{"id":14813,"date":"2020-06-05T05:00:41","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T12:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/?p=14813"},"modified":"2020-06-04T17:16:21","modified_gmt":"2020-06-05T00:16:21","slug":"segovia-a-centenary-celebration-part-vi-the-lp-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/segovia-a-centenary-celebration-part-vi-the-lp-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Segovia: A Centenary Celebration Part VI, The LP Revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"
BY GRAHAM WADE | FROM THE JULY 1993 ISSUE OF CLASSICAL GUITAR<\/em><\/h5>\n

In 1951, the release of Columbia LX 1404\/5\/6 featured the first recording of Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Guitar Concerto<\/em> with Segovia<\/a> and the New London Orchestra under Alec Sherman, recorded on 30 June, 1949. The Gramophone<\/em> reviewed this, exceedingly briefly, in August 1951. The opening theme was considered \u201cthe best part of the work\u201d while the \u201crest is very slight, easy going and melodious.\u201d The reviewer exhorted the reader to \u201cTry this light wine: it is well bottled and suitable for a summer’s evening.\u201d (As was so frequent in reviews of Segovia, while the playing was highly praised the substance of the repertoire tended to be denigrated.)<\/p>\n

Note: This is part 6 of a 17-part series<\/a>\u00a0from the<\/em>\u00a0Classical Guitar\u00a0archive.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In September 1952 an editorial in The Gramophone<\/em> by the editor, Compton Mackenzie, promised that, \u201cNext month we shall be getting the first long-playing records from E.M.I.\u201d Decca had taken the plunge with the new technology two years before in \u201ca memorable event in the history of the gramophone.\u201d<\/p>\n

In November 1952, Edward Sackville-West noticed \u201cnot only that the LP has at last almost edged out 78, but that nearly all these LP issues are unavailable in any other form.\u201d He went on to spare a thought for \u201cthe needs of the many discophiles… whose houses do not possess electricity and who therefore cannot play LP discs at all.\u201d Thus it was around this time that the first major upheaval in the history of recorded music occurred, at least as far as the British Isles were concerned.<\/p>\n

In the USA the LP phenomenon was launched several months earlier than the autumn of 1952. In Guitar Review No. 13,<\/em> 1952, three recordings by Rey de la Torre were advertised by Spanish Music Center of New York. The titles were The Music of Francisco T\u00e1rrega<\/em> (SMC Pro-Arte 516) and The Music of Fernando Sor<\/em> (SMC 517), priced at three dollars each and \u201crecorded on high fidelity unbreakable Vinylite plastic material.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guitar Review No. 14<\/em>, 1952, carried a whole page advertisement by the same company of \u201cLong Playing (33 rpm) GUITAR RECORDINGS\u201d featuring \u201cthe finest music ever recorded by world-famous concert guitarists in high fidelity unbreakable records.\u201d These included another album by Rey de la Torre, (entitled Grand Sonata, Op. 22<\/em> by Fernando Sor) with further pieces from the Sor repertoire, on AL 76 (including Op. 9, the Mozart Variations<\/em>) priced at $5.72.<\/p>\n

Leading guitarists whose LPs were also advertised were Felix Arguelles (two LP’s in the Spanish Composers Series, Vols. 1 and 2<\/em>, SMC 506\/507), Carlos Montoya (Flamenco Inventions<\/em>, SMC 512), Vicente Gomez (Vicente Gomez Plays a Guitar Recital<\/em>, DL 8017), and Julio Martinez Oyailguren (Latin-American Folk Music<\/em>, DL 8018).<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no evidence whatsoever of any second takes being recorded by Segovia\u2026 In this instance no re-takes were apparently considered necessary at any time, a remarkable achievement.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On the same page were five recordings with the same title, An Andres Segovia Recital<\/em>. In a lecture at the University of Southern California in 1986, Professor Ronald Purcell spoke of his researches in the recording archives of the Decca company. Tracks recorded there were logged on file cards at the time according to the number of takes on each track. During the sessions in 1949 Segovia had recorded over 50 tracks, and the file cards were still available to check the titles laid down at the time. These tracks constituted the recordings in a series of albums issued in Britain under slightly varying titles.<\/p>\n

Ronald Purcell reported that there was no evidence whatsoever of any second takes being recorded by Segovia. His method of recording was never to drop in notes and pick up the mistakes but to record the piece from beginning to end. In this instance no re-takes were apparently considered necessary at any time, a remarkable achievement.<\/p>\n

A further twist in technological development during these years was the introduction of HMV’s new 45 rpm disc, following several years of research by RCA Victor in America. The reason for this speed of disc was that for technical reasons, \u201ca higher speed disc can be made to give reasonable quality on a smaller diameter than is possible at 33,\u201d (as G. Howard-Sorrell pointed out in The Gramophone<\/em>, November 1952, in his article \u201cTechnical Report\u201d). In fact, \u201cif the 45 discs had been released a few months earlier, the majority of record producers might well have followed RCA’s lead instead of American Columbia’s and concentrated on the higher speed for all LP discs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"segovia
Decca ED 3503, Vol. 1 and Decca ED 3510, Vol. 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At least two Segovia recordings were indeed issued on 45 records and today are collector\u2019s items. These were Decca ED 3503, Vol. 1, with Sonata<\/em> (D. Scarlatti), Romanza<\/em> (Paganini), Spanish Dance No. 5<\/em> (Granados), and Sevilla<\/em> (Alb\u00e9niz); and Decca ED 3510 Vol. 2 with Gavotte, Sarabande<\/em> (allegedly Alessandro Scarlatti, but actually two pastiches by Manuel Ponce), Spanish Dance No. 10<\/em> (Granados), and Granada<\/em> (Alb\u00e9niz).<\/p>\n

The first announcement of the new LPs of Segovia’s playing in The Gramophone<\/em> came in December 1952. This was the issue of a compilation from the 1949 recording sessions of Guitar Concerto<\/em> by Castelnuovo\u00ad-Tedesco, Ponce’s Sonata Meridional<\/em>, and Turina’s Arada <\/em>and Fandanguillo<\/em>, and appeared on Columbia 33CX1020.<\/p>\n

\"segovia
“An Andr\u00e9s Segovia Recital,” Decca DL 9633<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This was followed a few months later in March 1953 by An Andres Segovia Recital<\/em> on Brunswick AXTL 1005\/Decca DL 9633. This recording offered:<\/p>\n