Marta Eggerth and Jan Kiepura.
(Picture taken from the EMI Odeon Lp OPXH 1010.)

Marcel Prawy in 1943.

Famous conductor Fritz Busch in 1942, New York.

The famous recordings of Béla Bartók playing his own work at the piano, New York, 1942.

Hans Wolf conducts Symphony in D by Cesar Franck.

A few recordings produced by Marcel Prawy appeared on the Viennola label.

Conductor Fritz Busch.

Beethoven Sonatas Op. 109 and 110 by Jörg Demus on RLP-199-29.

See: Copyright

Images of Marcel Prawy's Certificate of Nationalization and ID photograph, and the letter of recommendation written by Don Gabor, courtesy of researcher
Franz Krahberger

In 1937, twenty six year old Marcel Prawy became personal secretary to Polish singer/actor Jan Kiepura and Hungarian operetta singer Martha Eggert (also Marta Eggerth, Martha Eggerth, originally Márta Eggert).
In this function Prawy could combine his knowledge and organizational talent with his love for music and drama. The engagement was the beginning of a remarkable career.

Marcel Prawy - in full Marcel Horace Frydman, Ritter von Prawy - was born on December 29, 1911, in Vienna. From an early age on music, and especially opera, was his passion. However, after passing his gymnasium exam, he did not study music and musicology full time at the "Viennese State Academy for Music and Dramatic Art" (Wiener Staatsakademie für Musik und dramatische Kunst), but attended the university of Vienna instead to study law. He became a Juris Doctor (Doctor of Law) in 1934 and practiced in a law firm. Yet music was all the time on his mind. As a side line Prawy studied music with famous musicologist and composer Egon Wellesz, who had studied with Guido Adler and Arnold Schönberg. In 1938 Wellesz left for Great Brittain to take up a post at the University of Oxford.

In 1938 Jan Kiepura made his debut at the Met in New York. Marcel Prawy, now personal secretary to the famous couple, planned to join him, but he did not have the appropriate documents for leaving Austria. The political situation in Austria was getting grimmer and grimmer and those who planned to leave the country should not hesitate.
As a young man conductor Thor Johnson studied in Salzburg, Vienna, and Leipzig, during the 1936-1937 season. In a letter to his parents Johnson described the pre-war situation: "Austria is one of the poorest countries of Europe. The streets are filled with cripples and beggars and Vienna is considerably run down. The war (WW I, ed.) certainly took its toll. The only man who seems to have had any ability to do anything for Austria was Dollfuss and the Nazis took his life because they realized his importance." ("Thor Johnson, American Conductor", by Louis Nicholas, 1982.)
In an attempt to counteract the influence of the Nazis, Engelbert Dollfuss had instated his dictatorship banning the Nazi party and also excluding the social democrats from taking part in government. Chanceler Engelbert Dollfuss was assasinated on July 24, 1934. He was succeeded by Kurt von Schussnig who followed the same policy, but to no avail.

As Jan Kiepura was engaged at the Metropolitan Opera, migration to the US was the obvious move for Prawy to make. This became the more urgent when on March 12, 1938, Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany. The new Nazi government meant important changes and restrictions for all Austrian citizens. Also for performing artists. On the day after the Anschluss it was announced that actor Robert Valberg, with whom Prawy had worked while synchronizing and editing Kiepura's latest movie, was appointed head of all the artists in the new constellation. This came as a shock. Prawy had never suspected that the man with whom he was on friendly terms was a Nazi. However, it was Robert Valberg, who arranged for the necessary official documents and Prawy could quickly leave the country.

Together with Jan Kiepura and Marta Eggerth, he left for Italy. From there they traveled by boat to the United States. Prawy was registered at Ellis Island. Strangely enough Jan Kiepura and Marcel Prawy returned to Europe for a short while in 1939 in order to collect important private belongings and documents in Berlin, an undertaking which was not without risk. In the end they decided not to continue the trip to Berlin and to leave Europe as soon as possible. That was just in time and they reached New York in 1939. Marcel Prawy got a permit to stay and he also obtained an affidavit for his father, who came to America as well, but died there. Dr. Richard Frydmann von Prawy, 1882-1942.

Since 1933 dark clouds gathered over Europe. In the years before World War II broke out, many scientists, musicians, composers, performers, and artists fled to America. Many were well known or became famous after the war. They were of various nationalities.
Many names were linked in some way or other to the Austrian-Hungarian-German music culture: Robert Stolz (conductor), Oscar Strauss (composer/conductor), Paul Abraham (composer), Emmerich Kalman (composer), Erich Wolfgang Korngold (composer/conductor), Béla Bartók (composer), Andor Foldes (pianist), Fritz Busch (conductor), and many, many more. Marcel Prawy got to know many and remained friends with Stolz, Korngold, Kálmán, Strauss, and many more.

Not all were in a position to perform or have their works performed to earn some sort of living. There were exceptions: Robert Stolz conducted in New York. Fritz Busch led the New Opera Company, Hungarian born singer Martha Eggert and her Polish husband Jan Kiepura sang at the Met, and Marta Eggerth made movies in Hollywood. In 1940 she sang in the Broadway musical 'Higher and Higher'. In the 1943-1944 season the couple played in the Broadway production of the operetta 'The Merry Widow' (Lehar). Many immigrants produced cultural gatherings for other immigrants in New York, with success. As Donald Gabor knew Martha Eggert he asked her to make recordings for his Continental label which he later released on Continental CLP 2012. Gabor also recorded pianist Andor Foldes and, together with Laszlo Halasz, he made the now famous recordings of Béla Bartók.

The United States of America Certificate of Nationalization of Marcel Prawy (white, male, ruddy complexion, 5 foot 11.5 inches tall) was issued on November 2, 1943 in Maryland.

Like George Curtiss (later director of the Webster pressing plant in Massachusetts), also Marcel Prawy enlisted in the US Army in 1943 and obtained US citizenship. From then on Prawy was no longer secretary of the famous movie couple, but became instructor. He taught languages, history, and customs of European countries to recruits so they would be prepared when they came to Europe.

In 1944 Prawy was first sent to England were he entertained the American troops together with cabarettist/pianist/composer Georg Kreisler (a sample of the latter's art are the "Nichtarische Arien" -Not Arian Arias- recorded in 1966). From England Prawy went to Paris. There too Prawy and Kreisler performed their musical reviews they partly had written together.
When the Germans had finally capitulated in May 1945, he was stationed in Germany and for a short while in Bordeaux in France. In 1946 he returned to Vienna. From May 1946 to 1950 he was a "Military Civilian" and as such became editor of "Welt im Film" (The World in Pictures), the adaptation for Austrian cinema goers of the American-British news reel, to which he added more items about music than about politics, he later confessed in his book "Marcel Prawy erzählt aus seinem Leben" (Marcel Prawy talks about his life).

Marcel Prawy in the nineteen seventies. Picture taken from Deutsche Grammophon Lp 2532 001 - Wagner: Tristan und Isolde. Photo credit: Will Appelt, Wien.	Marcel Prawy produced many recordings on his own account like 'Rêve de valse' (Ein Walzertraum, Dreamwaltz) by Oscar Srauss, released in France on Counterpoint CMC 120.001, the composer conducting the 'Tonkünstlerorchester', listed in 1955.

The conversations between Donald Gabor and Marcel Prawy in New York resonated at the end of the nineteen forties when Gabor contacted Prawy and asked him to produce recordings to be released on his newly founded Remington Records label. They made a deal.
From 1950 on Prawy produced numerous recordings with the Orchestra of the Viennese Symphonic Society which is also called Austrian Symphony Orchestra, Niederösterreichisches Sinfonieorchester (Symphony Orchestra of Lower Austria), Tonkünstler Orchester. When Prawy mentioned in his correspondance the recordings made with Gaspar Cassado, Kurt Wöss and George Singer, he calls the orchestra "Vienna Pro Arte Orchestra". He had a two year contract with the orchestra. Conductors were Fritz Busch, Kurt Wöss, Rudolf Moralt, Wilhelm Loibner, Gustav Koslik, Felix Prohaska, Paul Walter, George Singer, Anton Paulik, Max Schönherr, and Hans Wolf, to name a few. And he had a contract with the Orchestra of the Salzburg Mozarteum.

About his productions, Prawy wrote in a letter dated July 31, 1950:

The first batch of recordings was released in the fall of 1950, and certainly not all eighty productions. Prawy also made deals with performing artists and artists of the younger generation, those who just had finished their studies in Vienna.
Prawy even asked conductor Paul Sacher to make recordings for the Remington label and, in a letter, tried to convince him by mentioning that recordings had been made with George Enesco; Bela Bartok interpreting his own compositions; Giuseppe de Luca singing arias; Walther Schneiderhan playing Mendelssohn`s Violin Concerto and Beethoven Sonates; Giovanni Martinelli and Karin Branzell singing arias and songs; Andor Foldes with a special piano album; Robert Stolz conducting his own works; Jan Kiepura in The Merry Widow (Lustige Witwe); Oscar Strauss conducting Viennese music; and a series of "reat symphonies conducted by "the excellent conductor" H. Arthur Brown had been completed. Prawy talked as if he was involved with the Bartok, Enesco and Foldes recordings which were made by Don Gabor in America. However, he could have been present when Bartok and Foldes made the recordings. It is known that Prawy was an able negociator and also someone who liked to give importance to himself as well as the cause he was working for. In this case Continental Records Inc.

Marcel Prawy discovered and contracted pianist Jörg Demus for his first recordings ever, with works of Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and Schubert. Prawy also approached young pianist Alexander Jenner who, in 1949, had won the "Bösendorfer-Preisflügel" (Bösendorfer Grand Piano Prize), which was awarded by the famous Viennese piano manufacturer to the best student. It was the obvious recommendation to have Alexander Jenner to make his debut recordings for Remington. Alexander Jenner told me: "Mr. Prawy would ask you to study, say Beethoven's 'Diabelli Variations', and to be ready in two weeks time for a recording session."
The sessions arranged by Prawy in Vienna produced material to be released on the Remington label for which also pianists Frieda Valenzi, Hilde Somer, Fritz Weidlich, and Felicitas Karrer performed. These recordings were often released on Gabor's Plymouth and Merit labels as well. Prawy recorded cellists Gaspar Cassado and Richard Matuschka, and violinists Michèle Auclair, Eva Hitzker, Helen Airoff, Walter Schneiderhan, and Gérard Poulet. He made recordings or obtained radio recordings of the many artists who can be found on the Remington releases starting at R-199-1 with pianist Felicitas Karrer performing Beethoven's Emperor Concerto, up to and about R-199-128 on which Michèle Auclair plays 'Kreisler Favorites' and Gaspar Cassado plays 'Cello Encore's, and R-199-130, the record of Gustav Koslik conducting the Austrian Symphony Orchestra in 'Polovetsian Dances' from Prince Igor (Borodin) and 'Night on the Bald Mountain' (Mussorgsky).

The first "Fritz Busch Album", a gatefold with the recordings of Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 and Joseph Haydn's "The Clock" appeared in the luxurious series with crocodile skin pattern. After Fritz Busch had died these recordings were available as the "Fritz Busch Memorial Album" in a differently styled cover. Both releases had the reference number MW 39. Another release was with baritone Paul Schoeffler (who sang at the Wiener Staatsoper fromn 1937 till 1965) and cellist Gaspar Cassado.
A unique recording of Volkmar Andreae at 70 years of age: Bruckner's Symphony No. 1.	Vittorio Gui conducts Mendelssohn Bartholdy's 'Reformation Symphony' and Hebrides Overture.
Varèse-Sarabande issued VC 81040 with the tapes from which the original Masterseal MW 46 was cut. It is likely that the recordings of the Masterseal LP were produced for the Austrian Broadcasting Services by Marcel Prawy together with Erich Wolfgang von Korngold himself. The luxurious Masterseal bears the emblem "A Marcel Prawy Production".

A few of Prawy's productions were released on the Masterseal label in the early years. These were special editions not styled by Alex Steinweiss or another artist who would be in charge. The records were offered in luxurious gatefold covers with a luxurious snake skin pattern and liner notes originally written by Marcel Prawy himself. The most famous ones are the Busch Memorial Album, the recording with cellist Gaspar Cassado playing gems and accompanying baritone Paul Schoeffler (Masterseal MW-45). On Masterseal MW-49 it is Vittorio Gui who conducts Mendelssohn Bartholdy's 'Reformation Symphony' and Hebrides Overture, and on Masterseal MW-50 he conducts Great Overtures of Rossini, Cherubibi and Wolf-Ferrari. The pressings were done on quality vinyl, not the cheap substitute used for the Remingtons. Therefor prices were high, $6.45 for a 12 inch Lp record. Other Masterseal releases were Bruckner's Symphony No. 1 with conductor Volkmar Andreae (Masterseal MW-40); "Erich Wolfgang Korngold plays Korngold", an Lp on which the composer plays the piano, and soprano Hilde Zadek and tenor Anton Dermota sing, while Wilhelm Loibner conducts the "Austrian State Symphony" (Masterseal MW-46). On MW-42 Vittorio Gui conducts "Great German Overtures"And there are the recordings by Oscar Strauss on MW-47 and 48, and of course the Fritz Busch Memorial Album (MW-39). All special recordings.

Many recordings were re-released on the Vibraton label in the nineteen sixties and seventies. These records were pressed in Italy from new matrices on a better quality vinyl.	The special Masterseal series with noteworthy recordings produced by Marcel Prawy all bore an emblem with his name instead of the name of Donald H. Gabor.

The collaboration between Marcel Prawy and Don Gabor lasted until the beginning of 1953. It was then that Donald was offered to have Berlin as the main recording venue and tape performances with the RIAS Symphony Orchestra.
Marcel Prawy writes in his biography:

"(...) between 1950 and 1955, I made many recordings, mostly for the American firm "Remington", of which Donald and Wally Gabor from New York were the founders, who, for the first time, wanted to release a budget series of the newly invented LP. I made many records on my own account. There was a contract with the 'Niederösterreichisches Tonkünstlerorchester'. (...) On my records conducted the great conductors Fritz Busch and Vittorio Gui. Anton Dermota, Paul Schoeffler, Astrid Varnay were singing."

In the beginning several records were produced together with conductor Hans Wolf who also had fled to America and had enlisted in the US Army. After World War II Hans Wolf (1913-2005) had come back to Europe, but returned to the US for good in 1950. Before he left, he recorded six works for Remington, among others César Franck's Symphony in D, Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, Symphony No. 2 by Johannes Brahms, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Haffner" Symphony, all with "The Austrian Symphony Orchestra". And he recorded Haydn's Cello Concerto with Gaspar Cassado. Hans Wolf is better known as a conductor of opera and of operetta.

It truly was a budget series. The Remington recordings made in Austria give evidence that Prawy was more concerned about recording an artist, an orchestra, the composition, and adding another work to his and Gabor's catalog, than he cared about the quality of the sound recording per se. Prawy tried to sell his recordings also to radio stations in Sweden and Germany (RIAS), and to other recording companies in England and the USA (Capitol) but to no avail.

When the collaboration with Remington Records had ended, Donald Gabor wrote a Letter of Recommendation on the stationary of his the Record Corporation of New England, Webster, Massachusetts:
"This is to certify that Mr. Marcel Prawy was employed as director and producer of musical recordings by our division, Remington Records, Inc. Mr. Prawy started for us on January 17, 1950 and was employed until December 1953 and was paid on a weekly basis the sum of $500. We were extremely satisfied with Mr. Prawy's unique talent and loyalty and it is a pleasure to recommend him for any position which he would undertake." Signed: Donald H. Gabor, President.
The conversion rate of the USD to Austrian Schilling was 1 to 20. The weekly payment of $500 was about 10.000 Austrian Schillings in 1951, and even more on the black market. Prawy had to pay orchestras, conductors, musicians, technicians, rent recording venues and pay for additional production costs. Nevertheless one suspects that his business with Gabor made him a well-to-do man.

Although 1953 is mentioned as the end of the contract, for the recordings of the Beethoven and Brahms Violin Concertos performed by American violinist Albert Spalding, Laszlo Halasz traveled to Vienna to supervise the recordings which were made using the new Musirama 4 microphone placement. It is plausible that recording director Laszlo Halasz traveled to Vienna, together with violinist Albert Spalding, and supervised these recordings, made in November 1952. Although Marcel Prawy had tried to sell his "musical recordings" to radio stations and other interested parties, it seems that Remington was the only record company who released his recordings (apart from a few recordings issued in Germany on the Opera label (Bertelsmann) and in France (Counterpoint).

These early years of producing were significant for Prawy's later career and his experiences paid off. In 1955 he became a member of the board of directors of the 'Volksoper' and he dared to introduce 'the musical' to the conservative Viennese public by staging Cole Porter's 'Kiss me Kate', followed by Leonard Bernstein's 'Wonderful Town' (1956), Irving Berlin's 'Annie, Get your Gun' (1957), and Leonard Bernstein's 'West Side Story' (1968), and many more.

Leontyne Price and William Warfield. Picture taken from the RCA Lp release with highlights from Porgy and Bess.

In 1952 the American Opera Company toured Europe performing George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess and also visited Vienna. Prawy had first seen 'Porgy and Bess', the revival production, in New York in 1942 and he could have seen the 1944 production at the New York City Center before he was sent to Europe. In the 1952 production Porgy was played by William Warfield whom Prawy had met in the army. Bess was the young and newly discovered star, soprano Leontyne Price. It was the first Blevins Davis/ Robert Breen production. (The second production of Porgy and Bess toured Europe in 1956).
In 1965 Marcel Prawy himself produced 'Porgy and Bess' with the Wiener Volksoper. It was the complete, original version and it is said that Prawy set the trend to perform 'Porgy and Bess' as an opera, many years before the Met did. In 1965 Olive Moorefield was Bess. Porgy was again his army friend William Warfield.

Prawy's career was gaining more and more in importance. He became a famous television presenter and as such was called 'Mister Oper'. He supervised and compiled a series of opera records for Deutsche Grammophon, engaged famous stars and discovered new talents. He wrote many books and was dramaturge at the State Opera (Staatsoper). He was one of Vienna's most remarkable figures who left an imprint on the cultural life and on the lives of many artists, opera singers, conductors, musicians, stars, and in the early nineteen fifties on Gabor's Remington Records.

Marcel Prawy, who considered living in a hotel the best way to be able to dedicate himself fully to his work - he may have taken up the habit when changing from one hotel to another during his stay in New York - passed away on February 23, 2003, at the age of 91, leaving numerous documents, books, photographs and objets, all documenting the musical history of Vienna over many decades.
In the nineteen thirties Jan Kiepura predicted that Marcel Prawy was going to have a great career. And indeed he was to. Placido Domingo described Prawy as "an authority for everything concerning music". And that was also very true.

Text written by Rudolf A. Bruil - Page first published in December 2006.
Some facts about Marcel Prawy's work for Jan Kiepura, his stay in the USA and a quotation, were taken from the book "Marcel Prawy erzählt aus seinem Leben" (Marcel Prawy talks about his life), Kremayr & Scheriau, Vienna, 2001.