Eugene Ormandy, The Philadelphia Orchestra - The Columbia Legacy (CD)

most discs are pristine, a few have a stray mark here or there. D27 and 69 were tested in shop player. couple corners of box are dented, a few divots on bottom of box

Advertising
The collaboration between Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, which lasted over 40 years, is one of the most enigmatic and longest-lasting associations in the history of classical music. In this unique edition, all the mono recordings from 1944 to 1958 for the Columbia label appear on 120 CDs. They also reflect an important period in recording history in the changing cover art.

Ormandy, a master of orchestral brilliance and timbre and also appreciated as an excellent accompanist, created the famous "Philadelphia Sound" with his orchestra. At the age of five, he, whose real name was Jenö Blau, was the youngest violin student at the Royal Academy of Music in Budapest, was appointed professor there at 17, and emigrated to the United States in 1921, where he changed his name.

Eugene Ormandy is featured here with an impressive repertoire: with expansive Bach arrangements, Haydn and Beethoven symphonies, with Brahms (Ormandy's Hungarian violin teacher had been a student of Brahms' friend Joseph Joachim), on Russian masters like Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky, or French composers such as Saint-Saëns, Debussy and Ravel, to Richard Strauss, Ottorino Respighi, Jean Sibelius and American contemporaries such as Virgil Thomson and Aaron Copland. The soloists include legendary names such as Claudio Arrau, Rudolf Serkin, Robert Casadesus, Nathan Milstein, Joseph Szigeti and Gregor Piatigorsky. Not to be forgotten is the rarity of a complete Fledermaus recording with MET Opera forces such as Ljuba Welitsch and Richard Tucker. 152 recordings alone are appearing on CD for the first time.

Set Contents
CD 1 - 78 rpm transfers (1944-1950)
Lalo: Symphonie espagnole op. 21
Borodin: Polovtsian dances
Respighi: Besard from Antiche danze ed arie per liuto
Gluck: Dance of the blessed spirits
Suppé: Poets and Peasant Overture

CD 2 - 78 rpm transfers (1944-1947)
McDonald: My Country at War-Suite
White: Sea Chanty for harp & strings
Hanson: Serenade, op. 35 for flute, harp, strings
Kennan: Night Soliloquy for flute & strings

CD 3 (1944)
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7
Brahms: Symphony No. 4

CD 4 (Rudolph Serkin 1945/1946)
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2
Schumann: Piano Concerto, op. 54

CD 5 (Josef Szigeti / 1945)
Brahms: Violin Concerto, op. 77

CD 6 (1945-1947)
Glière: Russian Sailors Dance
Fernandez: Batuque
Smetana: The Bartered Bride - Dance of the Comedians
Dvořák: Slavonic Dance, op. 72 No. 2
Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 5
J. Strauss II: Wein, Weib und Gesang
Debussy: La Damoiselle elue (Bidu Sayão)

CD 7 (1944/1946)
Debussy: Nocturnes No. 1 & 2
Respighi: Pini di Roma

CD 8 (Gregor Piatigorsky / 1946/1947)
Dvořák: Cello Concerto, op. 104
Bruch: Kol Nidrei, op. 47

CD 9 (1944 (78) / 1946 (LP))
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 "From the New World"

CD 10 (1945)
Franck: Symphony in D minor

CD 11 (1944)
Strauss: Rosenkavalier Suite
Death and transfiguration
Veil Dance from Salome

CD 12 (1946/1947)
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4
Serenade for Strings, op. 48

CD 13 (Robert Casadesus / 1947 )
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4
Ravel: Piano Concerto for the Left Hand

CD 14 (1946)
Brahms: Symphony No. 3
Haydn Variations, op. 56a
Liszt: Les Preludes

CD 15 (1947)
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade op. 35

CD 16 (Oscar Levant / 1947/1945)
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue 

CD 17 (1945)
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (Stella Roman, Enid Szantho, Frederick Nagel, Westminster Choir)

CD 18 (1947)
Sibelius: Symphony No. 2

CD 19 (1947)
Grieg: Peer Gynt-Suite No. 1
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsodies No. 1 & 2

CD 20 (1944-1947)
J. Strauss II: Fledermaus Overture, Zigeunerbaron-Ouvertüre, An der schönen blauen Donau, Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald,
Glinka: Russlan and Ludmilla Overture
Weber: Invitation to the Dance, op. 65
Freischütz Overture
Weinberger: Polka & Fugue from Schwanda the Bagpiper

CD 21 (1946/1947)
Prokofiev: Scythian Suite op. 20
Respighi: Feste romane

CD 22 (1946/1947)
Bach: Passacaglia & Fuge BWV 582
Toccata & Fugue BWV 565
Chorales "Jesus bleibet meine Freude" BWV 147 & "Wachet auf" BWV 645
Handel / Ormandy: Water Music Suite
Concerto in D major HWV 335a
Corelli / Pinelli: Suite for Strings

CD 23 (1947)
Hindemith: Nobilissima Visione
Symphonic Metamorphoses

CD 24 (György Sandor / 1964/1947)
Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 3
Myaskovsky: Symphony No. 21 

CD 25 (Jenny Tourel, Westminster Choir / 1945/1946)
Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky cantata, op. 78
Symphony No. 1
Rimsky-Korsakov: Russian Easter Overture, op. 36

CD 26  (Isaac Stern, Gregor Piatigorsky / Conductor: Alexander Hilsberg (1949))
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto, op. 35
Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1

CD 27 (1947-1950)
Thomson: Louisiana Story Suite, Portraits, Bugles and Birds, Percussion Piece, Cantabile for Strings, Tango Lullaby, Fugue
Berg: 3 pieces from Wozzeck, op. 7
McDonald: Children's Symphony
Brand: The Wonderful One-Hoss Shay

CD 28 (1947/1949)
Haydn: Symphonies No. 88, 92, 101

CD 29 (1950/1946)
Ravel: Rapsodie espagnole
Kodály: Háry János Suite

CD 30 (1949/1950)
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé Suites No. 1 & 2
Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht, op. 4

CD 31 (1947-1951)
Debussy: Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune
Dukas: the sorcerer's apprentice
Honegger: Concertino for piano & orchestra
Sibelius: Finlandia, op. 26
The Swan of Tuonela, op. 22 No. 2
Rachmaninov / Cailliet: Preludes, op. 3 No. 2, op. 23 No. 5, op. 32 No. 5

CD 32 (1950)
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 6

CD 33/34 (Charles Kullman, Regina Resnik, Clifford Harvuot, Blanche Thebom, John Brownlee, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra / 1950/1951)
J. Strauss II: Die Fledermaus

CD 35 (Zino Francescatti / 1950)
Beethoven: Violin Concerto, op. 61
Chausson: Poeme op.25 for Violin & Orchestra

CD 36 (Rudolf Serkin / 1950/1951)
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20

CD 37 (1950)
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5

CD 38 (1951)
Schuman: Symphony No. 3
Debussy: Ibéria

CD 39 (1951)
Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2

CD 40 (1950)
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, op. 14

CD 41 (1950)
Brahms: Symphony No. 1

CD 42 (1952)
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6

CD 43 (1951)
J. Strauss II: Eine Nacht in Venedig-Ouvertüre, Accelerationen-Walzer, Wein, Weib und Gesang, Perpetuum mobile, Kaiser-Walzer
Josef Strauss: Feuerfest
Eduard Strauss: Bahn frei
Beethoven: Coriolan-Ouvertüre
Egmont-Ouvertüre

CD 44 (conductors: Eugene Ormandy, Dimitry Mitropoulos, Alexander Hilsberg / 1952)
Gottschalk: Grand Walkaround
Gould: Fall River Legend Ballet Music
Walton: 4 Dances from Façade
Bernstein: 4 Dances from Fancy Free 

CD 45 (1952)
"The Philadelphia Orchestra - First Chair"
Clarke: Trumpet Voluntary
Griffes: Poeme for flute & orchestra
Handel: Oboe Concerto in G minor, HWV 287
Phillips: Fagott concert
Chabrier: Larghetto for Horn & Orchestra
Beethoven: Romance for Violin & Orchestra, op. 50
Weber: Concertino for Clarinet & Orchestra, op. 26

CD 46 (György Sandor / 1952)
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1

CD 47 (1951)
Sibelius: Lemminkäinen suite op. 22

CD 48 (1950-1952)
Haydn: Symphonies No. 7 "Le Midi" & No. 45 "Farewell"

CD 49 (Vera Zorina 1952)
Honegger: Jeanne D'Arc au Bucher

CD 50 (Claudio Arrau / 1952/1947)
Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1, Hungarian Fantasy for Piano & Orchestra
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3

CD 51 (1953/1951)
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 7
Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliette, 1812 Overture, Slavic Marc, op. 31

CD 52 (1952)
"The Strauss Family"
J. Strauss II: Fledermaus-Ouvertüre, Pizzicato-Polka, Unter Donner und Blitz, Tik-Tak-Polka, Ägyptischer Marsch, Das Spitzentuch der Königin-Ouvertüre, Explosions-Polka, Annen-Polka, Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka, Waldmeister-Ouvertüre
J. Strauss I: Radetzky-Marsch

CD 53 (1953)
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition
Stravinsky: The Fire Bird Suite

CD 54 (1952/1953)
Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Suite, op. 71a
Sleeping Beauty Suite, op. 66a

CD 55 (Margaret Harshaw / 1952)
Wagner: Vorspiel, Liebesnacht & Liebestod aus Tristan und Isolde
Siegfrieds Tod und Trauermusik & Brunnhildes Verwandlung aus Götterdämmerung

CD 56 (1952/1953)
Hindemith: Symphony "Mathis der Maler", Concert music for string orchestra & brass ,op. 50

CD 57 (1953)
Brahms: Symphony No. 2

CD 58 (1953)
Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnole op. 34, Flight of the Bumblebee, Dance of the Tumblers
Tchaikovsky: Capriccio italien, op. 45, Andante Cantabile from op. 11

CD 59 (1953)
Wagner: Orchestral pieces from Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Walküre, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

CD 60 (1953)
Waldteufel: Estudiantina, op. 191, Espana, op. 236, Pluie de diamants, op. 160, Die Schlittschuhläufer, op. 183
Lehar: Walzer-Intermezzo & Vilja-Lied aus Die lustige Witwe, Dein ist mein ganzes Herz aus Das Land des Lächelns, Eva-Walzer, Gold und Silber-Walzer, op. 79

CD 61 (1954)
Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, op. 40

CD 62 (1953)
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, op. 35

CD 63 (1954)
Offenbach / Rosenthal: Gaite Parisienne Ballet Music
Chopin / Douglas: Les Sylphides Ballet Music

CD 64 (1952-1954)
Thomson: 3 Pictures for Orchestra, 5 Songs from William Blake

CD 65 (Rudolf Serkin / 1954/1953)
Beethoven: Piano Concertos No. 1 & 3

CD 66 (1953)
Franck: Symphony in D minor 

CD 67 (1954)
Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 3, Vocalise op. 34 No. 14

CD 68 (1953/1954)
Ravel: Boléro, La Valse, Pavane pour une infante défunte
Ibert: Escales
Debussy: Clair de Lune
Chabrier: Espana

CD 69 (1954)
Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra

CD 70 (Anshel Brusilow 1954)
Yardumian: Armenian Suite, Desolate City, Violin Concerto, Symphony No. 2 ("Psalms"), Psalm 130

CD 71 (1953/1954)
Schuman: Symphony No. 6, Piston No. 4

CD 72 (1955/1954)
Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps. Petruschka Ballet Suite

CD 73
Grieg: Peer Gynt Suites No. 1 & 2
Bizet: L'Arlesienne Suites No. 1 & 2 (1955)

CD 74
Beethoven: Piano Concertos No. 2 & 4 (Rudolf Serkin / 1955)

CD 75
Sibelius: Symphonies No. 4 & 5 (1954)

CD 76
Rachmaninov: The Bells op. 35, The Isle of the Dead op. 29 (1954)

CD 77
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 (1953)

CD 78
"Bach Orchestral Arrangements" - Bach: Fantasies & Fugues BWV 537 & 542, Air from BWV 1067
Prelude & Fugue BWV 546, Arioso from BWV 156, Fugue BWV 578, Chorals BWV 478 & 741 (1954/1955)

CD 79
Vivaldi: Concerto for 2 Violins, Strings, BC RV 522
Bach: Violin Concertos BWV 1041 & 1042
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto op. 64 (Isaac Stern, David Oistrach / 1955/1956)

CD 80
Wagner: Orchestral pieces from Parsifal (1955)

CD 81
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto op. 64
Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 4
Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1 (David Oistrach, Zino Francescatti / 1955/1950)

CD 82
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2
Rachmaninov / Cailliet: Preludes op. 23 No. 5 & op. 32 No. 5 (Eugene Istomin / 1956/1950)

CD 83
Harris: Symphonies No. 1 "1933" & No. 7 (conductor: Serge Koussevitzky / 1934/1955)

CD 84
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5
Mozart: Symphony No. 40 (1955/1956)

CD 85
Persichetti: Symphony No. 4
Gessenway: 4 Squares of Philadelphia (1954/1955)

CD 86
Debussy: Prelude A L'Apres-Midi d'Un Faune, Nocturnes No. 1-3
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2 (1955)

CD 87
Lalo: Symphony Espagnole op. 21
Break: Violin Concerto No. 1 (Isaac Stern / 1956)

CD 88
Brahms: Violin Concerto op. 77
Vieuxtemps: Violin Concerto No. 4 (Zino Francescatti / 1956/1957)

CD 89
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 (1956)

CD 90
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Rudolf Serkin / 1956)

CD 91
"Virtuosi di Philadelphia" - Paganini: Moto Perpetuo op. 11
Gabrieli: Sonata Pian's Forte
Milhaud: Concerto for percussion & small orchestra
Strauss: Blasser Serenade op. 7
Brahms: 2 sets of Serenade No. 2
Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 (1955)

CD 92
Albeniz: Iberia (1956)

CD 93
Khachaturian: Gayaneh Ballet Suite
Kabalevsky: The Comedian Op. 26 (1956)

CD 94
Copland: Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid Ballet Suite (1954/1955)

CD 95
J. Strauss II: Die Fledermaus-Ouvertüre & Suite, 1001 Nacht, Kaiser-Walzer, An der schönen blauen Donau, Rosen aus dem Süden
Josef Strauss: Sphärenklänge, Schwert und Leier (1952 / 1955)

CD 96
Schumann: Piano Concerto op. 54
Strauss: Burlesque for piano & orchestra (Rudolf Serkin / 1956/1955)

CD 97
Strauss: Don Juan op.20, Till Eulenspiegel op. 28, Waltz suite from Der Rosenkavalier, Liebesszene aus Feuersnot op.50 (1952/1958)

CD 98
Schuman: Credendum
Kirchner: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Piano: Leon Kirchner, Conductor: Dimitri Mitropoulos / 1956)

CD 99
Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings op. 48
Borodin: Notturno from String Quartet No. 3
Barber: Adagio for Strings op.11
Vaughan Williams: Greensleeves Fantasia (1952/1957)

CD 100
Glière: Symphony No. 3 "Ilya Muromets" (1952)

CD 101
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake op.20 (excerpts / 1956)

CD 102
Rossini: William Tell Overture
Offenbach: Orphée aux Enfers overture
Smetana: The Bartered Bride Overture
Thomas: Mignon Overture
Suppé: Die schöne Galathee-Ouvertüre, Leichte Kavallerie-Ouvertüre
Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture op.9 (1952-1954)

CD 103
Wieniawski: Violin Concerto No. 2
Ravel: Tzigane
Saint-Saëns: Introduction & Rondo capriccioso op.28 (Isaac Stern / 1957)
Note: The box was shipped with a defective version of this disc that cut the last 1 1/2 seconds of track 5 (Tzigane). Replacements were made available directly from Sony.

CD 104
Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 "Organ Symphony" (E. Power Biggs / 1956)

CD 105
Schubert: Symphony No. 8
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream Overture op. 21, Scherzo, Intermezzo & Nocturne from A Midsummer Night's Dream op.61 (1956/1957)

CD 106
Glière: Russian Sailor’s Dance from The Red Poppy
Smetana: 2 Polkas & Furiant from The Bartered Bride
Brahms: Hungarian Dances No. 5, 6, 17-21  WoO 1
Khachaturian: Saber Dance (1953-1957)

CD 107
Sibelius: En Saga op. 9, Pohjola's daughter op. 49, The Oceanids op. 73, Tapiola op. 112
Alfven: Swedish Rhapsody No. 1 "Midsommarvaka"
Grieg: Anitras Dance & In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt-Suite No. 1 (1955/1953)

CD 108
Enescu: Romanian Rhapsodies op. 11 No. 1 & 2
Dvorak: Carnival Overture op. 92
Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini op.32 (1955/1957)

CD 109
Sarasate: Gypsy tunes op. 20
Saint-Saëns: Havanaise op. 83, Introduction & Rondo capriccioso op. 28
Chausson: Poeme op.25 for violin & orchestra (Zino Francescatti / 1957/1950)

CD 110
Smetana: The Moldau
Weber: Invitation to dance op. 65
Liszt: Mephisto Waltz No. 1
Berlioz: Menuet des Follets, Ballet des Sylphes & Marche hongroise from La Damnation de Faust op. 24 (1953-1957)

CD 111
Dello Jojo: Variations, Chaconne & Finale
Vincent: Symphony in D major (1957)

CD 112
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1
Bizet: Symphony in C major
Weinberger: Polka & Fugue from Schwanda, the Bagpiper (1955)

CD 113
Strauss: Don Quixote op.35 (1955)

CD 114
Haydn: Symphonies No. 99 & 100 (1955/1953)

CD 115
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 (Eugen Istomin / 1958)

CD 116
Strauss: Rosenkavalier Suite op. 59, Die Frau ohne Schatten Suite op.54 (1958/1957)

CD 117
Herbert: Panamericana, American Fantasy, Irish Rhapsody, Orchestral pieces from The Fortune Teller & Naughty Marietta (1952)

CD 118
Beethoven: Symphony No. 6
Schubert: Symphony No. 8 (conductor: Bruno Walter / 1946/1947)

CD 119
Kern: Show Boat
Rodgers: South Pacific, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
Berners: The Triumph of Neptune, Harlequinade, Dance of the Fairy Princess, Scottish, Cloudland, Sunday Morning, The Sailors Return, Hornpipe, The Frozen Forest, Apotheosis of Neptune
Rossini: Semiramide Overture (conductors: Andre Kostelanetz & Thomas Beecham / 1951/1952)

CD 120
"Symphony in Brief" - movements from symphonies by Mozart (No. 40), Beethoven (No. 3), Mendelssohn (No. 3), Brahms (No. 1), Rimsky-Korsakov (Scheherazade op. 35) , Sibelius (No. 2), Franck

Producer's Note on Credit Page
To cover the Philadelphia Orchestra’s history of mono recordings on Columbia Masterworks, we decided to also include recordings conducted by Alexander Hilsberg, Eugene Ormandy’s associate conductor (1945–1952), as well as recordings by the guest conductors Sir Thomas Beecham, Saul Caston, Charles O’Connell, Harl McDonald, André Kostelanetz, Virgil Thomson and Bruno Walter. The listener can also enjoy recordings by the Philadelphia “Pops” Orchestra, as well as some made by the so-called Columbia Symphony Orchestra in sessions in which its players consisted mainly of “Philadelphians”.
In a few instances we have also included repertoire recorded by other conductors such as Dimitri Mitropoulos, Serge Koussevitzky, George Szell or Fritz Reiner with “their” orchestras when we felt the listener might find enjoyment in hearing the complete repertoire of an original LP release.
It was common, especially in the early days of lacquer disc and tape recording, to make musical cuts of a few bars up to whole segments, mainly to make the repertoire fit on a disc side.
This present edition of 120 remastered CDs has been entirely created and assembled during the worldwide Covid-19 virus pandemic of 2020. Owing to the closures of archives and travel restrictions, we have been limited in our on-site research for further 78rpm covers and historic photos or facsimiles. - Robert Russ

Format: CD

Media Condition:  Very Good Plus (VG+)
Sleeve Condition: Very Good Plus (VG+)
Country:      
Released:  09 Apr 2021
Genre:       Classical
Style:         Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern

Track listing:

I. Columbia Legacy On 120 Cds
II. Set Contents In Notes