Huberman plays Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto (1928)

American 78 rpm record.
Decca / Odeon / Parlophone, recording 28/30 December 1928, Beethovensaal, Berlin, Germany.
Bronislaw Huberman, violin
William Steinberg, conductor
Staatskapelle Berlin.
25470-3 / XXB8371-7
00:00 1. Allegro moderato
15:54 2. Canzonetta: Andante
21:56 3. Finale: Allegro vivacissimo
-transferred from the original 78 rpm records at 78 rpm with a standard USB turntable (DJ Tech Vinyl USB 10 with Shure M 75 D system) equipped with special needle (65 µm, spherical). Turntable speed adjusted to correct pitch.
-analog RIAA compensation and equalisation with Behringer FBQ800: 63 Hz/-1 dB, 125 Hz/+1 dB, 250 Hz/+2 dB, 500 Hz/-3 dB, 1 kHz/0 dB, 2 kHz/+3 dB, 4 kHz/+7 dB, 8 kHz/+8 dB, 16 kHz/-7 dB
-digital mono conversion
-declicking/decrackling with ClickRepair (Wavelet, 100%, 100%, all)
-Audacity:
-48 db high pass filter below 20 Hz
-check for pitch again, digital pitch correction if necessary
-normalisation to 0 dB
-Reaper EQ:
-Type Low Shelf, Freq. 306 Hz, Gain 3.4 dB, Bandwidth 0.69 oct
-Type Band, Freq. 2326 Hz, Gain 0.4 dB, Bandwidth 2.6 oct
-Type Band, Freq. 13611 Hz, Gain 9.0 dB, Bandwidth 2.0 oct
-Type Low Pass, Freq. 18132 Hz, Gain 0 dB, Bandwidth 2.0 oct
-Type High Pass, Freq. 51 Hz, Gain 0 dB, Bandwidth 1.5 oct
-Audacity:
-normalisation to 0 dB
Spatial enhancement (for unprocessed mono, please listen to left channel only):
-prepare 3 copies of the monaural track (1, 2, 3)
-1, 2, 3: normalise to -4 dB
-2: switch to left channel
-3: switch to right channel, add 10 ms silence to the beginning
-2,3 join as stereo track
-mix 1 (-9 dB) with (2,3) (+2 dB)
-adjust balance
-normalise result to 0 dB

[@osvaldoschilling9129]

No wonder Huberman was a living legend of a musician. Those artists had to rely on their own personal background and understanding of each piece they played since there were no recordings or other ways of finding examples to reproduce. The first movement is different from anything I have ever listened for its wide use of staccato( 14.18) and other parts which, again, look uniquely beautiful(10.40) by reproducing birds sounds.

[@randalltrowbridge]

Wonderful! I wonder if we’re hearing the illustrious “Huberman Stradivarius” now used by Joshua Bell?

[@martinadler73]

Quite possible, as it was his main instrument until 1936 when he switched for a short period to his newly acquired Guarneri, leaving the Strad unattented, leading to it being taken by a thief, just like in 1919, but now it was gone for many years, unlike 1919 when it was back after a short time.

[@ThePianoFiles]

Thanks for this - one of my favourites (I use the opening solo in non-piano focused lectures sometimes to show his incredible portamenti). I've never seen Steinberg with the first name Maximilian!

[@martinadler73]

Thanks a lot. I agree, he is really incredible! Never heard the concerto better. Steinberg (William, of course 😂) and the Staatskapelle are equally great!

[@ThePianoFiles]

@@martinadler73 it's definitely my favourite reading. I played this in a university presentation a few years ago and the violinists adored some parts and were intensely shocked by others; my main point was that for all the expressed intent to 'do justice to the composer's intention', they sure tend to be dismissive of things that were done in the composers' lifetimes. Wonderful to hear this again with your fresh transfer - thanks again!

[@martinadler73]

@ThePianoFiles I agree - it is always worth listening to recordings made by artists that were near to the composer's times. Many things get lost over the decades. Thanks again.