1932 WILLEM MENGELBERG WAGNER TANNHAUSER OVERTURE Conc

$

25

WEEK 4 of 4 weeks of great auctions - THIS IS THE FINAL WEEK. I will send out your bills after end of auctions on September 17.

IMPORTANT:

PLS READ BELOW for INCREASED SHIPPING CHARGES due to Ebay Policy

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IF YOU WIN MULTIPLE ITEMS DO NOT USE EBAY CHECK OUT in order for me to get you low combined postage. Send me an invoice request instead.

I am currently selling a series of great classic European 78 rpm orchestral recordings on all the great European labels:

Willem Mengelberg in a rare recording of Wanger

WAGNER TANNHAUSER OVERTURE  comple

Recorded May 9th, 1932

2x12"  78rpm recording. w original album MX 27

Condition: EXCELLENT needs cleaning album great edges a little rough

In his chapter on Mengelberg in The Orchestra Speaks (London: 1937), the viola-player Bernard Shore recalls the great man conducting the closing pages of Richard Strauss's Ein Heldenleben: "The violin solo to the end is made to tell on every note, and the player is able to play with complete freedom, both in expression and delicacy, with the rest of the orchestra hushed to an extreme pianissimo which is yet alive—the colour of a moving part just coming to the surface now and again".

Willem Mengelberg

Biography
Mengelberg was born fourth of sixteen children to German born parents in Utrecht, Netherlands. He studied in the Cologne conservatory, including piano and composition. He was chosen as General Music Director of the city of Lucerne Switzerland at age 21.[1] where was conductor of an orchestra and a choir, directed a music school, taught piano lessons and continued to compose.

Mengelberg is highly renowned for his work as the principal conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra from 1895 to 1945. In addition, Mengelberg founded the long-standing Mahler tradition of Concertgebouw. In 1902 he met Gustav Mahler and became friends with him. Mengelberg was instrumental in introducing most of Mahler's work to The Netherlands, and Mahler regularly visited The Netherlands to introduce his work to Dutch audiences. In fact, he edited some of his symphonies while in the Netherlands, making them sound better for the acoustics of Concertgebouw. This is perhaps one reason that this concert hall and its orchestra is renowned for its Mahler tradition.

Nevertheless, Mengelberg's importance as a conductor was not only due to his Mahler interpretations. He was also, for example, an exceptionally gifted performer of Richard Strauss; and even today his recordings of Strauss's tone poem Ein Heldenleben which has been dedicated to him and the Concertgebouw Orchestra are widely regarded by critics as among the best ù if not the very best ù of this piece ever made.

One criticism of Mengelberg's influence over Dutch musical life, most clearly articulated by the composer Willem Pijper, was that Mengelberg did not particularly champion Dutch composers during his Concertgebouw tenure, especially after 1920.[2]

Mengelberg with The New York TimesMengelberg was music director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 1922 to 1928. Beginning in January 1926, he shared the podium with Arturo Toscanini; Toscanini biographer Harvey Sachs has documented that Mengelberg and Toscanini clashed over interpretations of music and even rehearsal techniques, creating division among the musicians that eventually resulted in Mengelberg leaving the orchestra. However, the maestro did make a series of recordings with the Philharmonic for the Victor Talking Machine Company, including a 1927 electrical recording of Ein Heldenleben that was later reissued on LP and CD.

The most controversial aspect of Mengelberg's biography centers around his actions and behavior during the years of the Nazi occupation of Holland between 1940 and 1945. Some newspaper articles of the time gave the appearance that he acquiesced to the presence of the Nazi's ideological restrictions on particular composers. Explanations have ranged from political naivet? in general, to a general "blind spot" of criticism of anything German, given his own ancestry. Because of Mengelberg's co-operation with the occupying regime in The Netherlands during World War II, he was banned from conducting in the country by the Dutch government after the war in 1945. He was stripped of his honours and his passport. The original judgment was that Mengelberg would be banned from conducting in the Netherlands for the remainder of his life. Appeals by his attorneys led to a reduction in the sentence to a banning of six years from conducting, retroactively applied to start from 1945. This notwithstanding, he continued to draw a pension from the orchestra until 1949 when cut off by the city council of Amsterdam.[3] Mengelberg retreated in exile to Zuort, Sent, Switzerland, where he remained until his death in 1951, just two months before the expiration of his exile order.

Willem Mengelberg was the uncle of the musicologist and composer Rudolf Mengelberg and of the conductor, composer and critic Karel Mengelberg, who was himself the father of the prominent improvising pianist and composer Misha Mengelberg.

[edit] Recorded Legacy
In addition to his acclaimed recordings of Richard Strauss' Ein Heldenleben, Mengelberg left valuable discs of symphonies by Beethoven and Brahms, not to mention a wildly controversial but gripping reading of Bach's St. Matthew Passion.

His most characteristic performances are marked by a tremendous expressiveness and freedom of tempo, perhaps most remarkable in his recording of Mahler's fourth Symphony but certainly present in the aforementioned St Matthew Passion and other performances as well. These qualities, shared (perhaps to a lesser extent) by only a handful of other conductors of the era of sound recording, such as Wilhelm Furtw?ngler and Leonard Bernstein, make much of his work unusually controversial among classical music listeners; recordings that more mainstream listeners consider unlistenable will be hailed by others as among the greatest recordings ever made.

Due to the Dutch government's six-year ban on Mengelberg's conducting activities, he made no more recordings after 1945. Some of his performances in Amsterdam were recorded on the innovative German tape recorder, the Magnetophon, resulting in unusually high fidelity for the time.

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The Grade (Excellent to Fair, I don't give Mint) refers to the WEAR of the record. Any other defects are stated separately, when prefaced with "HOWEVER" or "BUT" they will be significant.

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Records will be packed safely between corrugated cardboard in a sturdy box with plenty of padding for safe shipment.

Shipment is usually Media Mail, unless another service is requested. Shipping is at your risk, I will be happy to insure items at your cost.

I charge actual postage plus a small fee for packing materials

As always, I guarantee your satisfaction. If you don't like the item, just return it, and I will refund the full purchase price.

If you are in the San Francisco area, I encourage pick-up in person.

EBAY NOW CHARGES 9% on all SHIPPING CHARGES
Also, USPS has increased postal rates. Since I am always shipping at cost, I am sorry to say that after keeping my shipping rates stable for 5 years, I unfortunately now have to increase the prices.

However, if you are interested in lowering you shipping cost, pls send me a message, and I may be able to arrange for better rates !!!

Here a quick breakdown of my costs, you see that due to the new Ebay policy you will pay anywhere from $.50 to $.80 in additional Ebay fees on the first record

US Domestic Shipping:

Here is a guideline for US Media Mail Shipping:

Prices below are for regular 78 rpm records. Up to about 5 records, I will ship Edison Discs for the same rates. Albums from Album Sets count as 1 record. Above that and for international shipments, it will be actual weight plus a small packing charge (1-3$ depending on size of shipment)

1 record: 4.75$

2 records: 5.75$

5 records: 7.50$

10 records: 9.50$

MANY MORE RECORDS: Don't worry. I safely ship 40 - 50 pounds of records double boxed in moving boxes, and even then Media Mail will probably not exceed 30$.

The numbers above include the 9% Ebay fee on shipments.
Pls ignore the automatically calculated prices on the ebay site, as I will weigh every parcel and charge based on actual weight.

Please send me a message if you would like to lower your shipping rates!

International Buyers:

All'attenzione degli acquirenti italiani:

ATTENTION TO ITALIAN BUYERS:

Due to rare problems with delivery in ITALY, I will NOT GUARANTEE delivery of parcels sent by US Postal Service First Class and Priority Mail. If you prefer secure delivery, I will be happy to quote you either Registered Mail or shipment by FEDEX

I am very happy to ship records worldwide.

Prices below are for regular 78 rpm records. For Edison Discs in  international shipments, it will charge for the actual weight plus a small packing charge (1-2$) - for small quantities, it will not be much different from the charge for regular 78s.

Pls contact me for a shipping estimate, or send me an invoice request after close of auction.

Be aware that US Postal Rates can be high. Here are some examples.

Your best bet is the Large Priority box, everything that fits into a 12"x12"x5 1/2" box up to 20 pounds ships for 60$ (35$ Canada) worldwide.

However, I can get competitive rates from FedEx and the US Postal service for any kind of parcel weight

Africa, Eastern Asia and Japan as well as Europe

1 record = 2 lbs $25 - $28

4 lbs = $37

20 lbs or all that fits into a 12"x12"x 5 1/2" box ((12" albums won't fit)= $60

I may be able to get some better FedEx rates.
Pls email with your address for an estimate.

Canada

1 record = 2 lbs $ 11 - $13

4 lbs = 22$
20 lbs or all that fits into a 12"x12"x 5 1/2" (12" albums won't fit)= $38
I may be able to get some better FedEx rates.
Pls email with your address for an estimate.

To estimate your shipment, pls go to

http://www.usps.com/tools/calculatepostage/welcome.htm?from=home_header&page=calculatepostage

My zip code is 94107.

Assume 1 pound per record plus 1 pound for packing.

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