (1952)

Royale 1272 (1952) - 'The Heart of the Piano Concerto'

This compilation of movements from four piano concertos contitutes one of Royale's frequent re-releases of material already issued in complete form on other records. The disc contains truncated versions of the first movements of the piano concertos No. 1 by Chopin, No. 1 by Tchaikowsky, the Grieg A Minor and a complete first movement of Mendelssohn's piano concerto No. l. The movement from Grieg is identical to Wührer's recording from Vienna, issued on Royale 1264 (see the author's earlier article ), and the movement from Tchaikovsky is identical to the de Vries version on Royale 1261, described above.

Royale 1273 (1952) - Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 - "Carlo Vidusso, piano / Rome Symphony Orchestra / Angelo Questa"

A reissue of the Allegro recording of this work on ALG 3028 in the US (ALX 3028 in the United Kingdom). The Allegro release credits Arthur Sandford as the pianist and the Hastings Symphony Orchestra under John Bath. (The finale from this recording also appears on Halo 50246.) Research in Italy resulted in a note from a former pupil of Vidusso, Piero Rattalino, in which he states that the pianist knew about the illegal use of his name on certain records of Oberstein. Vidusso had been in the US with an orchestra and P. R. thought this might have prompted Oberstein to use his name. The pianist denied his authorship for all those recordings which Royale released under his name, yet he did not take any legal action against Oberstein.

Royale 1276 (1952) - Khachaturian: Piano Concerto
"Maria Huttner, piano / Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Joseph Balzer"

Identical to Urania's release of this work on URLP 7086, where the original artist of this East German Radio production are mentioned: Margot Pinter, piano (the Californian wife of conductor Hans Weisbach) and the Symphony Orchestra of Radio Berlin under Artur Rother.

Royale 1284 (1952)- Strauss, Johann: Die Fledermaus ("complete score") - "Inge Camphausen, soprano / Wilhelm Horst, tenor / Erna Maria Romer, contralto / Gerhard Ramms, baritone / Chorus and Orchestra / Karl List"

This is the NDR Hamburg production from 1950 with the Hamburg Radio Orchestra and Chorus under Wilhelm Schüchter. The "complete score", however, is not identical to a "complete performance". The singers to be heard are Rita Streich, Sena Jurinac, Horst Günter, Hans-Herbert Fiedler and Rupert Glawitsch. The original tape is still in the NDR Hamburg archives.

Royale 1290-93 (1952) - Bach: St. Matthew Passion
"Inge Camphausen, soprano / Maria Haentschel, contralto / Gerhard Viguhr, tenor / Nicolaus Herfeld, baritone / Berlin Cathedral Choir / Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Joseph Balzer"

This recording is identical to the version published on Vox DLP 6070; the soloists are Elfriede Trötschel, Diana Eustrati, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Helmut Krebs and Friedrich Härtel. Sylvia Kind plays the harpsichord and Paul Hoffmann the organ. The Boys Choir of the St. Hedwig's Cathedral and the Chorus and Symphony Orchestra of Radio Berlin are conducted by Fritz Lehmann in this live recording from 1949.

Royale 1297-99 (1952) - Bach: Mass in B minor
"Erna Stolle, soprano / Erna Maria Römer, contralto / Fritz Vogel, tenor / Ernst Wagner, bass / Berlin Cathedral Choir / Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Joseph Balzer"

This recording could be identified with the help of Jürgen Schäfer in Hamburg and with dates from German radio magazines. No recording from Berlin but from Hamburg. The soloists are Margot Guilleaume, Gertrude Pitzinger,Walter Geisler and Josef Greindl. The Choir of NWDR Hamburg and the symphony orchestra of NWDR are conducted by Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt. The performance was listed for a broadcast in 1950 via NWDR Hamburg, the dates of the recording have been kept: March 19th & 20th, 1950. The original tapes, however, are no longer stored in the station's archives.

Royale 1304 (1952) - Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3
"Gerhard Stein, piano / Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Gerd Rubahn"

The second movement in this performance is a pirated dubbing of the Decca recording with Wilhelm Backhaus and the Vienna Philharmonic under Karl Böhm. The outer movements have not been identified, they are not taken from the recording of the concerto released on Mercury MG 10078 with Swiss pianist Walter Frey. A reason for this 'mixture' of sources is hard to imagine.

Royale 1306 (1952) - Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 op. 73, 'Emperor'
"Maria Huttner, piano / Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Joseph Balzer"

In its incarnation on Varsity 2056, this performance has been identified already in the earlier article, the pianist being Wilhelm Backhaus with orchestra and conductor of uncertain identities. The author reported about repaired "drop-outs" on that record and thought it to be a studio recording. On this Royale issue, however, the nature of these "drop-outs" became clear: somebody at "RCA" apparently felt the need to edit prominent coughs when the tape was used again for the Varsity release where the less prominent audience noise had drowned in the crackly surface of the pressing and so could easily escape the listeners attention. So, here as well as on the Varsity record, we have indeed the same live performance with Wilhelm Backhaus, an original tape of which no longer exists in the archives of Germany's radio stations.

Royale 1311(1952) - Smetana: Die Moldau
Hindemith: Der Schwanendreher - "Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Karl List" (no viola soloist named)

The performers of Hindemith's 'Der Schwanendreher' could not be identified (it may be the performance with Reinhard Wolf, viola and the NWDR Symphony Orchestra under Schmidt-Isserstedt from 1949), but Smetana's symphonic poem is a real find! It is the German war-time radio studio recording with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Clemens Krauss, recorded in Berlin on November 24, 1944. This performance was issued also on Allegro/Elite and Concertone (see below). As far as the author could find out, this performance has not been issued under the proper names of orchestra and conductor ever since. The tape is still in the DRA Archives in Frankfurt/Main.

Royale 1312 (1952) - Schumann: Cello Concerto in A Minor Op. 129 - "Siegfried Seidler, soloist with Berlin Symphony Orchestra conducted by Joseph Balzer"

This record contains one of the latest German war-time recordings. The tape is still in the German Radio sound archives (DRA Frankfurt). The performance was recorded in Berlin on January 27, 1945 with Tibor de Machula and the Berlin Philharmonic under Karl Böhm. The recording has not been released commercially ever since.

Royale 1322 (1952) - Offenbach:Tales of Hoffmann (excerpts) - "Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Joseph Balzer"

This record contains parts taken from the complete recording, released on Royale 1269-71 (see above).

Royale 1325 (1952) - Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique op. 14 - "Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Joseph Balzer"

In this live performance the rarely recorded Hungarian Eugen Szenkar conducted the NWDR Symphony Orchestra Hamburg on 19 and 20 February 1950. The delayed broadcast is listed for 27 March 1950. The original tape is still in the Hamburg Radio archives, and luckily Tahra has released this characteristic reading in 2001 (TAH 423).

Royale 1339 (1952) - Chausson:Poème for violin and orchestra; Paganini: Violin Concerto in D major
"Karl Brandt, violin / Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Gerd Rubahn"

The performers of the work of Chausson remain unidentified, but the Paganini live performance of what is known as the version by August Wilhelmj was recorded by German Radio in Munich on April 4, 1943 with the Reichssender Munich Orchestra under Berthil Wetzelsberger and violinist Guila Bustabo. The original war-time tape, which was in the archives of Munich Radio and had even been broadcast as late as 1950, no longer exists in Munich. However, when the bulk of German war-time tape recordings was handed back from Moscow to SFB Berlin in 1991, another copy of this tape was among that collection.

Royale 1350-51 (1952) - Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana ("excerpts") - "Horst Wilhelm, tenor / Berlin Opera Orchestra and Choir / Gerd Rubahn"
Leoncavallo: Pagliacci ("excerpts")
"Inge Camphausen, soprano / Horst Wilhelm, tenor / Herta Schenck, alto / Gerhard Ramms, baritone / Berlin Opera Orchestra and Choir / Gerd Rubahn"

There is the introduction to the opera with Turridu's first aria, the chorus of the peasants, the famous Intermezzo and Turridu's "Goodbye, Mother" on side 1 of Royale 1350. This latter aria, using the concert ending, is therefore not an excerpt from a complete performance of the opera. The first Turridu is Anton Dermota, the second is Rudolf Schock. The provenance of both of these recordings is unknown yet, but German post-war radio productions are likely. Side 2 of this record and both sides of Royale 1351 contain, contrary to being labelled as "excerpts", an almost complete studio recording of Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, sung in German. This recording could be identified as the 1949 NWDR Hamburg radio studio recording of the work with the NWDR Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Wilhelm Schüchter. The singers are Margot Guilleaume (Nedda), Willi Franter (Canio), Rudolf Gonszar (Tonio), Walter Geisler (Beppo) and Joseph Olah (Silvio). Frau Guilleaume kindly evaluated the performance, the original tape of which is no longer in the NDR Hamburg archives.

Royale 1354 (1951) - Wagner: The Flying Dutchman (excerpts) - "Lothar Hansen, tenor / Fred Grossmann, baritone / Berlin Opera Orchestra and Choir conducted by Herbert Wetzel"

The excerpts on this record, carelessly spliced, come from the 1951 Hamburg Radio studio production. The NWDR symphony orchestra is conducted by Wilhelm Schüchter, the part of the Holländer is sung by Hans Hotter, Senta is sung by Helene Werth. The complete recording was released on CD a good while ago.

Royale 1355 (1951) - Flotow: Martha (excerpts)
"Inge Camphausen, soprano / Wilhelm Horst, tenor / Berlin Opera Orchestra conducted by Gerd Rubahn"

Already mentioned in first article. For additional and correct information see below in section III.

Royale 1356 (1952) - Haydn: Symphony No. 101 D major "The Clock" - "Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Joseph Balzer"

This recording is identical to the version published on Mercury MG 15018. As far as this research has developed, this is the first time when "RCA" used Mercury material from the Bavarian Radio archives. The performance is played by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under Georg Reinwald.

Royale 1357 (no year available) - 'An Hour with Tchaikovsky' - "Rome Symphony Orchestra / Dr. Felix Guenther"

Another of Royale's mixture of items from works and performances released earlier in their catalogue. The first movement from the B Flat Minor piano concerto on this record is identical to the de Vries version (see above). For the identification of the last movement of the violin concerto on this disc see below the section of Probable Identifications.

Royale 1358 (1952) - Schumann: Piano Concerto op. 54 - "Carlo Vidusso, piano / Rome Symphony Orchestra / Dr. Felix Guenther"

Another "trip to Rome" in Royale's catalogue, naming two existing artists who are actually not involved in this recording. This performance is identical to the one issued by Mercury on MG 15020. The pianist is Rosl Schmid, a pupil of Teichmüller and professor at the Munich Academy of Music since 1948, accompanied by the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra under Josef Keilberth.

Royale 1361 (1952) - Schumann: Symphony No. 2 op. 61 - "Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Herbert Guthan"

Identical to the performance issued on Mercury MG 10082, the orchestra and conductor being the Munich Philharmonic and Eugen Papst.

Royale 1365 (1952) - Mozart: Symphony No. 35 K. 385 "Haffner" / Symphony No.36 K425 "Linz"
"Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Joseph Balzer"

Both recordings are identical to the versions published on Mercury MG 10057 where the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra plays under the direction of Robert Heger.

Royale 1366 (1952) - Schumann: Symphony No. 3 op. 97 "Rhenish" - "Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Herbert Guthan"

Again from the "Bavarian source", the Munich Philharmonic plays under Rudolf Albert (who later changed the spelling of his second name to Alberth). This performance was released by Mercury on MG 15034.

Royale 1370 (1952) - 'An Hour with Richard Strauss'
"Berlin Symphony Orchestra" (no conductor named)

The "Till Eulenspiegel" on this record is again Furtwängler's Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra version from the live concerts in the Berlin Philharmonie of November 13-16, 1943.

Royale 1376 (1952) - Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 (1952) - "Elliott Everett, piano / Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Joseph Balzer"

This record has preserved a live performance of this concerto with Wilhelm Kempff. For additional information see below in section of additional information and corrections.

Royale 1379 (1952) - Mozart: Piano Concerto No.12, K. 414; "Arthur Sanford, piano / Rome Symphony Orchestra / Dr. Felix Guenther"; Mozart:Two-Piano-Concerto, K. 365 - "Carlo Vidusso & Arthur Sanford, pianos / Rome Symphony Orchestra / Dr. Felix Guenther"

These performances are both identical to Mercury MG 10007, the K.414 is played by Margret Knittel and accompanied by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Rudolf Albert. The double concerto is performed by Hans Altmann and Heinz Schröter and the same orchestra, without a conductor it seems (or rather Altmann conducting from the piano).

Royale 1380 (1952) - Beethoven: Overtures
"Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Leopold Ludwig"

A more famous conductor at last! Two of the four overtures, however, could again be identified as material from Bavarian Radio. The Egmont Overture and the Overture "Namensfeier" are both conducted by Robert Heger and the Munich Philharmonic, as issued on Mercury MG 15002 and MG 10055, respectively. The performers of the rarely heard Leonore No. 1 and the Leonore No. 2 on this disc are still unidentified.

Royale 1388 (1952) - Liszt: Mephisto Waltz - Mazeppa - Tasso - "Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Joseph Balzer"

Only the symphonic poem Tasso on this record could be traced. It is identical to the version on Mercury MG 10083 where it is played by the Munich Philharmonic under Adolf Mennerich. (Both the Mephisto Waltz and Mazeppa seem to have an acoustic ambience similar to Tasso, so these two performances may also be material from Munich, though the Mephisto Waltz issued on Mercury MG 10080 is different from the version on this record.)

Royale 1390-92 (1952) - Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov (complete opera)

One of the rare instances when "RCA" issued a work with full credit to the artists who were involved - on this occasion, perhaps, because no charges from the artists or rather the Soviet authorities were to be expected. So, apart from "Chorus and Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre under Nicolai Golovanov", the complete cast of singers is printed on the front of this boxed set. A comparison to the original USSR release reveals that indeed all is on the Royale discs that is on their Soviet precursors, except that Royale manages to condense the whole opera on three LPs instead of the four of the original Soviet release. The performance was also issued on Gramophone (see below).

Royale 1397 (1952) - Beethoven: Jena Symphony in C
"Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Joseph Balzer"
Beethoven:Piano Concerto No.2 op. 19 - "Gerhard Stein, piano / Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Joseph Balzer"

The performers of the Jena Symphony have been identified already (Robert Heger conducting the Munich Phiharmonic, released on Mercury MG 10055, cf. earlier article). The Piano Concerto No. 2 is identical to the performance on Mercury MG 15013 with Heinz Schröter as pianist and the Bavarian Radio Orchestra under Hans Altmann.

Royale 1400 (1952) - Beethoven: String Quartets op. 18 Nos. 2 & 3 - "The Royale String Quartet"

Though labelled as being "recorded in Europe", this is in fact a pseudonymous reissue of the Allegro recording with the American Kroll Quartet originally released on AL 78.

Royale 1401 (1952) - Haydn: Symphony No. 104
Debussy: La mer - "Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Karl List"

The performance of the Haydn symphony is identical to a performance released in 1975 "for the first time" on Melodiya 33M-1037145-46 under Furtwängler's name, subsequently dubbed by Discocorporation on RR-441 in 1976, and released again by Deutsche Grammophon on CD 427 776-2, using one of those German war-time tapes which had been stored in Moscow, copies of which the Berlin radio stations SFB had received back from Moscow for their archives. In fact, this performance is identical to the one on Mercury MG 10050. Mercury credits the performers as being the Bavarian Radio Orchestra under Alfons Dressel (1900 - 55). Inaccurate labelling of the tape or similar deficencies may have been the reason for Melodia's wrong attribution to Furtwängler and the spreading of this inauthentic Furtwängler performance. As a result of this author's research, which had been made known to Alfred Kaine, head of the classic department at that time, DGG withdrew their disk a short while after its release.
Thus far, the live performance of Debussy's La mer is unidentified. Compared to performances of other conductors, it is one of the fastest accounts of this work. (It may be the live performance broadcast in February 1952 with Hans Rosbaud conducting the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra. Alas, a tape of this broadcast does no longer exists in the archives, so a comparison and definite attribution are impossible.)

Royale 1403 (1952)- Smetana: Aus Böhmens Hain und Flur & Overture The Bartered Bride
Weber: Overtures Peter Schmoll, Euryanthe, Turandot, Oberon & Beherrscher der Geister
"Berlin Symphony Orchestra conducted by Joseph Balzer"

Nothing from this well-filled record but the Overture to Euryanthe could be defninitely tracked down. It is identical to the performance on Mercury MG 10048 with the Munich Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra (= Orchester des Reichssenders München) under Gustav Görlich.

Royale 1406 (1953) - Mozart: Symphonies No. 26, K.108 / No. 30, K.220 / Piano Concerto No. 17, K. 453
"Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Herbert Guthan" (no piano soloist named)

The performers of the symphonies could not be identified so far, but the Piano Concerto is an "old friend" from the catalogue of the original Allegro company which went over to "RCA" after becoming bankrupt. Leonid Hambro is the pianist, and the Oklahoma City Symphony Orchestra plays under Victor Alessandro.

Royale 1410 (1953) - Schubert: Symphonies No. 2 in B flat & Symphony No. 6 in C - "Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Joseph Balzer"

The performers of Symphony No. 2 could not yet be identified, but the Symphony No. 6 in C is identical to the performance released on Mercury MG 15003. So, this record is again a proof for the use of material from Bavarian Radio. The orchestra, given on Mercury as the Bavarian Radio Orchestra -- actually the Orchester des Reichssenders München -- is conducted by Alfons Dressel. The recording is a German war-time tape production for broadcast purposes made ca. 1944.

Royale 1424 (1953) - Liszt: Hungarian & Rumanian Rhapsodies - "Harry Reims, pianist with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gerd Rubahn"

None of the Liszt items have been identified, but another Clemens Krauss performance comes to light here: Enescu's Rumanian Rhapsody No. 1, which neither figures under its proper title and composer on the sleeve nor on the labels. This is a rather careless editing of the three 78s sides of Clemens Krauss' 1950 recording with the VPO for Telefunken (E 3836/3837, with a movement from a Respighi Suite on side 4, recorded in August 1950). This performance was again issued various times on other "RCA" labels (see below).

Royale 1430 (no year available) - Weber: Der Freischütz ("arias") - "Inge Camphausen, soprano / Ernst Nachtigall, tenor / Gerhard Ramms, baritone / Choir and Orchestra of the Dresden State Opera / Fritz Schreiber"

This record gathers excerpts from all three acts of Weber's famous opera. The original source is either a broadcast of or a dub from the original Decca LP set (LXT 2597-99) of the complete work with Hans Hopf, Maud Cunitz, Emmi Loose, Otto Edelmann et al., the Vienna Philharmonic Choir and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Otto Ackermann.

Royale 1434 (1953) - Brahms: 16 Hungarian Dances
"Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Gerd Rubahn"

A pseudonymous reissue of the old Allegro recording with the Oklahoma City Symphony Orchestra under Victor Alessandro. Apparently the old pressing stampers have been used for this issue, the record showing the old matrix numbers ALG 102 A/B. There is also a later issue with hand-written matrix numbers 1434 A/B which again uses the Alessandro recording. Similar to other cases of this kind, "RCA" smartly presents the material as being "recorded in Europe".

Royale 1462 (1953) - Stravinsky: Firebird Suite
Kabalevsky:The Comedians Suite - "Dresden Symphony Orchestra / Max van Berten"

The Firebird, a live performance, could not be identified. The 'Comedians', however, is the performance which W.E.R.M. lists under the label Discovery DL 4003, where a note informs that an additional movement, A Dreary Procession, is part of that recording. This movement is also part of the performance on this Royale disc. W.E.R.M. lists orchestra and conductor as "Paris Philharmonic/Methen". A comparison with a dub from the original transcription dics (Standard Program Library T-270/1, Paris Symphony Orchestra/Jacques Metehen), kindly provided by researcher and collector David Lennick, revealed the identity of both recordings, though the performance on the Royale LP runs half a tone flat.

Royale 1465 (1952) (sic!) - Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps - Milhaud: Suite française
"Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Karl List"

The Sacre, a powerful live performance, could not be identified (it may come from a live broadcast by the NWDR symphony orchestra under Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt). The 'Suite française', however, is also part of the programme on those two Standard Program Library transcription discs revealed as the source of Kabalewsky's 'Comedians' on Royale 1462. So, this is again the Paris Symphony Orchestra under Jacques Metehen. The performance on this Royale LP again runs half a tone flat.

Royale 1487 (1954) - Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 op. 30 - "Harry Reims, piano / Dresden State Symphony Orchestra / Fritz Schreiber"

The credit for having identified this recording goes to ARSC member Scott K. Colebank who kindly supplied the author with a tape. Indeed, this is a pirated dub of Moura Lympany's May 1952 Decca recording of the work with the New Symphony Orchestra under Anthony Collins. Apparently Decca never became aware of the illegal use of one of their recording, otherwise Oberstein might have faced another lawsuit that same year when he was confronted with Miss Resnik's $50,000 claim.

Royale 1502-04 (1954) - Mozart: Marriage of Figaro ("complete") - "Soloists, Choir and Orchestra of the Leipzig Opera House conducted by Max von Herten"

This complete recording of Mozart's opera -- sung in German -- is the May 1951 Radio Cologne production with the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir, conducted by Ferenc Fricsay, and presents a roster of famous singers in the prominent roles: Erich Kunz (Figaro), Hilde Güden (Susanna), Paul Schöffler (Count Almaviva), Elisabeth Grümmer (Countess) and Anny Schlemm (Cherubino).
This historic recording has been released recently (2004) on 2 CD's from the Walhall label. It reveals that the piano-accompanied recitatives have been edited out in the Royale release.

Royale 1518-19 (1954) - Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel ("complete") - "Dresden State Opera Singers and Orchestra conducted by Fritz Schreiber"

The voices reliably identified by Jürgen Schäfer (Hamburg) and counterchecked by the author, this is a pirated dub of the DGG recording (19007/8) with Horst Günter (Peter), Marianna Schech (Gertrud), Gisela Litz (Hänsel), Rita Streich (Gretel), Res Fischer (Hexe), Elisabeth Lindermeier (Sandmännchen) and Bruno Bückmann (Taumännchen). The choir and the Munich Philharmonic are conducted by Fritz Lehmann.

Royale 1522-23 (1954) - Bach: St. John Passion
"Bach Society of Berlin and Cathedral Choir conducted by Hans Burckhardt"

The voices have been reliably identified and the original date and cast of this broadcast performance could be tracked down. It took place in Berlin on March 23rd, 1950 and was broadcast by RIAS. The singers are: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Jesus), Gunthild Weber (soprano), Ina Brosow (soprano), Lotte Wolf-Matthäus (alto), Helmut Krebs (tenor), Herbert Froitzheim (tenor), Gerhard Niese (bass) and Leopold Klamm (bass). The RIAS-Kammerchor und the RIAS Orchestra were conducted by Karl Ristenpart The performance is reported to be still in the archives. What we find of it on these two Royale Lps is heavily truncated.

Allegro/Royale 1527 (1954) - Puccini: Gianni Schicchi ("complete opera") - "Berlin State Opera Soloists, Choir and Orchestra/Joseph Balzer"

Indeed this performance is sung in German, so a Berlin State Opera performance might have been a possible source for it. But not so! From beginning to end it is yet another radio studio production from Cologne, made in November 1949. WDR Cologne still holds the tape. The performers are Hans Reinmar, Helmi Rau, Res Fischer, Albert Weikenmeier, Karl Schiebener, Else Veith, Ekkehart Schirp, Willy Schonenweiss, Wilhelm Schirp, Walter Schönfeld, Ingeborg Lasser, Robert Blasius, Alexander Schoedler, Anton Germann and Wilhelm Kirsch. The Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra plays under Richard Kraus.

Royale 18137 (1956) - Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals - "The Philharmonia Orchestra" (no soloists and conductor named)

The prestigious London orchestra on Royale? Certainly not, but Oberstein surely chose the name on purpose and even had some reasonable grounds to do so. The performance on this disc came from the Hamburg-based recording business of one Paul Lazare from NYC. who had come over to Germany. Lazare's low-budget products became known in the U.S. through the items he was able to sell to MGM for their E3000 etc. series. Lazare chose to name the musicians who worked for him in Hamburg, the "Philharmonia Orchestra of Hamburg", hence Oberstein's "Philharmonia Orchestra". This recording of the Carnival of the Animals was played by this group which was initially the "Hamburg Chamber Orchestra" under the baton of its founder (and one of Lazare's "house conductors"), Hans-Jürgen Walther (another one was Arthur Winograd = Arthur Weinberg). The piano parts were played by Lazare's daughter Sondra Bianca and a student of the Hamburg Music Academy, Gerhard Arnoldi.

Royale 18163 (1956) - Grieg: Piano Concerto
"Lou Shankson, piano with the Philharmonia Orchestra" (no conductor named)

"Lou" gives a good performance of this well-known piece and gets idiomatic support from the "Philharmonia" on this 10-inch disc. Robert Riefling, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Odd Grüner-Hegge are the real artists. Another example for material also issued under the proper names on Allegro/Ultraphonic 1612, on all accounts licensed from the Norwegian Tono recording company.

Royale EP 243 (no year available) - Lehár: The Land of Smiles - "The State Opera Singers and Orchestra / Gerd Rubahn"

This 7-inch record presents two excerpts from this operetta, one sung by Erna Dietrich, the other by Peter Anders. The recordings are from the 1950 WDR Cologne radio studio production with the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra under Franz Marszalek.

B) Varsity

Varsity LP 28 (no year available) - Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik; "Mozart Symphony Society Orchestra" (no conductor named) - Beethoven: Egmont overture
"Radio Symphony Orchestra" (no conductor named)

Mozart's Serenade here is a dub from Telefunken E 1669-70 shellacs, Erich Kleiber conducts the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in this ca. 1934 recording. The manufacturer of this 10-inch record is the Wright Record Co., Meriden, Connecticut. The sequence of movements 1 and 2 are reversed, so the Serenade starts with the Romance. The Egmont Overture, clearly another dub from 78s, is unidentified. It may be the Telefunken recording with Kleiber and the BPO (E 961), the original record of which was not at hand for a comparison.

Varsity 2021 (1952) - 'Famous overtures'
"National Opera Orchestra" (no conductor named)

This record contains dubs from shellac recordings, two of which could be identified. Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture is the performance with Willem Mengelberg and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, a Telefunken recording (SK 3080/3081) from March 1940. The Hebrides by Mendelssohn is from another Telefunken disc (E 1090) with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Leo Blech, recorded around 1931/1932.

Varsity 2036(1952) - Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 12, K. 414 - "Eric Silver with the Varsity Symphony Orchestra" (no conductor named)

This is again the performance with Margret Knittel and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Hans Altmann, as described above under Royale 1379.

Varsity 6925 (no year available) - Tchaikovsky: Overture 1812 / Capriccio Italien - "National Opera Orchestra" (no conductor named)

Again the Mengelberg recording of the Overture 1812 on Telefunken has been used here. The recording of the Capriccio, the provenance of which was but suggested in the earlier article, can now be confirmed: it is indeed a dub of the three sides of the Grammophon (Polydor) recording (27221-2) with the Berlin Staatskapelle under Alois Melichar.

Varsity 6967 (no year available) - 'Ballet Music'
"National Opera Orchestra" (no conductor named)

The record contains exerpts from Rimsky's Sheherazade and the first movement of Delibes' Sylvia, the front sleeve shows a drawn portrait of Edvard Grieg, for reasons unknown to this author. The Rimsky excerpt, the fourth movement of Sheherazade, is again the version with Karl Rucht and the Symphony Orchestra of Radio Berlin (see above Royale 1260)

Varsity 6979 (no year available) - Strauss, Johann: Die Fledermaus ("arias") - 'The Varsity Opera Company" (no condutor named)

This record contains excerpts from those excerpts issued on Royale 1284 (see above).

Varsity 6991 (no year available) - Herbert, Victor: Operetta Gems - "Varsity Singers & Orchestra" (no conductor named)

Only side 1 (matrix 6991A) of the record contains Herbert items (two instrumentals and one song, most likely to be of American vintage), unidentified so far. Not announced on the sleeve, side 2 (matrix 6123A) offers extended excerpts from Lehar's operetta The Land of Smiles, two of which have been issued on Royale EP 243 (see above for details).

Varsity 69106 (no year available) - Brahms: 10 Hungarian Dances - "National Opera Orchestra" (no conductor named)

Once more the original Allegro recording with Victor Alessandro and the Oklahoma City Symphony has been used here and again "recorded in Europe", naturally!

D) Allegro/Elite

Allegro/Elite 3058 (1951) - Mozart: Cosi Fan Tutti (sic!) (excerpts) - "Inge Camphausen, soprano / Horst Wilhelm, tenor / Gerhard Ramms, baritone" - "The Leipzig Operahaus Orchestra conducted by Gerd Rubahn"

Side A of this record contains indeed excerpts from Così fan tutte, unidentified thus far except for the aria Der Odem der Liebe which is clearly sung by Anton Dermota, though the source of the recording is still untraced.
But side B figures excerpts from Mozart's Der Schaupieldirektor (which are not mentioned on the sleeve or the labels), and these could be identified. The singers in this 1948 NWDR Hamburg radio production are: Clara Ebers (Mlle. Herz), Margot Guilleaume (Mlle. Silberklang), Richard Holm (Direktor) and Ernst Max Lühr (Buff). The NWDR Radio Orchestra (Hamburger Rundfunkorchester) is conducted by Harry Hermann Spitz.

Allegro/Elite 3061-62 (1952) - Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (excerpts)
"Elly von Kovatsy, soprano / Lothar Hansen, tenor / Fred Grossmann, baritone, The Prag Operahaus Chorus and Orchestra directed by Herbert Wentzel"

Again the unfailing ear of Jürgen Schäfer (Hamburg) put an end to the mystery of this recording. The released excerpts are taken from the ca. 1951 Hamburg radio studio production with Lorenz Fehenberger (Walther), Maud Cunitz (Eva), and Rudolf Gonszar (Hans Sachs). The NWDR Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt. The widow of Lorenz Fehenberger, Frau Hildegard Fehenberger, kindly evaluated a tape copy and agreed completely on hearing her late husband's voice and interpetation.

Allegro/Elite 3071 (1952) - Dvorak: Symphony No. 5 op. 95 "New World" - "The Symphony Orchestra of Olympia / Antero Saike"

With Maestro Saike "RCA" added another major force to its roster of unknown and invented celebrities. The recording of this New World, however, was not recorded in Olympia, or by the Olympians, but it's again the German war-time radio studio production from 1944 with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under Oswald Kabasta. Compared to the earlier incarnation of this performance on Royale 1257, the pressing of this Allegro disc gives a far better account of the sonic qualities of the tape masters "RCA" was able to use.

Allegro/Elite 3073 (1953) - Grieg: Piano Concerto in A Minor - "Arthur Sandford with the The Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Joseph Berendt"

Again the recording with Robert Riefling and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra under Odd Grüner-Hegge.

Allegro/Elite 3081 (1953) - Smetana: Die Moldau / Aus Böhmens Hain und Flur / Overture The Bartered Bride
"The Philharmonic Orchestra / Joseph Berendt"

Clemens Krauss and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in their November 1944 radio studio performance are again responsible for Die Moldau; the other two items are unidentified so far. The pressing and hence the sound here supersedes the earlier Royale 1311 incarnation.

Allegro/Elite 3086 (1951) (sic!) - Wagner: Das Rheingold ("arias") - "Hermine Lux, soprano / Felix Meesen, baritone / Gerhard Ramms, bass / Choir and Orchestra of the Dresden State Opera / Fritz Schreiber"

These "arias" from Rheingold are taken from the 1952 NDR Hamburg studio production of the work, conducted by Wilhelm Schüchter with Ferdinand Frantz, Josef Metternich, Rudolf Schock, Wolfgang Windgassen, Res Fischer, Lore Hoffmann, Gustav Neidlinger and the NDR Symphony Orchestra. (see also Gramophone 20139 above).

Allegro/Elite 3090 (no year available) - Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail ("arias") - "Inge Camphausen, soprano / Irmgard Mehler, contralto / Wilhelm Horst, tenor / Gerhard Ramms, baritone / Choir and Orchestra of the Dresden State Opera / Fritz Schreiber"

Hamburg is again the source for the excerpts on this record. The 1946 NDR radio studio production involved Erna Berger, Walther Ludwig, Martina Wulf, Alfred Pfeifle and Theo Herrmann.The NDR Symphony Orchestra was conducted by Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt.

Allegro/Elite 3095 (1953) - Wagner: Parsifal ("excerpts") - "Hans Neumeyer, tenor / Felix Meesen, baritone / Gerhard Ramms, bass / Choir and Orchestra of the Dresden State Opera / Fritz Schreiber"

Had the singers from the 1951 or 1952 Bayreuth productions of Parsifal been as attentive to this record as has been Miss Resnik to the Allegro 'Ring', Oberstein might have been confronted with even another lawsuit. The excerpts (Prelude to Act 1 and final portion from Act 3) come from a performance of that year or the next. The conductor is Hans Knappertsbusch. The singers' voices can be clearly identified as those of Wolfgang Windgassen (Parsifal), Ludwig Weber (Gurnemanz) and George London (Amfortas). The material issued on this record definitely comes from a taped broadcast. The excerpts are not identical to the version from June 30, 1951, issued on Decca LPs and on Teldec CDs.

Allegro/Elite 3098 (1953) - Tchaikovsky: Eugen Onegin ("opera arias") - "Inge Camphausen, soprano / Irmgard Mehler, contralto / Wilhelm Horst, tenor / Gerhard Ramms, baritone / Choir and Orchestra of the Dresden State Opera / Fritz Schreiber"

Sung in German, this record contains a mixture from two sources. The famous "letter scene" on side 1 is a dub from the DGG recording with Elfriede Trötschel and the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under Robert Heger. The same scene, placed at the beginning of side 2 is the Bavarian Radio recording of May 1950 with Annelies Kupper and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Hans Altmann. The prelude to the opera at the end of side 1 comes from the same Bavarian production, as well as the other two excerpts on that side, the aria of Onegin and the aria of Gremin, sung by Josef Metternich and Gottlob Frick respectively. The aria of Lenski on side 1 also belongs to the Bavarian recording. It is sung by Walther Ludwig. The prelude at the beginning of side 1 is unidentified. Only the "letter scene" with Kupper is still stored in the archives of Bavarian Radio, so this record has preserved a few more portions from what has once been a complete recording of this opera.

Allegro/Elite 3109 (1953) - Ravel: Piano Concerto for the left hand - "Arthur Sandford, piano with the Hastings Symphony Orchestra" (no conductor named)
Ravel: Alborada del Grazioso - "Hastings Symphony Orchestra / Jan Tubbs"

The 'Alborada', which in fact turns out to be the Suite 'Ma mère l'oye', is not identified. The concerto, however, is the SWF Baden-Baden radio studio recording from March 15, 1952 with Géza Anda and the SWF Symphony Orchestra under Hans Rosbaud. The sombre upward flourish of the initial piano cadenza is missing on the record. The original tape is still in the archives of SWF Baden-Baden.

Allegro/Elite 3144 (1954) - Berg:Wozzek ("excerpts")
Strauss: Serenade burlesque - "The Philharmonic Orchestra / Joseph Berendt" (no soprano named)

The front sleeve shows "RCA" in one of their funnier moments: it says "Adam Berg Woczek". The Richard Strauss Serenade (his Opus 7, which does not carry the epithet 'burlesque' at all) has not been identified, but the Wozzek parts are definitely sung by soprano Annelies Kupper. These excerpts are the ones which Berg himself extracted from his opera and published as "Drei Bruchstücke" for soprano, boys' voices and orchestra. In this performance the boys' voices in the third fragment are left out and the soprano is performing their lines instead. No further dates could be found as to the conductor, orchestra or recording location of this studio performance. None of the two versions recorded by Kupper/Kleiber in 1953 for WDR Cologne and NDR Hamburg are identical to this version, except for the voice of Frau Kupper.

Allegro/Elite 4010 (no year available) - Stravinsky: Les noces - "Hermine Lux, soprano / Felix Meesen, baritone / The Dresden State Opera Orchestra / Fritz Schreiber"

A rather unusual work for "RCA's" program policy is found on this 10-inch record, again not from the eastern part of Germany, but from the west. The performance is the 1953 radio studio production of WDR Cologne with the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under Jean Martinon. The singers are Anny Schlemm, Hanna Ludwig, Franz Fehringer and Helmut Fehn, the pianists Annemarie Bohne, Wilhelm Neuhaus and Astrid & Hans-Otto Schmidt-Neuhaus. The name of Stravinsky on both sleeve and record labels shows the German spelling "Strawinski".

E) Concertone

Concertone 2002 (1956) - Beethoven:Symphony No. 3 op. 55 "Eroica" - "National Opera Orchestra" (no conductor named)

The Concertone sleeve contains a Gramophone disc, showing only one matrix number on side 1 (1731 A). The performance is identical to the recording which Franz Konwitschny made with the Dresden State Chapel for the East German label Eterna in 1954, a recording which has been recently reissued on CD (Amabile 0140008).

Concertone 2087 (1956) - Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No. 2; Smetana: Die Moldau - "National Opera Orchestra" (no conductor named)

Again the German war-time recording of the Moldau, played by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Clemens Krauss, has been used for this record. The pressings of Concertone and Halo records were generally much smoother, so here the Krauss performance sounds much better than on the grainy pressing material on its first issue on Royale 1311.

Concertone 20104 (1956) - Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue; Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2; Enescu: Rumanian Rhapsody - "National Opera Orchestra" (no conductor named)

The Rumanian Rhapsody by Enescu is once again the version with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Clemens Krauss (see above). The performers of the Gershwin and Liszt works could not be identified so far.

II. Items of Probable Identification

(see endnote 9)

Royale 1252 (1952) - Brahms: Violin Concerto op. 77
"Louis Stevens, violin / Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Dr. Felix Guenther"

This live performance is interesting also because of the soloist's use of the rarely played cadenza by Winkler. In a letter to the author, Wolfgang Schneiderhan expresses his belief that this is a performance by his brother Walther Schneiderhan. It has not been possible to find a date when and from where a performance with Walther Schneiderhan was broadcast, let alone to trace an original tape with such a performance in the archives of German radio so far.
Addendum 2010: Even though Wolfgang Schneiderhan identified this recording as the work of his brother Walther it may actually be a live performance of Wolfgang. Since Walther does not play the Winkler cadenza in his recording for Vox (Bamberg Symphony/Eduard van Remoortel), contrary to Wolfgang who plays this rare cadenza in his DGG recording (BPO/van Kempen) one may assume that the Royale LP carries a live performance of Wolfgang from more or less the same time when he made his commercial recording for DGG.

Royale 1262 (1952) - Dvorak: Cello Concerto op. 104
"Siegfried Seidler, cello / Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Gerd Rubahn"

The hint towards a possible identification which this studio recording contains is a very special one: throughout the whole performance the soloist breathes in a characteristic way, thus creating a prominently hissing noise. The author has checked various cellists with regard to this feature, and there is only one who does the very same thing constantly: Mstislav Rostropovitch. It is amazing how similar in sound and placing Rostropovitch's contributions of this kind in his commercial recordings of this work are to the ones by "Siegfried Seidler" (spelled "Siedler" on the reverse side of the sleeve). A studio recording of this cellist with some East German orchestra made during those years may be taken into account. Official evidence for this is at present time not at hand. Despite three attempts, it was not possible for the author to obtain an answer from Rostropovitch himself. However, Peter Schenkman (see comment for Royale 1279 below) is convinced that this is not a performance of Rostropovitch but rather the work of an 'ordinary' cellist in an orchestra.

Royale 1265 (1952) - Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto op. 35 - "Fritz Malachowsky, violin / Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Joseph Balzer"

An item which has been identified in John Creighton's encyclopedia as being played by Bronislav Huberman. Despite the reputation of Mr. Creighton's work his assessment has definitely to be rejected. There is no evidence at all that Huberman has played this work anywhere in Germany within the years in question. But even if he had done so, a comparison with his extant 78s recording under Steinberg from 1929 and a live performance from 1946, issued on M&A CD-299, reveals an altogether different approach by the artist, one instantly striking feature being the cut Huberman chooses to play in the last movement of both performances. A possible identification is the violinist Gerhard Taschner and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Artur Rother who played the work twice in Berlin's Titania-Palast on April 11 and 12, 1948. This view is supported by the head of the Taschner Archives, Walter Gerstberger, and three Taschner pupils who all kindly evaluated the performance. Meanwhile, this performance has been released on CD by the Archiphon label.

Royale 1279 (1952) - Lalo: Cello Concerto
"Siegfried Seidler, cello / Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Gerd Rubahn"

This live performance with a minimum of audience noise and in a somewhat cavernous acoustic ambience may be another treasure. Peter Schenkman of Toronto, a cellist who has been working in various American orchestras for a long time, has pointed out that the soloist uses a particular way of playing at the end of the first movement (an octave higher, contrary to the written score). Furthermore he noticed the particular tone and vibrato of the cellist which he believes to be Tibor de Machula. The late cellist's wife and his daughter, both living in Amsterdam, evaluated a copy of this performance, and both agreed that without doubt it is de Machula. This would mean that on this LP a live performance of de Machula had been preserved, dating from the time immediately before he left the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra to join the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orkest as first cellist. The catalogue of the concerts of The Berlin Philharmonic lists four performances of this work with de Machula playing the solo part: on January 5 and 6, 1947, at the Titania-Palast and in the Haus des Rundfunks, and on January 12, 1947, at the Städtische Oper. The location of the performance on the LP may be either Titania-Palast or the Haus des Rundfunks. The conductor on all occasions was the young Sergiu Celibidache which would mean that the recording could be added to the small list of early documents of Celibidache.

Royale 1289 (1952) - Brahms: Symphony #1 op. 68
"Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Joseph Balzer"

A live performance of great impact is captured on this record, certain interpretive features of which point to the conductorship of Hermann Abendroth, a view which is shared by Mr. William Flowers of London who helpfully joined in evaluating the performance. Abendroth's bursting drum attacks are present, as well as his unique way of shaping the tempo in the section of pizzicato chords at the beginning of the last movement. This performance also exists on Gramophone 2076, naming the "National Opera Orchestra" and bearing 1954 as the year of copyright.

Royale 1307 (1952) - Beethoven: Violin Concerto op. 61 - "Jan Balachowsky, violin / Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Gerd Rubahn"

A live performance which is also considered to be played by Gerhard Taschner. This view is again supported by Walter Gerstberger and pupils of Taschner. The soloist in this recording plays the Joachim cadenzas and is accompanied by what undoubtedly is a "big name" orchestra. Taschner indeed played the work publicly on March 19, 1948 in Berlin's Titania-Palast, accompanied by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Leopold Ludwig. Both on the reverse side of the sleeve and on the labels the soloist's name is spelled "Baiachowsky".

Royale 1308 (1952) - Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G major - "Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Gerd Rubahn / Soprano soloist Inge Camphausen"

A live performance of a work which was not part of concert programmes during the war in Germany. Post-war concert programmes, however, also did not feature Mahler's symphonies very often. So this live recording captures one of those rare occasions, and it is most likely to be another 'lost treasure'. On March 2, 1949, the NWDR Symphony Orchestra in Hamburg performed the work under Hans Rosbaud with Käthe Maas as the soprano, and this was broadcast also. A tape of the performance does not exists any more in the NDR Hamburg sound archives, but Jürgen Schäfer (see endnote 17) kindly evaluated the voice of the singer and identified it as that of Frau Maas. A bit later the singer herself was presented with a copy and she agreed that it was indeed her voice and interpretation. She also recalled how nervous she had been on the occasion, as it was the first time she had to sing the work; and one can easily detect her nervousness from the recording.

Royale 1324 (1952) - Prokofiev: "Lt. Kije" Suite op. 60
"Armin Kessel, baritone / Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Gerd Rubahn"

This is an unusual recording of this well-known work by Prokofiev, insofar as it is the rarely performed version with a baritone singing (in German!) two songs which on other recordings of this suite are usually entrusted to the orchestra alone. In a 1947 German radio journal announcement of this work the Dutch baritone Caspar Broecheler performs the suite with the NDR Symphony Orchestra under Walter Goehr as part of a so-called "studio concert" which took place on August 25 that year. It seems very likely that this Royale record has captured that particular performance which no longer exists in the NDR Hamburg archives.

Royale 1341 (1952) - Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 K. 466 - "Maria Huttner, piano / Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Gerd Rubahn"

A live performance, played by a pianist who apparently belonged to the "older school" of piano playing (e.g., playing the left hand before the right). On February 27, 1950, a live broadcast from the Hamburg Musikhalle was scheduled with Eduard Erdmann playing this work with the NWDR Symphony Orchestra under Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt. It may well be taken into account that this record has captured this performance which is no longer in NDR Hamburg's sound archives.

Royale 1357 (no year available) - 'An Hour with Tchaikovsky' - "Rome Symphony Orchestra / Dr. Felix Guenther' (no soloists named)

This compilation of movements from works of Tchaikovksy also includes the last movement from the violin concerto which is identical to the performance captured on Royale 1265 (see above).

Gramophone 2058 (1952) - Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto op. 35 - "Fritz Malachowsky, violin / Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Joseph Balzer"

All that has been said for Royale 1265 also applies to this issue which, however, contains in a Royale 1265 sleeve (with the "Malachowsky" identification) a Gramophone disc, labelled 2058, which in turn shows the Royale matrix numbers 1265 A/B on the record itself and says "National Opera Orchestra" on its labels. So, here is a further example for the use of two different performances and the issuance under the same Gramophone label number. (For the other performance issued on Gramophone 2058 with matrix numbers 2058 A/B see above ).

Allegro/Royale 1597 (1954) - Bruckner: Symphony No. 3 - "Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Gerd Rubahn"

One of the few records of "RCA" which has been more widely commented on and was thought to capture a live performance with Jascha Horenstein (as suggested by the late Jack Diether), a conductor who championed the 1878 version. The orchestra in this performance is clearly one of the "big" ones. There was a performance of this version in Germany some time after its publication which was carried out by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, marked expressly in the program as "premiere of second version from 1878". The event took place in Berlin's Titania-Palast on March 2 and 3, 1952, Leopold Ludwig conducting. Apparently Ludwig and the BPO were the first to study and perform the recently published version. Given the "Berlin contact" of Oberstein it is more than likely that this Allegro/Royale disc has captured one of these performances. An original tape of the live performance no longer exists, probably because RIAS Berlin had made a studio recording of the work a few days later with the same forces and the same conductor. This tape still exists but could not be inspected for a stylistic comparison with this live version. Yet, there seems to be hardly a doubt that the orchestra on this disk is the Berlin Philharmonic.

Allegro/Elite 3103 (1953) - Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 op. 105 / "Karelia Suite" op. 11 - "The Symphony Orchestra of Olympia / Antero Saike"

A case of particular interest with regard to the recorded repertoire. Instead of the announced "Karelia Suite" we get excerpts from Sibelius'Pelleas and Melisande music, the latter work and the choice and sequence of its movements possibly being a hint for an identification. On May 12, 1953 the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra Helsinki was featured in a broadcast by NDR Hamburg in their series "Radio Orchestras of Europe". The program was exactly what has been captured on this record. Furthermore the radio journal's announcement listed even the same choice and sequence of the movements of the Pelleas music as it is on this record, namely "At the Castle Gate", "Melisande", Entr'acte and "Death of Melisande". The suite is a live performance. The symphony, however, does not show signs of this kind. The Helsinki Orchestra was conducted on that occasion by Nils-Eric Fougstedt. There is no evidence at hand to prove whether or not Finnish Radio had supplied tapes or whether the orchestra was indeed present in Hamburg. A tape exchange, though, is the more likely procedure. With regard to this latter possibility, the mixing of live and studio performances on the Allegro disc becomes reasonable, too.

Discussion . . .

During the evaluation of certain items of the "RCA" catalogue, the author has found hints which might additionally point for a couple of items to an "East German source" and he prefers to believe in the use of first generation copies of radio tapes in these cases, rather than in the generally accepted version of low-quality tape recorded broadcasts.

The Brahms Symphony No. 4 on Royale 1239 ("Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Franz R. Friedl", also on Allegro/Elite 3124, "Dresden State Symphony Orchestra / Fritz Schreiber") is a studio recording of the same sound ambience as in the Haydn No. 94 on Royale 1223 and in some other works in their catalogue. What makes these recordings so interesting is some extraneous noise, clearly audible during certain soft passages in the slow movements, especially when earphones are used. However, this could only be detected in some of the cases when the usually quieter pressings of these performances in their incarnations on Gramophone were inspected. In these cases there are crows of a rooster and sounds of car horns coming in from outside the recording location!

It may not be without significance, in this respect, that sounds from car horns also intrude into the recordings of Dvorak's 9th symphony under Pflüger (Urania URLP 7132) as well as into Abendroth's Beethoven 'Pastorale' from 1950 and into his Tchaikovsky 'Pathétique' from 1952, both issued on Etema. In Schubert's 'Unfinished' on Royale 1220 ("Rome Symphony Orchestra / Dr. Felix Guenther", also on Gramophone 2040, "National Opera Orchestra") there is another car horn finding its way into the recording somewhere in the middle of the first movement, and yet another one can be heard at the very beginning of Franck's Symphony on Royale 1288 ("Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Joseph Balzer", also on Gramophone 2088, "National Opera Orchestra"). The peak may be in Haydn's 'Surprise Symphony' on Royale 1223 ("Orchestra of the Rome Symphony / Angelo Questa", also on Gramophone 2040, "Varsity Symphony Orchestra"), where a rooster's crow is followed by a car horn and then something like the jingling bells of a tramway, all this at the beginning of the second movement, when Haydn's "surprise" is just about due. This extraneous noise, the rooster's contribution in particular, is a tantalizing facet of these "RCA" items, as this makes them likely to be connected with a very particular, if not unique, recording location. No definite answer can be given as yet to the question of where this location may have been.

In this author's opinion the fact of these very faint noises, captured on a tape used for a record production would rule out a mere off-the-air tape as a master in these instances (and many others not "marred" by such extra-musical ornation), because it seems unlikely that such delicate sounds should have been transmitted that clearly by AM or FM broadcasts of those times. Record piracy indisputably is a violation of law. Nevertheless, without a doubt, through this practice a couple of performances have been preserved, which otherwise would be lost for all times. In continuing his research, the author hopes to be able to rely as much on his fellow-collectors'future support as he could in the past. There is still much to do and surely more to discover.