BOULT Mahler: Symphonies 5, 7, 8 (1947/8) - PASC709

In commemoration of the fortieth anniversary of the death of Sir Adrian Boult (1889-1983), Pristine is honoured to present the first release of live broadcasts of Mahler symphonies by the conductor, in his only known recorded performances of the works. Boult’s legacy of commercial recordings of Mahler is slim – only a single symphony (the First, for Everest), Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen in three versions (Thebom, Flagstad and Ludwig), and Kindertotenlieder (again with Flagstad). A Testament CD release from 2008 added the Third Symphony in a broadcast from the same series as the Fifth, Seventh and Eighth featured here.

Between November, 1947 and February, 1948, the BBC presented an unusual Mahler symphony cycle, combining commercial recordings of the few symphonies which were then available on disc with concert performances of works which had yet to appear on record. Starting with a live First Symphony featuring Bruno Walter conducting the BBC Symphony, issued recordings of the Second (Ormandy/Minneapolis), Fourth and Ninth (Walter in New York and Vienna) were interspersed with live broadcasts of the Third, Fifth, Seventh and Eighth led by Boult (Walter’s February, 1947 New York studio recording of the Fifth having not yet been released). Boult might have led the cycle’s performance of the Sixth as well, had the BBC not opted to pick up a German broadcast under Schmidt-Isserstedt instead.

Since the BBC did not make archival recordings of these broadcasts, they might have remained the stuff of legend, had it not been for the efforts of an enterprising home recordist. Edward Agate, a musicologist and translator of opera libretti, took down all of the live performances from this series, and much else, using a two-cutter setup to enable continuous recording (although, in practice, occasional small gaps remained). After his death, over 200 78 rpm acetate discs from his collection wound up in a shop in Manchester, where music writer, performer and documentary producer Jon Tolansky happened upon them by chance in 1981. He purchased the lot and ultimately donated them to the organisation that was to become Music Preserved, which currently owns the discs and which has kindly given permission for their release here.

The original recordings ran between four and five minutes per side, sometimes with gaps of up to several seconds between the sides. The frequency range was not wide, with musical information present only up to about 5 kHz; but noise was plentiful, particularly at the ends of sides, with pervasive clicks, pops and swish, along with occasional disc damage. Digital editing using the latest iZotope RX tools, including pitch stabilisation, has ameliorated the problems to some degree, allowing the performances to be heard finally in something which has, hopefully, a degree of body and detail belying their AM radio/home-recorded acetate origins.

Some small patches of missing music were interpolated into the transfers, primarily by using later live performances from other conductors and digitally “ageing” the sound in order to make a seamless fit (e.g. the opening seconds of the fourth movement of the Seventh Symphony). The Eighth has had some limited availability previously, as Music Preserved has offered a download of the unrestored broadcast for several years; but the two other symphonies are being released here for the first time.

Mark Obert-Thorn

MUSIC PRESERVED

Music Preserved is the only registered charity dedicated to conserving high quality, rare, live music performances from the golden age of recording and re-mastering them digitally to save and make them accessible to present audiences and future generations.

Several important collections have been donated to the charity, including those of Lord Harewood, Sir Charles Mackerras and tenor Richard Lewis. They are now preserved in the secure environment of the Borthwick Institute archive at the University of York. Once digitally re-mastered, they may be accessed online by music scholars, students and enthusiasts.

A carefully curated selection of rare performances from the late 1930s to the early 1960s has been published on the online label mp LIVE. These include premières and rarely caught performances from around the world. Many other performances, interviews and talks given by major artists are currently being digitised, so that they can also be available to the general public.

There will also be a series of podcasts, in which experts compare recordings and offer insights into the unique range of recordings in the collection.

These items can be streamed via Music Preserved’s website (musicpreserved.org.uk) or via the major streaming services, such as Spotify and Apple Music.

Music Preserved is a treasure trove of great musical performances and it is committed to making it available for all to enjoy.

For further information, look at musicpreserved.org.uk