Wagner's Prelude to Lohengrin, Mitropoulos Minneapolis Symphony 1947

[@alexrigas9788]

What a performance! Thank you!

[@MarchantTapeArchive]

The brass section is powerful in this performance but man, as a former orchestral brass player the intonation is rough in spots - as we've discussed in the comments on this channel here for other performances!

[@verdiguy]

They are actually better on the whole than the Met's brass section at that time. The French horns at the Met in 1940s and 50s were diabolical. Frank St. Leger, music director of the Houston Symphony in the 30s and later an assistant conductor at the Met for many years, called them the "Nightmare of Nightmares" and in one broadcast of Fidelio in 1960, there are about a dozen goofs in the overture alone.

[@johnmichel3676]

I suspect this is from the 24 Oct 1947 Friday night subscription concert conducted by Mitropoulos. You have already posted other selections from that same concert (Beethoven, Bartok, and Schumann), so this might be be the last missing selection from that program, which was broadcast live. Yes, Fritz Reiner did later appear as guest conductor for an all-Wagner Minneapolis Symphony Friday night subscription concert on 30 Oct 1948, but on that program it was the Act III Prelude to "Lohengrin" they played as a lead in to the Act III "Bridal Scene" from that opera sung by guest soloists soprano Astrid Varnay and tenor Emery Darcy. There were no other performances by the Minneapolis Symphony of the Act I Prelude in 1947 and 1948 at Northrop other than the one on 24 Oct 1947.

[@MarchantTapeArchive]

I think you have it - 1948 might have been written by Mr. Marchant's daughter as a guess. It being a tribute so much after those folks died wouldn't make sense. And - it's a radio broadcast so we mostly know when those were. Another interesting tidbit - from Mr. Marchant's surviving daughter, about the two names mentioned: "Young and Quinlan was a very tony women’s clothiers. Elizabeth was a very generous patron of the arts, especially music and served on several boards. Brown and Bigelow was a huge company that made advertising materials for all kinds of businesses. I think I still have a red plastic strainer with Brown and Bigelow on the handle. Bigelow was also a generous (but rather forceful) arts supporter."

[@MarchantTapeArchive]

Also it appears that Bigelow has a foundation that was started after his death that is still very much involved in the Minneapolis community: frbigelow.org/about/

[@verdiguy]

That's an impressive pair of soloists. Varnay was one of the great Wagnerians of her age, singing Elsa opposite Lauritz Melchior in Met broadcasts in 1942 and 1943. She also sang the role of Sieglinde with Melchior as her Siegmund and Helen Traubel as Brunnhilde. She was still a force to be reckoned with into the 1950s, with performances as both Venus and Elisabeth in Tannhauser and the demanding title role of Elektra in a terrific 1952 Met broadcast. Emery Darcy was born in Minneapolis but was based out of Chicago for most of his career. He sang 460 performances at the Met, his first and last appearances being the Messenger in Samson et Dalila. He also sang dozens of performances as Melot in Tristan und Isolde but with Melchior around, it was hard for him to take on the lead heldentenor roles he deserved, though he was called on to sub for Melchior on a number of occasions over the years, always getting solid reviews.

[@PfadiHH]

Ouch.

[@MarchantTapeArchive]

@@PfadiHH ouch to what?

[@PfadiHH]

@@MarchantTapeArchive Maybe it's a wonderful interpretation, but I can't stand the flutter, sorry...

[@MarchantTapeArchive]

​ @PfadiHH yep I get it! these 70+ year old tapes have their good and bad aspects. Fortunately most of the performance do not have this much warble. The next video I'm putting up has truly excellent sound quality - and it's from 1949, only a year later.

[@PfadiHH]

@ Thank you, and please don‘t feel offended 🖖

[@MarchantTapeArchive]

@@PfadiHH Not in the slightest. I'm presenting an archive - good and bad. I thought the sound of the Krenek Symphony last week was terrible but it's one of my most watched videos ever so there's something out there for everyone :)