[78-L] David Hall. Was: Mercury [FWD]

[Jeff Sultanof]

Dr. Biel,

Thank you for sharing this. I would like to e-mail him to thank him for all
of his kindnesses to me at the R&H archives.

Now I'd love to know who I confused him with re. the obit.

Jeff Sultanof

On Mon, Sep 28, 2009 at 1:48 AM, Michael Biel <mbiel at mbiel.com> wrote:

> David's email is  dtdh at prexar.net  and his mailing address is POBox 257
> Castine Me 04421-0257
> Last time I spoke to him on the phone he had just turned 90 a couple of
> days earlier and and said he was absolutely astounded at that!  He also
> said that he was just 25 when he wrote The Record Book and was amazed
> that all these people paid attention to the things he wrote as a young
> whippersnapper.  He had also just moved in with a lady friend, and he
> recommended it very highly!   He and Phil Miller were two of the first
> people I met at my first ARSC Conference in1971.  We had lunch together
> that first day.  I was awestruck.
>
> Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com
>
> Thomas Stern wrote:
> > Below is the WIKI entry for David Hall - seems to have retired to Maine
> in
> > 1986
> > and continued to be active through the 90's.
> >
> > White Pages returns the following:
> > David D Hall
> > Castine, ME
> > (207) 326-9424
> > Household:  Bob, Hazel
> >
> > Conclude that he is still with us.  Would be 93....
> >
> > Best wishes, Thomas
> >
> > David Hall (recorded sound archivist)
> > >From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> > Jump to: navigation, search
> > David Hall (born December 16, 1916 in New Rochelle, New York) is a sound
> > archivist and writer.
> >
> > Contents [hide]
> > 1 Biography
> > 1.1 Early life
> > 1.2 Education
> > 1.3 Career
> > 2 References
> >
> >
> > [edit] Biography
> > [edit] Early life
> > Hall's parents were Fairfax and Eleanor Raeburn (Remy) Hall. He married
> > Bernice Dobkin on June 8, 1940. Their children are Marion Hall Hunt,
> > Jonathan Hall, Peter Dobkin Hall, and Susannah Hall.
> >
> > [edit] Education
> > After graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy, Hall received a B.A. from
> > Yale University in 1939. He was a postgraduate student at Columbia
> > University from 1940-41.
> >
> > [edit] Career
> > At the urging of family friend, Saturday Review of Literature Editor
> Norman
> > Cousins, Hall abandoned his graduate studies to write an annotated
> > discography of recorded sound. The book instructed record collectors on
> "how
> > to lay a solid foundation for a record library, what pitfalls to avoid in
> > the buying of records, whether or not it is advisable to specialize, and
> how
> > to distinguish between fair and excellent recordings of the same
> > composition" (Hall 1940). The book also provided tips on playback
> equipment
> > and offered detailed commentary on the whole range of recorded music,
> from
> > classical through experimental music, jazz, folk, and spoken word. The
> > Record Book appeared in 1940 and was followed by a series of supplements,
> > and international edition (1948). The last supplement appeared in 1950.
> The
> > series was an immediate hit, selling more than 100,000 copies.
> >
> > In 1940, Hall began a lifelong involvement with the record business,
> taking
> > a job as an advertising copywriter with Columbia Records, then located in
> > Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 1942, he became music program annotator for
> the
> > NBC Symphony Orchestra -- the all-star orchestra conducted by Arturo
> > Toscanini. In 1948, Hall joined forces with fellow Yale graduate John
> > Hammond on a quest to post-war Europe on behalf of Mercury Records, then
> a
> > Chicago-based produced of "pop" material.
> >
> > Wishing to enter the growing classical music market, Mercury executives
> > realized that radio stations and governments in formerly Nazi-occupied
> > countries held a gold mine in superb performances by Europe's top
> musicians.
> > Hammond's and Hall's objective was to acquire these assets for Mercury.
> > Hammond had hired Hall, "a well-known authority on classical recording,
> to
> > handle the considerable job of cataloging Czech and German material. He
> was
> > known and respected by the Czechs, who were interested in establishing an
> > international records archive. David would be an asset in delicate
> > negotiations" (Hammond 1977, 282). Hall and Hammond left Prague one step
> > ahead of Soviet forces as they crushed Czechoslovakia's democratic
> > government.
> >
> > Hall remained at Mercury Records until 1956 as classic music director.
> Under
> > his leadership, Mercury began releasing its notable "Living Presence"
> series
> > of classical recordings. Hall worked closely with sound engineering
> pioneer,
> > C. Robert Fine. Fine's mobile sound studio toured the midwest, recording
> > performances by the Detroit, Louisville, and Minneapolis symphonies and
> > musical groups at the Eastman School at the University of Rochester. A
> 1955
> > recording of the Minneapolis Symphony performing Tchaikovsky's 1812
> Overture
> > under the baton of Antal Dorati became the best selling classical record
> of
> > the decade.
> >
> > In 1956, Hall was awarded a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship, which enabled
> him
> > to spend a year at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) teaching
> advanced
> > recording techniques to Danish engineers and musicians. Hall had long
> been
> > interested in Scandinavian music, having directed the music center at New
> > York's American Scandinavian Foundation from 1950 to 1957.
> >
> > On returning to the United States in the fall of 1957, Hall became music
> > editor of Hi-Fi/Stereo Review (later Stereo Review). Hall contributed
> > reviews of classic music and articles to the magazine until it folded in
> > 1998. In his writings, Hall championed contemporary music. His 1964
> article
> > on Charles Ives included the first full discography of Ives's recordings.
> >
> > In 1963, Hall became president of Composers' Recordings, Inc., a
> nonprofit
> > record label devoted to recording and distributing the work of
> contemporary
> > composers. Among the notable recordings produced under his leadership
> were a
> > series of performances by avant garde composer Harry Partch.
> >
> > In 1967, Hall was appointed curator of the Rodgers and Hammerstein
> Archives
> > of Recorded Sound, one of the units of the New York Public Library's
> > performing arts collections at Lincoln Center. There he pioneered new
> > techniques of cataloging recorded material as one of the initiatives of
> the
> > Research Libraries Group, a consortium of the nation's leading research
> > libraries. Hall and his associates also released an important collection
> of
> > historic sound recordings, The Mapleson Cylinders, which captured the
> > singing of Metropolitan Opera stars of the early twentieth century. This
> > recording was awarded a "Grammy" by the National Academy of Recording
> Arts &
> > Sciences in 1986.
> >
> > During this period, Hall helped to found the Association for Recorded
> Sound
> > Collections (ARSC) in 1966. He served as the group's president,
> 1980-1982.
> > In 2002, he received the ARSC Award for Distinguished Service to
> Historical
> > Recordings.
> >
> > In 1986, Hall retired to the seaside village of Castine, Maine, where he
> > continued to write record reviews and consult on recording projects.
> Through
> > the 1990s, he chaired the classical records awards committee for the
> > National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. Currently, Hall is
> completing
> > a biography of the twentieth century American composer, Roy Harris.
> >
> > In addition to introducing American audiences to the remarkable riches of
> > recorded music in the years following the second World War, Hall played
> an
> > especially important role as a champion of contemporary music. At least
> half
> > the composers listed in the 1940 Record Book were still living. They
> > included such notables as Aaron Copland, Roy Harris, Charles Ives, Harry
> > Partch, William Schuman, and others. His writings also helped garner
> > attention for jazz and folk musicians.
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com
> > [mailto:78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com]On Behalf Of Jeff Sultanof
> > Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2009 12:38 PM
> > To: 78-L Mail List
> > Subject: Re: [78-L] David Hall. Was: Mercury [FWD]
> >
> >
> > I distinctly remember reading of Hall's passing some years ago, but don't
> > remember details.
> >
> > I used to go to the Rodgers and Hammerstein archive on an almost weekly
> > basis to get an education in composition, arranging and sound recording.
> > Back when I went, there were a great many recordings that I wanted to
> hear
> > that were simply not available (and I couldn't afford to collect
> recordings
> > back then; I was 17 when I first went up to the archive). Think Jimmy
> > Mundy's big band on Varsity, Franklyn Marks on Master Records, and Kay
> > Thompson on Viking.
> >
> > Hall was an imposing teddy bear of a man to my eyes. He seemed to have
> > little use for me when I first went up to the archive, although he would
> > look surprised at some of the obscure items I wanted to hear. Once I
> began
> > asking him some questions about such composers as Harris, Siegmeister and
> > the like, he could go on for quite some time with incredible information.
> > >From that time on, he was very pleasant to me and forthcoming with new
> > aquisitions that hadn't been catalogued yet (which used to piss off the
> > other librarians).
> >
> > I have very warm memories of sitting in a booth and discovering many
> > wonderful recordings. And he opened the door.
> >
> > Jeff Sultanof
> >
> > On Sun, Sep 27, 2009 at 3:06 AM, Mike Harkin <harkinmike at yahoo.com>
> wrote:
> >
> >
> >> I read somewhere, long ago, that he was born in 1915.  The Record Book
> and
> >> TRB Internataion edition opened my ears to tons of beaustiful music to
> >> which I otherwise probably wouldn't have paid any attention....
> >>
> >> Long may he wave, or RIP, whichever is appropriate!
> >>
> >> Mike in Plovdiv
> >>
> >>
> >>
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