Sir Landon Ronald - Beethoven Schubert Mozart (HMV) 1924-25

Sir Landon Ronald:
00:00 1 Overture "Egmont" (Beethoven)
Royal Albert Hall Orch. c.b. Sir Landon Ronald
78rpm 30 cm: HMV D 852 (4-0530/1)
Matrix nrs.: Cc 4219-1 / 4220-2
Recorded: 1924 02 19
07:37 2 Overture "Rosamunde" (Schubert)
Wireless Orch. c.b. Sir Landon Ronald
78rpm 30 cm: HMV D 907 (4-0577/8)
Matrix nrs.: Cc 4900-2 / 4901-1
Recorded: 1924 07 15
15:33 3 Overture "Le nozze di Figaro" (Mozart)
Royal Albert Hall Orch. c.b. Sir Landon Ronald
78rpm 30 cm: HMV D 1005 (4-0682)
Matrix nr.: Cc 4221-2
Recorded: 1924 02 19
19:34 4 Divertimento KV 314: Minuet & Trio (Mozart)
Royal Albert Hall Orch. c.b. Sir Landon Ronald
78rpm 30 cm: HMV D 1005 (4-0683)
Matrix nr.: Cc 5862-2
Recorded: 1925 03 10
Landon Ronald, born Landon Ronald Russell (Sir since 1922) (London, 07.06.1873 - London, 14.08.1938): English conductor, pianist, composer, teacher.
1884-1890: Royal College of Music, studied with Hubert Parry and Charles Villiers Stanford.
1891: Maestro al piano (accompanist and rehearser) at Royal Opera House, where he rehearsed "Norma" with Nellie Melba, among others.
1892: conductor of Augustus Harris' opera company
1894: tour of America as accompanist to Nellie Melba
1896: conducted "Faust" at Covent Garden with Nellie Melba, Charles Bonnard and Pol Plançon
1900: approached by Fred Gaisberg to become musical adviser at The Gramophone Company. He would remain with G&T/Gramophone/HMV/EMI until the end of his life, accompanying all the great stars of the time, in the very early recordings as pianist (f.i. accompanying recordings of Adelina Patti in 1905-1906), but soon as conductor.
1904-1907: guest conductor at London Symphony Orchestra
1908-1928: When Thomas Beecham parted company from the New Symphony Orchestra in 1908, Ronald succeeded him as its conductor.
The orchestra was since 1915 known as the Royal Albert Hall orchestra; Ronald remained with it until 1928, when it disbanded.
He and the orchestra began recording for HMV in 1909. Their recorded repertoire comprised mostly overtures and short orchestral pieces, but also longer works including Dvorak New World symphony (1919-1922) and Beethoven 5th symphony (1922).
Landon Ronald conducted over four hundred times at the Royal Albert Hall, London between 1898 and 1936, mainly with the Royal Albert Hall Orchestra.
His last performance at the Hall was on 4 February 1936 for the 'Memorial Concert in Commemoration of His Late Most Gracious Majesty King George V', where he conducted and played the piano.
1929: retired as conductor
1910-1938: associated as a teacher at the Guildhall School of Music
He composed more than 200 songs.
He also wrote his memoirs:
"Variations on a personal theme" (1922)
"Myself and others" (1932).
I have great respect for the pioneer conductors who, under primitive conditions with a depleted orchestra grouped around the recording horn, did their best to make the most transparent recording possible. I think it is amazing how much you can hear on those acoustic orchestral records. This applies not only to Landon Ronald but also to other conductors like Leo Blech, Albert Coates, Edward Elgar, Eugene Goossens, Hamilton Harty, Percy Pitt, Leopold Stokowski, Felix Weingartner and Sir Henry J. Wood, to name but a few conductors who were active in the acoustic period.
Link to my 78rpm and LP collection at archive.org:
archive.org/de...