[78-L] How a Columbia Record is Made

[Kristjan Saag]

Bob Pinsker wrote:
> My guess is the Danse Russe from Petrouchka; 2/4 time and a xylophone.
> Two harps and a piano, the third harp may well be playing the piano part.
> --

David Lennick wrote:

>  Stravinsky's 20s recordings were made in Paris, not London, so this could just be for show.

--

The recordings Stravinsky made in 1928 were "Firebird" and "Rite Of 
Spring" in Paris and "Petrushka" in London.
As for "Rite Of Spring" the piece has neither xylophone or harps in its 
instrumentation.

As for "Firebird": The ballet instrumentation of "Firebird" (1910) had 
xylophone and three harps, and the first of the Concert Suites (1911) 
kept the original orchestration. But the 1919 reworking had only one harp.
According to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Stravinsky
the 1928 recording of "Firebird" was of the "Original Concert suite", 
which could mean the 1911 version with three harps.

Petrushka has xylophone and two harps, but as Bob points out, for 
recording purposes it could well have been three.

What should settle the matter is the sign: "Please do not attempt to 
enter this room while the red light is glowing" which is written in 
English, not in French.

But Californian pianist, music teacher and writer Scott Foglesong writes:
"The /Firebird/ was recorded at the Columbia studios in the Théâtre des 
Champs-Elysées on November 8-10, 1928. The release was a major event; 
French Columbia threw a big gala celebrating the recording, including a 
bit of silent film of Stravinsky conducting -- which I'm including here:"

An "here" is this webpage:
http://www.scottfoglesong.com/examiner/stravinsky_on_the_podium_and_at_the_piano_1.html
So what do you know?

Kristjan