Symphony 'From the New World' on five 45 RPM discs.

The billboard of the 1943 concert when George Singer conducted the Palestine Orchestra.

Beethoven (Coriolan), Mendelssohn (Ruy Blas), Liszt (Les Preludes) conducted by George Singer. The orchestra now named "European Symphony Orchestra" - Merit M1-16.

Tchaikovsky's 1812 Festival Overture (Ouverture Solonelle) was issued on 2 x 45 RPM 7" discs with Smetena's Moldau by George Singer (reference RB-4-003).
By mistake the box mentions George Singer as the conductor for the Tchaikovsky piece, whereas the factual conductor was Kurt Wöss.

He already conducted the Palestine Orchestra (Eretz Israeli Orchestra) before it became the Israel Philharmonic. When rehearsing, he would keep much of the the energy of the players for the actual performance which would often have great intensity. He was a great conductor which is obvious from his recordings. Although, an entry on George Singer can not be found in an encyclopedia.

Not all artists who appeared on Remington records were really known. Many times record buyers suggested that a name was a fake. One of those "unknown" Remington artists was conductor George Singer who - as research shows - was born in Prague on August 6th, 1908, migrated around 1940 to Israel and died in Jerusalem on October 1st, 1980.
George Singer is specifically known for his recording of Dvorak's Fifth Symphony with the title 'From the New World'. Since the mid nineteen sixties the symphonies of Dvorak were twice renumbered, and in the end the popular Fifth was renumbered Ninth. George Singer conducts the Austrian Symphony Orchestra, also referred to as Viennese Symphony Orchestra and as Niederösterreichisches Tonkünstler (Tonkuenstler/ Tonkunstler) Orchester on Remington R-199-4.
That same 'From the New World' was also released on five 45 RPM discs in a handsome box, reference RB-5-002.

George Singer around 1960. Photograph from a program note, edited by R.A.B.

Conductor George Singer (who was also a composer) led the Opera of Prague, as well as the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Prague Spring Festival. He conducted the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra on a regular basis and also the Hebrew National Opera. He contributed to Israeli culture by premiering several works from contemporary, Israeli composers. He spent several months of the year outside Israel appearing in front of important European orchestras like the Berlin Philharmonic and the Suisse-Romande Orchestra (l' Orchestre de la Suisse-Romande). He conducted the Santa Cecilia Orchestra of Rome and spent time in Vienna with the Austrian Symphony Orchestra, in Leipzig with the Radio Orchestra (Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Leipzig - MDR - Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk), the Symphony Orchestra of Radio Hamburg (Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Hamburg) and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra (Bamberger Symphoniker). George Singer was the first Israeli conductor to perform in the USSR. He already conducted the Palestine Orchestra (Eretz Israeli Orchestra), long before it became the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra was founded by violinist Bronislaw Huberman in 1936 with the support of Arturo Toscanini who conducted the first concert. Of the many concerts of George Singer, one memorable took place on Monday, June 7th, 1943, in the midst of the Second World War, in the so called Edison Hall. On the program was Beethoven's Prometheus Overture and Pastoral Symphony, and after the break pianist Lance Dossor was the soloist in Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat Major. Another memorable concert with George Singer conducting was during the 1963/1964 season. On the program: Paul Ben Haim's 'Dance and Invocation', Brahms's Double Concerto (with Endre Wolf, violin, and Adolfo Odnoposoff, cello), and after the intermission Dvorak's 3rd (7th) Symphony. Singer conducted works of many Israeli composers. Especially known are the performances of the music of Arthur Gelbun (on texts by Leah Goldberg) with the Israel Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra & Choir.

The Remington recordings of George Singer:

R-199-4 Dvorak: Symphony 'From the New World - released December 1950
R-149-10 Bizet: Carmen Suite and Smetena: The Moldau - released December 1950.
R-149-11 Rimsky-Korsakov: Le coq d'or (orchestral suite) - released in the Spring of 1951
Music critic Cecil Smith wrote in New Republic that the performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's glittering Suite from "Le Coq d'Or" recorded by George Singer and the Symphony Orchestra of the Viennese Symphonic Society was "a creditable job", which means that the Suite is performed with imagination and nuances.

Alex Steinweiss designed the cover for the recording of Dvorak's Slavonic Dances.

R-149-47 Liszt: Les Preludes (+ Enesco Rumanian Rhapsody No. 2, George Enesco conducting) (Varèse Sarabande VC 81042 -1978) - released Fall 1951
R-149-48 Mendelssohn: Ruy Blas Overture (+ Beethoven Egmont Overture, Hans Wolf conducting) - released September 1952
R-199-51 Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 - released Fall 1951
R-199-55 Rimsky-Korsakov: Le coq d'or (orchesral suite) originally released on a 10 inch disc is now coupled with Tchaikovsky's 'Tempest' conducted by Zoltan Fekete - released Fall 1951
R-199-106 Dvorak: Slavonic Dances Op. 46 - Released April 1954
R-199-110 Schubert: Symphony No. 3 and Haydn: Symphony No. 93 - Released February 1954
R-199-112 Mozart: Symphony No. 29 (+ Weber: Symphony No. 2 conducted by Günther Rabhuber) - Released May 1954
R-199-114 George Singer conducting Dvorak (Largo from New World Symphony), Rimsky-Korsakov (March from Le coq d'or), Erasmo Ghiglia conducting Rossini (Barber of Seville Overture); coupled with excerpts from The King and I with Frank Chacksfield and his Orchestra - released 1954

Le coq d'or (Rimsky-Korsakov) coupled with Peer Gynt conducted by H. Arthur Brown. The two Suites from Peer Gynt were later released on the Vibraton label and there it is stated that both Suites were directed by Georges Singer.	Liszt's Les Preludes conducted by George Singer were coupled with Georges Enesco performing his Rumanian Rhapsody No. 1 with the .

Some of the recordings were released later in different couplings. The best example is the Suite 'Le coq d'or' by Rimsky-Korsakov which was released on R-199-68 together with Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 conducted by H. Arthur Brown.
The release dates of the recordings were taken from Schwann Record Catalog and The Longplayer. In certain instances the Schwann listed a recording later than The Longplayer did.

Raanan Eylon from Jerusalem played under George Singer. He remembers:

Singer was Czech - like my mother. He was a fiend at playing scores on the piano - he could read anything. A conductor of great inspiration. The orchestra that I played in for a year when I was 19 - the Israeli Radio Orchestra in Jerusalem - liked only two conductors - George Singer and Carlo Zecchi. Singer because he never had patience for thorough rehearsal. He would always say: "In the evening", meaning that things will work out in the concert. The orchestra played really well for him if compared to the abysmal playing for others. I knew of two people in Israel who were able to put an orchestral score in front of them and play anything and everything on the piano. The composer Yosef Tal (who is 98 years old) was one, and George Singer was the other. Singer's love for Czech composers was legendary, and he would include a Dvorak work in each program, if possible.

The archives of the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (Radio Central Germany - MDR) contain various recordings. The details are taken from the MDR-list.

Catalog number: 39850 - Date: 1967-03-30.
Studio/Leipzig, Funkhaus Saal 1:
Mozart: Sechs deutsche Tänze (Six German Dances) KV 567
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Leipzig (MDR) - George Singer, conductor

Catalog number: 39851/audio - Date: 1967-03-30.
Studio/Leipzig, Funkhaus Saal 1
Mozart: Sechs deutsche Tänze (Six German Dances) KV 571
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Leipzig (MDR) - George Singer (Dirigent)

There also exists a recording with the Bamberger Symponiker of
Mozart: Rondo for Violin and Orchestra KV 373
Soloist: Zvi Zeitlin (violin)
George Singer conducting.

And there is a recording with Excerpts from Nabucco (Verdi) with Norma Giusti (soprano), Erika Wien (Mezzo-Soprano), Giuseppe Savio (tenor), Lawrence Winters (baritone), Nicola Rpossi-Lemeni (bass), the Radio Chorus and the Hamburg Radio Symphony Orchestra (Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Hamburg), George Singer conducting.
ETERNA Stereo 825364 (1974)

R.A.B., December 9th, 2005