Bruno Walter In Conversation With Arnold Michaelis - 1956 Columbia Recording

Bruno Walter (1876-1962) discusses Mozart (starting about 8:25; the Requiem and Sussmayer, at about 10:45), Mahler and Bruckner (20:50), and related topics with American television producer Arnold Michaelis (1916-1997). This recording was made in the mid-1950's, when Michaelis was a producer for the Masterworks division of Columbia Records. He had been asked to interview Bruno Walter for brief radio commercials to promote the conductor's records. Columbia was so pleased with the result that it released the interview as a record (this one). Michaelis went on to interview a range of personalities, from Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II to Eleanor Roosevelt and two Indian Prime Ministers, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

This LP was issued on the Columbia Masterworks label, serial number BW 80. On the label appear the words "Not For Sale."

As with other rare and historically important recordings, I rely principally on images from the media itself for the creation of these videos, so that the listener has no doubts about the authenticity of the performance he/she is hearing.

Images: LP label side 1, 0:26; jacket cover, 0:46; LP label side 2, 36:46; detail from jacket, reverse side, 37:21; reverse side of jacket, 37:50.

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More narrated recordings:

Leonard Bernstein On Beethoven, 1956: Symphony No. 5 And Beethoven's Original Sketches - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei3KhIdF7uw

Rosa Ponselle: 1971 Interview With William Seward of Columbia Records (Odyssey,1972) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEM4Cvn_BoM

Gerald Moore Talks About the Art of Accompanying - "The Unashamed Accompanist" (Angel, 1960s) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_U7R-iFbZQ

Eugene Ormandy, 1969 Interview: Reflections on Fritz Kreisler, Kirsten Flagsted, Marian Anderson - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W6-sACk8qI

Brahms / Leonard Bernstein, 1957: An Analysis of Brahms' Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9TinRdrwOU

Peter and the Wolf - Boris Karloff - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB66bInIXAY

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Bruno Walter
• Arnold Michaelis
• Mahler
• Mozart
• Bruckner
• davidhertzberg
• BW 80
• Requiem
• Columbia Masterworks
• classicvinylbiz

[palcsi]

Excellent! Thank you so much.

[pmrossetti1]

thank you, a great man.

[stickwagger]

Thank you so much for this. I think that I would have got on well with Walter. You get the feeling of a warm person.

[steph42uk]

He worked marvelously with the great contralto Katheen Ferrier

[victoryelamo]

Great document! Thanks a lot for sharing it

[BRENDANGCARROLL]

Thank you for posting this very rare document.

[goodmanmusica]

thanks