Re: [ARSCLIST] Which US Orchestra Recorded First ?

[steven c <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Roger and Allison Kulp" <thorenstd124@xxxxxxxxx>
> I have not seen your article yet,but I am assuming,you have uncovered  the
identities,of the orchestras,on many pre-1916 recordings.If I am  not
mistaken,the first identified US orchestras ,were The New York
Philharmonic,and Metropolitan Opera Orchestras,on Columbia,predating  the
Mucks on Victor,by a few  months.In looking through my own  records,the
earliest symphonic records I found,were,an early Columbia  Double Disc
1911,I think (Although this may be a European  recording.),by Felix
Weingartner,and an  unknown orchestra.And  some pre-1916 recordings by The
Victor Concert Orchestra (Shilkret  ?),with excerpts from  symphonies. My
question is would The VCO  count as a "real" orchestra?
>
Probably not. Victor, like virtually all record companies of the
time, maintained a staff of musicians who were tasked with playing
on many if not most of the recordings the company made...both
instrumental and vocal (they, or some of them, provided the
accompaniment for such sides). These groups never played on stage
or gave concerts...they simply played on recordings, and were
generally not identified individually on the labels of these.
Keep in mind that most record buyers wanted recordings of
specific SONGS, not of specific artists, until the record
companies started recording well-known stage performers
(which occured in classical music after Caruso began selling
expensive records in large numbers).

Steven C. Barr