Frederick Stock and the Chicago Symphony, Vol. 1 (2-CD)

Celebrating the 150th anniversary of his birth, this collection is the first in a series devoted to longtime Chicago Symphony Orchestra music director Frederick Stock. Stock’s recording career divides neatly into three periods. His acoustic Columbia recordings — the first recordings made by a credited American orchestra under its own music director — were completed in 1916 and 1917, including the orchestra’s first recording: the Wedding March from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This was followed by a series of electrical recordings for Victor (1925-1930) and another series of recordings with Columbia from 1939 to 1941. Presented here are his complete acoustic recordings from 1916-1917, as well as some of the early electrical recordings from 1925-1926.

Each track was carefully restored by Mark Obert-Thorn in close association with Nathan Brown and Charles Niss.

Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Wedding March
May 1916

Wagner Die Walküre, “The Ride of the Valkyries”
May 1916

Grieg The Last Spring from Two Elegiac Melodies, Op. 34
May 1916

Saint-Saëns Samson et Dalila, “Bacchanale”
May 1916

Tchaikovsky Sleeping Beauty, “Waltz”
May 1916

Järnfelt Praeludium
May 1916

Schubert Die Bine (The Bee) (arr. Stock)
May 1916

Bizet Carmen, Prelude to Act IV (“Aragonaise”)
May 1916

Bizet L’arlésienne, Suite No. 2, “Farandole”
May 1916

Wagner Parsifal, “Procession of the Knights of the Holy Grail”
May 1916

Wagner Lohengrin, Prelude to Act I
May 1916

Suppé Dichter und Bauer (Poet and Peasant) Overture
May 1917, Aeolian Hall, New York City

Strauss, Jr. Thousand and One Nights Waltz
May 1917

Wolf-Ferrari Jewels of the Madonna, “Intermezzo
May 1917, Aeolian Hall, New York

Simonetti Madrigale
May 1917

Schubert Moment Musicale, No. 3, “Air Russe” (arr. Stock)
May 1917, Aeolian Hall, New York City

Glazunov Ruses d’amour, “Grand Valses”
May 1917

Strauss, Jr. Voices of Spring Waltz
May 1917

Smith Star-Spangled Banner (arr. Stock)
May 1917, Aeolian Hall, New York

Carey My Country ‘Tis of Thee (America) (arr. Stock)
May 1917, Aeolian Hall, New York

Meacham American Patrol March
May 1917, Aeolian Hall, New York

Dvořák Carnival Overture
December 1925, Webster Hotel Ballroom, Chicago

Goldmark Im Frühling (In Springtime) Overture
December 1925, Webster Hotel Ballroom, Chicago

MacDowell Woodland Sketches, “To a Water Lily” and “To a Wild Rose” (arr. Stock)
December 1925, Webster Hotel Ballroom, Chicago

Sibelius Kueolema, “Valse Triste,” Op. 44, No. 1
December 1925, Webster Hotel Ballroom, Chicago

Volkmann Serenade No. 2, “Waltz”
December 1925, Webster Hotel Ballroom, Chicago

Rimsky-Korsakov The Tale of Tsar Saltan, “Flight of the Bumble Bee”
December 1925, Webster Hotel Ballroom, Chicago

Wagner Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Prelude to Act I
December 1926, Orchestra Hall, Chicago

Strauss, Jr. Wine, Women and Song Waltz
December 1926, Orchestra Hall, Chicago

Strauss, Jr. Roses from the South Waltz, Op. 388
December 1926, Orchestra Hall, Chicago

Thomas Mignon Overture
December 1926, Orchestra Hall, Chicago

Brahms Hungarian Dances Nos. 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 (orch. Dvořák)
December 1926, Orchestra Hall, Chicago

Handel Xerxes, “Largo” (arr. Hellmesberger)
Walter P. Zimmermann organ
December 1926, Orchestra Hall, Chicago

Elgar Pomp and Circumstance March, No. 1
Walter P. Zimmermann organ
December 1926, Orchestra Hall, Chicago

Discs: 2
Record Label: Pristine Audio
Release Year: 2022