Bruckner Archive acquires the Ludwig K. Mayer wartime recordings of the Overture and Four Orchestral Pieces
This is a three disc 78 rpm set (Polydor # 57213, 57214 and 57215). They were manufactured in Germany in 1943. By supplying the matrix numbers to a colleague at the Deutsche Rundfunk Archive in Frankfurt, we were able to find the following information:
The Overture was recorded twice on December 2, 1942. The second take was used for publication.
The Four Orchestral Pieces were recorded twice on February 16, 1943. The second take was used for publication. Both recording sessions took place in Polydor's "Room 9" which was the Zentral-Theater (located at Alte Jakobstrasse 32) in Berlin. Since 1938, it was one of their primary recording studios. It is possible that the recordings were originally made for the "Zentralstelle für Deutsche Kulturfunksendungen im Ausland" (Central Office for German Cultural Broadcasting Abroad). Polydor was a sub label of Deutsche Grammophon and was used for the export market. After the war, the recordings were re-issued on the main Deutsche Grammophon label (three 78 rpm discs) as shown below. For this release, the March in D Minor (WAB 96) was listed as a separate work and the title, "Drei Kleine Orchesterstuecke" (Three Small Orchestral Pieces) was shown on the label instead of the "Vier Kleine Orchesterstuecke" (Four Small Orchestral Pieces) as shown on the original Polydor release.  Label for the 1948 DGG release An audio file of the recording has been given to the Deutsche Rundfunk Archive. It is now registered at the DRA under the following catalog numbers: K006854827: Overture K006854835: Three Orchestral Pieces K006854868: March in D Minor Dr. Ludwig Karl Mayer was born in Munich on May 9, 1896 and died in Linz on May 12, 1963. He was the author of two books, "Musikgeschichte" (Music History) and "Die Musik des 20 Jahrhundertspublished" (Music in the Twentieth Century) both written around 1960. He was, at the time of these recordings, working for the RMVP (The Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda). |
