What's the earliest recorded stereo release in your collection

[Teasing the Korean]

On August 12, 2019 at 9:57 PM, Peter Friedman said:

If you have an extensive collection. I am not sure how to determine the earliest stereo recording I have without spending many hours going through an awful lot of recordings. Yes, I know to ignore the more recent ones, but that still leaves a huge number.

I have a room filled with LPs and CDs, and I'm pretty sure I don't have anything in stereo predating Fantasia (1940). 

[JSngry]

On 8/10/2019 at 0:34 PM, Chuck Nessa said:

I have a number of RCA classical recordings from the '50s. From Wiki:

On October 6, 1953, RCA Victor held experimental stereophonic sessions in New York City's Manhattan Center with Leopold Stokowski conducting a group of New York City musicians in performances of George Enescu's Roumanian Rhapsody No. 1 and the waltz from Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin. There were additional stereo tests in December, again in the Manhattan Center, this time with Pierre Monteux conducting members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In February 1954, RCA Victor made its first commercial stereophonic recordings, taping the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Charles Münch, in a performance of The Damnation of Faust by Hector Berlioz. This began a practice of simultaneously recording orchestras with both stereophonic and monaural equipment. Other early stereo recordings were made by Toscanini (never officially issued) and Guido Cantelli respectively, with the NBC Symphony Orchestra; the Boston Pops Orchestra under Arthur Fiedler; and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Fritz Reiner. Initially, RCA used RT-21 quarter-inch tape recorders (which ran at 30 inches per second), wired to mono mixers, with Neumann U-47 cardioid and M-49/50 omnidirectional microphones. Then they switched to an Ampex 300-3 one-half inch machine, running at 15 inches per second (which was later increased to 30 inches per second). These recordings were initially issued in 1955 on special stereophonic reel-to-reel tapes and then, beginning in 1958, on vinyl LPs with the "Living Stereo" logo. RCA has continued to reissue many of these recordings on CD.^[16] Another 1953 project for RCA was converting the acoustically superior building Webster Hall into its main East Coast recording studio. RCA operated this studio venue from 1953 to 1968.

Perhaps of interest, just found this while researching Remington Records/Don Gabor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_Records

 

Quote

Producer Don Gabor, recording director Laszlo Halasz and engineer Robert Blake made the very first commercial stereophonic tape recordings in the United States in 1953 with Thor Johnson and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. They included Dvořák's Symphony No. 8 (then No. 4) and symphonic and choral works by Sibelius. These stereo recordings were released as mono records in 1954.

Mono and stereo recordings were also made in Berlin with the RIAS (Radio in the American Sector) Symphony Orchestra. The recordings were supervised by Don Gabor and conductor Laszlo Halasz.

 

[Teasing the Korean]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

Producer Don Gabor, recording director Laszlo Halasz and engineer Robert Blake made the very first commercial stereophonic tape recordings in the United States in 1953...

Not sure how they are defining "very first commercial stereophonic tape recordings."  Stereo recording for films predated 1953, and some of these were subsequently released on record and tape in stereo, including my aforementioned Fantasia example.  

[jazzbo]

Maybe they are differentiating (I think correctly) "tape" and "film."

[Teasing the Korean]

11 minutes ago, jazzbo said:

Maybe they are differentiating (I think correctly) "tape" and "film."

I infer that the emphasis is on "stereo recording" and not necessarily the medium (tape).  And regardless, some early stereo film scores were being recorded to tape prior to 1953. 

[jazzbo]

Whatever, I don't see that same emphasis myself necessarily and  I interpret "commercial" to mean meant as music recordings for sale as music product. 
.

Edited September 6, 2019 by jazzbo

[Teasing the Korean]

4 hours ago, jazzbo said:

Whatever, I don't see that same emphasis myself necessarily and  I interpret "commercial" to mean meant as music recordings for sale as music product. 
.

I would generally agree, but the quote is still misleading, assuming that the piece quoted did not reference the fact that stereo recording had existed in Hollywood for some time. 

Either way, that 1953 session would not have been released on stereo LP until several years later, as stereo LP technology had not been perfected.  This is functionally no different than Fantasia being recorded in stereo in 1940, but not being released in stereo on LP until 1957. 

[jazzbo]

I don't really see it that way but that's cool. I'm not invested in "films" . . . they don't mean nearly as much to me as "records" do. Anyway, if it's causing so much confusion the writing should have been better.

[Teasing the Korean]

6 minutes ago, jazzbo said:

I don't really see it that way but that's cool. I'm not invested in "films" . . . they don't mean nearly as much to me as "records" do. Anyway, if it's causing so much confusion the writing should have been better.

That is my point.  I don't see how anyone writing about early stereo would not include a section on the pioneering work done in Hollywood.  The cinema would have been the very first place that the general public would have experienced recorded stereo sound.  

As for "films" and "records," once again, some of those early stereo film score sessions were subsequently released on LP and CD, so they were in fact records that could be purchased and enjoyed at home. 

[JSngry]

I'd not get too hung up on too much of anything about that blog post, it's just a deepfan thing dedicated to the Remington label and the people around it. It's correct within itself, I suppose, but I'm not one to take anything like that as coming from a place with a comprehensive world-view, if you know what I mean.

What I do find interesting about it is that by all accounts, this Don Gabor guy was all about the price point for his end product. Hardly seems like the type of guy to be "experimenting", but I dunno, maybe he saw marketing value in it at some point?

[jazzbo]

But since you're being so precise. . . they weren't "tape." Nor were they recorded with the intention likely of being commercially released as "records." I think the whole is meant to be viewed through the lens of commercial tape recordings of music to recorded with the intention be released for home music enjoyment. I can see that there's some confusion and that should have been spelled out. But it is a wiki article about a record company and their pioneering of commercial stereo tape recordings. . . no real reason to expect film technology discussed. To my way of thinking.

Lon out.

[Teasing the Korean]

24 minutes ago, jazzbo said:

But since you're being so precise. . . they weren't "tape." Nor were they recorded with the intention likely of being commercially released as "records." I think the whole is meant to be viewed through the lens of commercial tape recordings of music to recorded with the intention be released for home music enjoyment. I can see that there's some confusion and that should have been spelled out. But it is a wiki article about a record company and their pioneering of commercial stereo tape recordings. . . no real reason to expect film technology discussed. To my way of thinking.

Lon out.

Music is music, regardless of why it is written; and recordings are recordings, regardless of the reason they are recorded.  Film scores are music, and film score recordings are recordings.  They are recorded to tape.  They were released on record.  People bought them and listened to them.

The Rite of Spring was written for a ballet, and I am not interested in ballet.  Shall we discount its musical or cultural importance because some guy on the internet doesn't like ballet?

[JSngry]

1 minute ago, Teasing the Korean said:

The Rite of Spring was written for a ballet, and I am not interested in ballet.  Shall we discount its musical or cultural importance because some guy on the internet doesn't like ballet?

I think some guy might want to have a look at this!

 

[jazzbo]

Our discussion is one thing. Expecting that article to be something else is another thing. As Jim says it is what it is quite well within itself.  Has nothing to do with an interest or lack of interest. 

Sure film scores are music, but they weren't recorded at that time primarily for release as commercial LP recordings as the recordings discussed in wiki were. And film recording stock is not the same as magnetic recording tape.

I'm tired of arguing and don't want to argue. I just think you've put a tempest into that teapot of an article and enough weather is enough.

 

Edited September 6, 2019 by jazzbo

[Teasing the Korean]

3 minutes ago, jazzbo said:

Our discussion is one thing. Expecting that article to be something else is another thing. As Jim says it is what it is quite well within itself.  Has nothing to do with an interest or lack of interest. 

Sure film scores are music, but they weren't recorded at that time primarily for release as commercial LP recordings as the recordings discussed in wiki were. And film recording stock is not the same as magnetic recording tape.

I'm tired of arguing and don't want to argue. I just think you've put a tempest into that teapot of an article and enough weather is enough.

 

We are simply having a discussion.  What makes you think that all film scores are recorded to film recording stock?  And what is the relevance of the composition's original intent to its commercial release on LP?  

The thread title is "What's the earliest recorded stereo release in your collection," so I don't see how we can ignore film scores in the chronology.

 

[Ted O'Reilly]

Did not the Mercury "Living Presence" series of recordings include sessions recorded to 35 mm film stock rather than audio tape, as it was considered a cleaner sound?  

[jazzbo]

1 hour ago, Teasing the Korean said:

We are simply having a discussion.  What makes you think that all film scores are recorded to film recording stock?  And what is the relevance of the composition's original intent to its commercial release on LP?  

The thread title is "What's the earliest recorded stereo release in your collection," so I don't see how we can ignore film scores in the chronology.

 

Okay, I am seeing some of your points about the article as being off base, it's an article about one record label, and not film soundtracks or even early stereo recording in general. I was not addressing the thread as a whole. Discuss that all you wish, but don't expect more of that wiki article than it was designed to deliver. In that article they are taking about music intended to be released as commercial recordings on LP. Nothing whatsoever to do with film recording.

Hope that's clear. I'm out of volleying back and forth.

44 minutes ago, Ted O'Reilly said:

Did not the Mercury "Living Presence" series of recordings include sessions recorded to 35 mm film stock rather than audio tape, as it was considered a cleaner sound?  

Yes.

Edited September 6, 2019 by jazzbo

[miles65]

The Duke Ellington recorded for Victor February 7, 1932 two medleys for the Victrolac program. The second medley was recorded with two machines and cobbeled toghether decades later they form a stereo performance.

[Ted O'Reilly]

17 hours ago, miles65 said:

The Duke Ellington recorded for Victor February 7, 1932 two medleys for the Victrolac program. The second medley was recorded with two machines and cobbeled toghether decades later they form a stereo performance.

17 hours ago, miles65 said:

 

Yeah, that was mentioned back on Aug. 10 by Chuck Nessa...

Edited September 9, 2019 by Ted O'Reilly

[trane123]

From 1956, I believe?

Edited September 19, 2019 by trane123
punctuation

[JSngry]

Does anybody have these, from 1901?

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/oldest-stereo-recording?utm_source=Atlas+Obscura+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=b7517eb942-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_07_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f36db9c480-b7517eb942-66759733&mc_cid=b7517eb942&mc_eid=d9ad91657b