Tom Null's REMINGTON SERIES Varese Sarabande



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Tom Null's Varèse-Sarabande The Remington Series

These recordings with the Cincinati Symphony and the Helsinki University Male Choir were originally made in stereo in November 1953 and were supervised by Don Gabor and Laszlo Halasz. The technician was Robert Blake. In 1955 the performances were released in mono on Remington R-199-167 and R-199-191 respectively. Tom Null issued these recordings for the first time in stereo on Varèse-Sarabande VC 81941.

VC 81045 is in fact an original Don Gabor Production prepared for release by Tom Null, Dub Taylor, and Chris Kuchler. Remastered by Bruce Leek. Duplication engineer: John Arici. Regrettably Barere's most famous interpretation of the Sonata of Franz Liszt did not find a place in The Remington Series. It was was later issued by APR.

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 as the luxurious Masterseal bears the emblem "A Marcel Prawy Production" and copyright remained with Korngold.

In July 1950 H. Arthur Brown, conductor of the Tulsa Philharmonic, travelled to Vienna to make recordings of works by Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn-Bartoldy, Brahms, and Rimsky-Korsakov. He also recorded a work by American composer Don Gillis entitled Tulsa, A Portrait In Oil which was originally pressed on R-149-13 and re-released on VC 81046.

On the same disk Three Gymnopedies (Peggy Glanville-Hicks) and Sinfonietta (Dane Rudhyar) performed by the RIAS Symphony conducted by Jonel Perlea, plus the unique recording of John Freeman's String Quartet No. 1 composed in 1950-195, here performed by the Koeckert Quartet. (Rudolf Koeckert, Willi Buchner, Oskar Riedl and Josef Merz.)

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Except for the release of the Brahms Violin Concerto, all covers were adorned with work by modern painters:
Klaske Zeilstra (Barere, Sibelius Symphony, Dohnanyi, Enesco conducts)
Thomas Hart Benton (Gillis, American Concertos)
Jean Delville (Sibelius Origin of Fire)
Pablo Picasso (Korngold).

	In his search for exclusive material, Tom Null, Artist & Repertoire Director of the California based yet internationally very active Varèse-Sarabande label, contacted Donald H. Gabor in New York. That was in 1966. Null got permission to search the archives full of boxes with tapes of Remington recordings made in the nineteen fifties in the US, France, Germany and Austria. It was not an easy task and many tapes were deteriorated or badly stored and could not be used.	Tom Null searched and evaluated for hours on end. He had the idea to issue the recordings in The Remington Series. The first record was released in February 1978 containing the performances by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki University Chorus and baritone Sulo Saarits of the cantata The Origin Of Fire and Pohjola's Daughter, both works by Jean Sibelius, plus Songs A Capella performed by the Helsinki University Chorus.
		These recordings with the Cincinati Symphony and the Helsinki University Male Choir were originally made in stereo in November 1953 and were supervised by Don Gabor and Laszlo Halasz. The technician was Robert Blake. In 1955 the performances were released in mono on Remington R-199-167 and R-199-191 respectively. Tom Null issued these recordings for the first time in stereo on Varèse-Sarabande VC 81941.
	Dvorak's Symphony No. 8 (at the time numbered as No. 4), was recorded with the Cincinnati Symphony conducted by Thor Johnson and originally released on R-199-168. The Varèse-Sarabande release has reference number VC 81044.
	Legendary Simon Barere on VC 81045. Some of the live performances were taped in Carnegie Hall by Simon Barere's son Boris and show the diasadvantage of not being able to splice. The studio performances for Remington Records bear all the technical benefits. There were two Etudes from Op. 8 (Nos. 10 and 12) which had never been released on record before.	VC 81045 is in fact an original Don Gabor Production prepared for release by Tom Null, Dub Taylor, and Chris Kuchler. Remastered by Bruce Leek. Duplication engineer: John Arici. Regrettably Barere's most famous interpretation of the Sonata of Franz Liszt did not find a place in The Remington Series. It was was later issued by APR.
	The two Scriabin Etudes are Nos. 10 and 12 from Opus 8 and were released for the first time on record. Simon Barere often emphasizes the virtuosity of the compositions, and it is obvious that speed is generally a major ingredient of his interpretations and to choose for speed is sometimes a restriction resulting in untidy playing. Among his outstanding renderings are Chopin's Scherzo No. 3 and Blumenfeld's Etude for the Left Hand.
	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 as the luxurious Masterseal bears the emblem "A Marcel Prawy Production" and copyright remained with Korngold.
	Three compositions by Georges Enesco conducted by the maestro himself: Rumanian Rhapsodies Nos 1 and 2, and Dixtuor recorded in 1951 with the Colonne Orchestra from Paris. Varèse-Sarabande VC 81042. The recordings of the two Romanian Rhapsodies and of Dixtuor are the only taped Remington recordings of George Enesco the conductor.
		Georges Enesco is accompanied by pianist Céliny Chaillez-Richez while performing his Sonata No. 2, the famous recording originally pressed on R-149-42. Violinist Albert Spalding is accompanied by Ernst von Dohnanyi in Dohnanyi's Sonata Op.1, a recording which never was issued on a Remington disc before. Issued on Varèse-Sarabande VC 81048.
	From 1950 on Albert Spalding was contracted by Don Gabor starting with the recordings together with Ernst von Dohnanyi and culminating in the recordings of the Beethoven en Brahms Violin Concertos. The Brahms was originally released on Remington R-199-145 and now had found its release on VC 81059. Spalding recorded this Concerto with the Austrian Symphony Orchestra, Wilhelm Loibner conducting.
In July 1950 H. Arthur Brown, conductor of the Tulsa Philharmonic, travelled to Vienna to make recordings of works by Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn-Bartoldy, Brahms, and Rimsky-Korsakov. He also recorded a work by American composer Don Gillis entitled Tulsa, A Portrait In Oil which was originally pressed on R-149-13 and re-released on VC 81046.		On the same disk Three Gymnopedies (Peggy Glanville-Hicks) and Sinfonietta (Dane Rudhyar) performed by the RIAS Symphony conducted by Jonel Perlea, plus the unique recording of John Freeman's String Quartet No. 1 composed in 1950-195, here performed by the Koeckert Quartet. (Rudolf Koeckert, Willi Buchner, Oskar Riedl and Josef Merz.)
Brant's Concerto was recorded in December 1953 in Cincinnati. Recording engineer Robert Blake. The Lockwood Concerto was recorded in 1953 in Saint Paul's Chapel at Columbia University. The Kay Concerto was recorded in Venice in July 1953. The Brant and Lockwood pieces were remastered straight from the original Remington tapes. The Kay Concerto was copied from a Near Mint Lp pressing. VC 81047.		Concerto for Orchestra (Ulysses Kay) by 'Orchestra Sinfonica del Teatro la Fenice', conducted by Jonel Perlea. Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra (Henry Brant), with Sigurd Rascher and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conducted by Thor Johnson. Concerto for Organ and Brasses (Normand Lockwood) performed by Marilyn Mason and members of the New York Philharmonic: John Ware and Nathan Prager (Trumpets) and Gordon Pulis and Lewis Hancy (Trombones).
		Jussi Jalas, son in law of Jean Sibelius, conducted Symphony No. 5 of Sibelius on R-199-201. He also recorder Symphony No. 1 but this recording never was released by Gabor as the contract with Bertlesmann had already ended. Violinist Anja Ignatius is the soloist in Five Humoresques. The label and cover of VC 81043 mention Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra instead of RIAS Symphony as the release in Germany by Bertelsmann did.
This page will be expanded.
Except for the release of the Brahms Violin Concerto, all covers were adorned with work by modern painters: Klaske Zeilstra (Barere, Sibelius Symphony, Dohnanyi, Enesco conducts) Thomas Hart Benton (Gillis, American Concertos) Jean Delville (Sibelius Origin of Fire) Pablo Picasso (Korngold).