NUTCRACKER SUITE Tschaikowski VICTROLA 1926' 12" 78 rpm record Set STOKOWSKI

$

200

Following these successful first Academy of Music recordings, on 4 and 10 November 1926 Stokowski and the Orchestra successfully recorded one of Stokowski's favorite Tchaikovsky works: the Suite from the Nutcracker ballet (opus 71a).  Stokowski and the Philadelphians had made an initial attempt the week before on 4 November 1926.  In fact, Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra had made a number of previous attempts during the acoustic period to record several movements from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, beginning with his very first Philadelphia Orchestra recording sessions in October, 1917.  At that time, he made recordings of the Dance of the Sugar Plumb Fairy and of the Trepak Russian Dance, which were apparently unsuccessful, and not released.  Similarly, in 1921 Stokowski attempted, unsuccessfully, the Waltz of the Flowers.  Then in February and April 1921, Stokowski attempted to record the Dance of the Flutes, unsuccessfully, prior to the successfully released disc of this movement in recorded 13 February 1922.

An example of the difficulties of recording, even with the far more sensitive electrical recording process was the celesta.  In this 1926 recording, the celesta was played by Gustave A. Loeben, who played by cello and keyboard in the orchestra for 35 years, 1919-1954.  The recording of the celesta required the difficult compromise between making the celesta audible, versus picking up the internal mechanism of this light instrument.  We can imagine how recording the celesta would have been well beyond any ability of the acoustic process to capture.

The orchestra during these recordings consisted of: 18 first violins, 17 second violins, 13 violas, 12 celli, 10 double basses, 3 flutes, 4 oboes, 4 bassoons, 5 clarinets, 6 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba, 1 celeste, 2 harps, 1 tympani, and 2 percussionists.

This 1926 recording of the Nutcracker was originally released as three separate disks, Victor 6615, 6615 and 6617.  Then, in 1928 when Victor began to issue the famous series of Victor Albums titled the "Musical Masterpiece Series", the Nutcracker became the third Musical Masterpiece album: Victor M-3, which remained in the Victor catalog until early 1935, when Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra's recording made in November 1935 was released as Musical Masterpiece album M-265.  In fact most listeners find this 1926 recording more satisfying than the technically superior 1935 recording.  The sound and performances of this 1926 recording of the Nutcracker remain thrilling today, and demonstrate just how extensive were the advances of the Victor engineers and of Stokowski in the year since the first 1925 electrical recordings.  No doubt, recording in the Academy of Music was also a favorable factor in both the sound and the musicality of these performances.

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