URANIA 5-LPs: Wagner-Tristan & Isolde-Konwitschny -1951

$

150

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Background on this eBay item -

This is an original URANIA 5-LP set dating from 1951. Super heavy pressings and a reference performance on this early mono recording featuring Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde", conducted by Franz Konwitschny.

Franz Konwitschny was born to a family consisting of several members who were professional musicians. He studied at Brno's German Musical Society and later at Leipzig Conservatory. While still a student, he was exposed to great conducting as a member of the viola section of the famous Gewandhausorchester Leipzig when he played under the direction of Wilhelm Furtwangler. In 1925, he moved to Vienna with the Fitzner Quartet and began teaching at the Vienna Volkskonservatorium. Within two years, he had decided to become a conductor. In 1927, he joined the Stuttgart Opera, first as an assistant conductor then winning promotion to chief conductor in 1930. Engagements at Freiburg, Frankfort, and Hanover occupied him until 1949 when he was awarded the helm of the venerable Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. From 1949 until his death on tour in 1962, he held that position even as opera house appointments (Dresden 1953 to 1955, and the Berliner Staatsoper from 1955 onward) occupied increasing amounts of time. His dual positions made him one of the Eastern bloc's most authoritative and celebrated musicians. In the years shortly before his death, Konwitschny appeared abroad in such venues as Salzburg and London and toured elsewhere in Austria, West Germany, Poland, Soviet Russia, and Japan. As an interpreter, he eschewed the precise attacks expected of Western conductors in favor of deeper tone coloring and a spontaneous search for meaning. For EMI, his recordings of Der fliegende Hollander and Tannhauser are compelling, despite casting deficiencies in both title roles.

Franz Konwitschny was a yeoman conductor. Not a stellar podium personality, but a musician who respected the need for craftsmanship and still managed to probe deeply into the scores that held greatest meaning to him. While the music of his own time appealed to him less than the masterworks of the Classical and Romantic ages, he still made time for the works of such composers as Dessau and Eisler. Konwitschny's early death came as a blow to an art form that needed individuals of such gifts and such devotion to high purpose. The majority of Konwitschny's recordings were made for the East German branch of Philips, and the company's successor, Berlin Classics, honored his memory with the release of an 11-CD box set of his performances in 2001.

Release date: 1951 - very early mono LP pressings

Up for sale: 

• URANIA 5-LP Set - "Light BROWN" record labels with "Dark BROWN" lettering.
  

• The record book / box / jacket is the original issue.
  

• LPs were recorded in Germany but pressed in the USA

• Pressings are in MONO

• Record Catalog Number: URLP 202
  

Extremely rare and long out of print, this is a sought after 5-LP set featuring the music of:

Richard WAGNER

Performing -

• Tristan und Isolde
  
• 
  

Performed by -

• Margarete Baumer
• Ludwig Suthhaus
• Gottlob Frick
• Karl Wolfram
• Theodor Horand
• Erna Westenberger
• Aloys Kuhnert
• Dr. Gert Lutze
• Franz Konwitschny conducting the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
  

CONDITION Details:

The records are housed in a "book"- like box. Each LP is in it's own paper sleeve, within the "book", and each sleeve is attached directly to the spine of the book. Although the colors on the front of the book are very clean and lovely, the book has a problem in that the front cover has been cleanly removed from the spine, so that the "book" is in two pieces - one piece is the front cover, the other piece has all the rest of the set, including the LPs. This can be fixed with some loving care and for those who are inclined to work on such details. The split was due quite simply, to the weight of the set and the age! It is very hard to expect a set of this vintage to be in excellent condition, especially since the weight of the item was so significant. But as already noted, the item can be fixed if one is so inclined. There is some light water damage around the inside corners of the book and the black outer paper that covered the spine has disintegrated over the years.

The set comes complete with a lovely multi-page libretto in near mint condition!  

• Mint = Only used for sealed items.
• Near Mint = Virtually flawless in every way.
• Near Mint Minus = Item has some minor imperfections, some audible.
• Excellent = Item obviously played and enjoyed with some noise.
• Very Good Plus = Many more imperfections which are noticeable and obtrusive.

Please understand that this is a very old record - as such, one cannot expect the record to sound like a brand new, audiophile pressing! Some noise is inevitable - for best results, always properly clean your LPs before playing them.

The LP is an audiophile quality pressing (any collector of fine MFSL, half speeds, direct to discs, Japanese/UK pressings etc., can attest to the difference a quality pressing can make to an audio system).

Don't let this rarity slip by!!!