Classical Notes: January 1, 2010 Archive

A Musical "First" for the first

Posted at 9:21 AM on January 1, 2010 by Alison Young (1 Comments)
Filed under: Musician stories, Programs

Today's a day of musical firsts - first symphonies, first performances, first recordings.

Just a moment ago, I played a newer rendition of the first performance ever to be recorded. Though other recordings had been made a decade earlier, this is the only one still in existence.

A representative of Edison saved this moment - a Friday afternoon concert in June of 1888. Sir August Manns led an orchestra of 500 and a choir of over 4,000, in front of an audience of something like 23,722 in London's Crystal Palace.

Though the wax cylinder recording is ghostly, it is a "musical first!"

Happy New Year and thanks to MPR member Bill in La Crosse for alerting me to this recording.

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