SPARKLING 1950 Mahler’s 1st Symphony - Bruno Walter NY Philharmonic

An absolutely crystal clear recording of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major. NY Philharmonic conducted by the great Bruno Walter on February 12th, 1950. From my research this is the earlier recorded performance of this symphony with Walter and the NY Philharmonic.
This was recorded live off the radio onto reel to reel by Reynolds Marchant. As with many of these long performances there was not long enough tape at that time for a single continuous recording. So it’s broken up in the middle of the third movement. I tried to make it as smooth as possible.
Here is the program from the performance - I hope I can find a recording of the Haydn and Mendelssohn too!
archives.nyphil.org/index.php...
Technical info:
Scotch 111-A
7” Cine Reel
7 1/2 IPS
00:00 - Introduction by Jim Fassett
00:42 - Langsam. Schleppend.
13:46 - Kräftig bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell
20:33 - Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen
32:31 - Stürmisch bewegt - Energisch

[@davidmann4315]

Thanks so much for making these treasures available to us!

[@karldelavigne8134]

Gosh, the clarity and immediacy of this recording are astonishing. And the performance is, of course, utterly compelling and authoritative.

[@MarchantTapeArchive]

Thank you for listening/watching!
If you think about the way it got to you it's even more amazing - a radio broadcast from NYC, simulcasted to a Minnesota radio station, where Reynolds Marchant recorded it off the radio to reel to reel. The reel sat for 74 years in various storage locations - which included a move from Minnesota to California. Finally here in Portland Oregon I was able to digitally capture what was on the reel to share with you and the youtube audience. And it sounds as good as it did that day! Only bested probably by being there in person at Carnegie Hall :)

[@eduardocomesana7956]

Absolutely extraordinary recording. Walter was a Mahler´s disciple and knew perfectly well his scores and he is an undisputable reference. What a wonderful finding...Thank you a lot.

[@MarchantTapeArchive]

You can't argue with a conductor that worked with the composer directly! Thanks so much for listening.

[@fromthesidelines]

As broadcast on CBS on February 12, 1950.

[@MarchantTapeArchive]

Ah you are right - somehow I typed the wrong date or it was wrong on the reel box (it happens). I always track down the actual program - it's included here with the correct date you state. Thanks for pointing that out - corrected!

[@fromthesidelines]

You're welcome!

[@andromede087]

Stunning. Are there still other Mahler recordings by Bruno Walter?

[@MarchantTapeArchive]

Thanks for listening/watching! I hope to find more in the archive - but it might be worth looking through the outstanding NY Philharmonic archive too: archives.nyphil.org/

[@Mooseman327]

I guess cough drops hadn't been invented by 1950.

[@MarchantTapeArchive]

Haha - yes! The coughing is pretty over the top in parts of the recording. It was the middle of winter in NYC so I guess people might have had colds.