POLYPHONY2#AOL - Polyphony Recordings

RCA BLUEBIRD (LBC-1000) SERIES
The series was initiated in November of 1952, when RCA ran an advertisement in the Schwann catalog (and doubtless
elsewhere as well) introducing the series with a generous selection of about thirty new releases. As things transpired, the
entire series ran to fewer than 100 issues, all of them deleted no later than February of 1957. So the longest that any of
these issues lasted in print was about four and a half years, and many had much shorter life-spans.
As you will see from the listings on the following pages, they comprised a fascinating mixed bag of:
(1) material licensed from EMI (the most famous EMI artists - Furtwangler, Menuhin, etc. - were consigned
to the premium-price LHMV series; the Bluebirds became the province of musicians RCA apparently judged to be of less
interest in the USA: Malko, Dobrowen, Sargent, Harry Blech, etc.; also - rather surpisingly I would have thought -
Barbirolli);
(2) Reissues of Red Seal 78-rpm releases which for some reason they chose not to release on Camden
(Stock, Defauw, Dorati, Sevitzky, Golschmann, etc.);
(3) Brand new domestic recordings which RCA elected not to issue on full-price Red Seal
(Leinsdorf/Robin Hood Dell; Dorfmann; very early Janis; American Art Quartet).
Some of the artists which RCA judged to be of lesser interest now have very dedicated followings (Cherkassky,
Moiseiwitsch, Celibidache, Haendel, etc.) and these short-lived recordings are often the most sought-after of their
domestic issues.
631. LBC-1001: FRANCK - Symphony in d. Leinsdorf/Robin Hood Dell Orchestra of Philadelphia. [strong
performance] B+(jacket has rather ugly tape repair on spines)........................................................................ 10.00
632. LBC-1002: TCHAIKOVSKY - Symphony #6. Malko/PO. B++(occ tks) ............................................................. 18.00
633. LBC-1003: BEETHOVEN - Violin Concerto. Ida Haendel; Kubelik/PO. [Due to its rarity, I have graded
this copy VERY conservatively. Most plays very well (B++ to A-), but light ticks from small
blemishes intrude occasionally and there are six loud ticks at the start of side 2 (before the violin
enters). There is what appears to be an autograph in magic marker on the back cover; it is clearly not
Kubelik's, but it does not look like Haendel either.] B(but see preceding comments) .................................... 45.00
634. LBC-1004: BRAHMS - Symphony #1. Leinsdorf/Robin Hood Dell Orchestra. [obscure, scarce
Leinsdorf] A-(lovely copy; later jacket w/Brahms drawing) ........................................................................... 20.00
635. LBC-1005: DVORAK - Symphony #9. Malko/Danish National Orch. A-......................................................... 20.00
636. LBC-1007: TCHAIKOVSKY - Romeo & Juliet (jacket identifies this as Constant Lambert/Symphony
Orchestra; Walter Legge discography identifies it as City of Birmingham Symphony, recorded 2-
24-1941); Sleeping Beauty Ballet Suite (The jacket identifies this as Malko/PO, which, according to
notes by the previous owner, is correct. This copy has 10S/4S stampers; apparently on copies with 2S
stampers, the Sleeping Beauty suite was actually an earlier recording with Lambert/Sadler's Wells.]
B/B+(1/8-in scr in Romeo)............................................................................................................................... 20.00
637. LBC-1008: STRAUSS - Voices of Spring; Blue Danube; Pizzicato & Tritsch-Tratsch Polkas (Szell/VPO);
Roses from the South; Morning Papers; Music of the Spheres (Bohm/VPO). B++(moderate ticks
much of Spheres).............................................................................................................................................. 18.00
638. LBC-1009: PROKOFIEV - Classical Symphony (Celibidache/BPO). RAVEL - Mother Goose Suite
(Previtali/LSO). A- ......................................................................................................................................... 25.00
639. LBC-1010: BRAHMS - Haydn Variations (Markevitch/PO). TCHAIKOVSKY - Francesca da Rimini
(Dobrowen/PO). A-(brief tks in Francesca).................................................................................................... 20.00
640. LBC-1011: KODALY - Dances from Galanta (Cameron/LPO). DELIBES - Coppelia Suite
(Irving/ROHCG). CHOPIN - Les Sylphides (Sargent/LPO). A--(1st half sd 2 is B) .................................. 18.00
641. LBC-1012: BEETHOVEN - Piano Concerto #3. Moiseiwitsch; Sargent/PO. B(Canadian press) ....................... 12.00
642. LBC-1016: GOUNOD - Faust Ballet Music (Fourestier/Paris Opera Orch). TCHAIKOVSKY - Swan
Lake (excerpts) (Rignold/ROHCG). A-/B+(occ tks in Faust)........................................................................ 15.00