Early stereo recordings, Vol. 2 brings together the music-making of three conductors, Sir Thomas Beecham, Rudolf Kempe and Harry Blech, who were central to London musical life during the 1950s in completely representative repertoire, as well as one of the major singers of the period, Hans Hotter. All their performances are presented in stereo recordings that testify to the burgeoning engineering brilliance of EMI during this period. Key features of this release are the first ever release in stereo of Beecham’s Haydn Symphony No. 97 (1957) and the earliest surviving EMI experimental stereo recording in two movements from Schubert’s Winterreise with Hans Hotter and Gerald Moore at No. 1A Studio, Abbey Road, on 25 May 1954, published here for the first time. The album also includes the first release in stereo of the first movement from Haydn’s Salve Regina and the earliest stereo recording of the London Mozart Players, plus the first release in stereo on compact disc of Mozart’s Symphony No. 34 and the first release of stereo version (mvts 2-4) of Schubert’s Symphony No. 3. Hearing these recordings is an unforgettable experience.

This is the second of at least three volumes of EMI early stereophonic recordings, released in a joint venture with the Archive of Recorded Sound (ARS). EMI started to record in stereo in 1954 and all the recordings in this new series are from this historic period of recorded music. All the releases will appear for the first time in some form and feature many of the greatest classical artists of the time.

Artists: April Cantelo - Soprano Marjorie Thomas - Contralto Thomas Helmsley - Tenor John Cameron - Baritone Hans Hotter - Baritone Gerald Moore - Piano London Mozart Players Harry Blech Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Sir Thomas Beecham Philharmonia Orchestra Rudolf Kempe