This release gathers together for the first time all of Hamilton Harty’s recordings of concertos and concerted works with soloists from the acoustic era. Included are a couple acknowledged classic performances - Albert Sammons’ Bruch Violin Concerto and William Murdoch’s Beethoven Third Piano Concerto - as well as at least one “sleeper” which deserves to be more widely known: Arthur Catterall’s Mozart “Turkish” Concerto. Several were world première complete recordings. Some of them date back more than a century, with the latest having been taken down just as electrical recording (with the microphone replacing the acoustic horn) was beginning to transform the industry.
It is true that the sound limitations of acoustic recordings can take a little getting used to; but we think you’ll find your ears adjust quickly, once you start getting into the performances. And there are some marvelous performances here, none of which were ever re-recorded during the electrical era by Harty or any of the soloists. Sample the fiery conclusion of the Bruch Violin Concerto with Albert Sammons, our demo track on the website and YouTube, and see whether you think this performance can be ignored in any list of the great recordings of this work.