{"product_id":"kubelik-smetana-ma-vlast-chicago-symphony-orchestra-1952-pasc703","title":"KUBELÍK Smetana: Má vlast - Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1952) - PASC703","description":"overviewfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eSMETANA \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eMá vlast\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eStudio recording, 1952\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eTotal duration: 76:31\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eChicago Symphony Orchestra\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003econducted by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eRafael Kubelík\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_titlefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_quotefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_bodyfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9main_samplefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fsamples\/PASC703.mp3578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fProducer's Note578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp style=\"margin-left: 25px;\"\u003e\n“Sometime immediately before 23 April 1951, two young men boarded a train\nin New York City and travelled to Chicago carrying a new and technologically\nground-breaking microphone. Recording engineers C. Robert (‘Bob’) Fine, 29,\nand George Piros, 31, arrived at Orchestra Hall the morning of 23 April and\nbegan setting up to record the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the baton\nof its new conductor, Rafael Kubelík, not yet 37 years old at the time.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin-left: 25px;\"\u003e\nFine hung the Neumann U-47 microphone from a rope, about 15 feet above and\nslightly behind Kubelík’s head as the conductor stood on his podium. The\nmicrophone was connected to a high-fidelity dedicated line provided by the\nlocal Bell Telephone company, which terminated at Universal Recording\nStudio, owned by audio pioneer Bill Putnam. The signal was recorded on\nPutnam’s Ampex model 300 tape machine, on 3M’s Scotch 111 type magnetic\ntape, at 15 inches per second. Mercury’s Recording Director, David Hall (34\nyears old), watched the music scores and, working with Kubelík, made sure\nthat satisfactory ‘takes’ of each piece were committed to tape.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin-left: 25px;\"\u003e\nThe first reel recorded that day was a test of the equipment and connection\nwhile the orchestra performed a practice run-through of Ernest Bloch’s \u003cem\u003e\nConcerto Grosso.\u003c\/em\u003e The master-takes of the piece were subsequently\nrecorded that day. Based on the audio quality of the master tapes, the phone\npatch was improved the next day. The result is the lifelike, in-the-room\nsound of Mussorgsky\/Ravel’s \u003cem\u003ePictures At an Exhibition\u003c\/em\u003e and Bartók’s\n\u003cem\u003eMusic for Strings, Percussion and Celesta\u003c\/em\u003e.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin-left: 25px;\"\u003e\nThe Mussorgsky and Bartók were both released in 1951 as Mercury MG 50000\nand MG 50001, respectively, under the direction of the label’s young\ndirector of classical music Wilma Cozart (24 years old). The\n\u003cem\u003e\nPictures\n\u003c\/em\u003e\nLP received especially positive press, including the description by The New\nYork Times music critic Howard Taubman as ‘the living presence’ of the\norchestra. Mercury subsequently adopted Taubman’s description as their\nclassical label name. Fine’s single-microphone recording technique became\nstandard operating procedure for Mercury’s \u003cem\u003eLiving Presence\u003c\/em\u003e\nrecordings throughout the mono LP era…\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin-left: 25px;\"\u003e\nWhen the Mercury team returned to Chicago in April 1952, Fine drove his new\nrecording truck, a Chevrolet van dubbed the ‘Cinecruiser’ because of its\nmain purpose, recording on-location sound for motion pictures. The van,\ndesigned and outfitted at the behest of documentary director Jerome Hill,\nincluded new Fairchild tape recorders. During sessions held on 21–22 April\nthat year, the orchestra recorded Tchaikovsky’s ‘Pathétique’ Symphony and\nBrahms’s First. Unfortunately, only second-generation copy tapes survive for\nthese recordings, with non-optimal sound quality.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin-left: 25px;\"\u003e\nThe Mercury team, and the recording truck, made another trip to Chicago in\n1952, this time in December, a bold late-autumn adventure in those\npre-Interstate Highways days. The 4–6 December sessions focused on a\nKubelík favourite, Smetana’s \u003cem\u003eMá vlast\u003c\/em\u003e. Mozart’s Symphony No. 34 was\nalso recorded. Fine again used the Neumann U-47 microphone and Fairchild\ntape recorder for these recordings. Unfortunately again, only\nsecond-generation copy tapes survive for \u003cem\u003eMá vlast\u003c\/em\u003e and there is\naudible distortion during some loud passages.” – eloquenceclassics.com\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nWhen this recording appeared in the United Kingdom, nearly four years after\nit was recorded, the critics were not happy with the sound they heard:\n“Unfortunately, the recording is less satisfactory. It tends to shrillness,\nas American recordings so often seem to do, and it is not as clear as it\nshould be” was the conclusion of \u003cem\u003eThe Gramophone\u003c\/em\u003e. And it’s true\nthat there is some peak distortion too as a result of that second-generation\ntape transfer. I have done my best to tame the latter, though you will still\nhear some of it towards the end of the second movement. But otherwise the\nrecording is a prime candidate for XR remastering to round out the\nbeautifully full sound of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and unlock even\ngreater listening pleasure from this classic 1952 recording.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAndrew Rose\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFull Track Listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5ftrack_listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 24px;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eKUBELÍK \u003c\/b\u003eSmetana: Má vlast\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e 1. Vyšehrad (\u003ci\u003eThe High Castle\u003c\/i\u003e)   (14:48)\u003cbr\u003e2. Vltava (\u003ci\u003eDie Moldau\u003c\/i\u003e)   (11:58)\u003cbr\u003e3. Šárka  (9:30)\u003cbr\u003e4. Z ceských luhu a háju  (\u003ci\u003eFrom Bohemian Fields and Groves\u003c\/i\u003e)  (12:48)\u003cbr\u003e5. Tábor  (13:31)\u003cbr\u003e6. Blaník  (13:56)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eRecorded 4-6 December, 1952, Orchestra Hall, Chicago\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eChicago Symphony Orchestra\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003econducted by\u003cb\u003e Rafael Kubelík\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eXR Remastered by Andrew Rose\u003cbr\u003eCover artwork based on a photograph of Rafael Kubelík\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTotal duration:  76:31  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fCover Art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcover_art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/thumbs\/PASC703.jpg578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/PASC703.pdf578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f","brand":"Pristine Classical","offers":[{"title":"Ambient Stereo 24-bit FLAC","offer_id":44064705904730,"sku":"xok1789303852577","price":14.29,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Ambient Stereo 16-bit FLAC","offer_id":44064705937498,"sku":"kiq1789303852578","price":9.44,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"320kbps Ambient Stereo MP3","offer_id":44064705970266,"sku":"iil1789303852579","price":6.37,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0726\/3807\/0874\/files\/kubelik-smetana-ma-vlast---chicago-symphony-orchestra-1952---pasc703_1.jpg?v=1789303859","url":"https:\/\/vestorawear.shop\/products\/kubelik-smetana-ma-vlast-chicago-symphony-orchestra-1952-pasc703","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}