Eugene Ormandy (and his discography as a Sheet!)

[lordlance]

We have been seeing a plethora of Ormandy boxes recently. It's given me a chance to listen his ouevre in much greater detail than I had previously. I have to agree with a few others here - the recordings are consistently good or very good. Sure, they might not be reference but to maintain a consistently good standard is rather admirable too. Especially for their time when (ostensibly/correct me if I'm wrong) access in America to European records was rather limited and a lot of people had access to Ormandy's recordings the easiest. In that context, I think you could do a lot worse than Ormandy - a man you can trust (generally.)

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The folks at Discogs are doing the Lord's work with how extensively detailed the contents of each box are. Thanks to AI, I have been able to tabulate the 3 Columbia boxes (and Minneapolis/RCA*) as a Google Sheet.

It's quite the thing: http://tiny.cc/ormandydiscography

*Sadly I can't find the same kind of detailed information for the Philadelphia RCA 1935-45 box.

[LKB]

When l think about Ormandy ( who introduced me to Sibelius and a few of the " lighter " composers ), I'm always tempted to compare him with Haitink, as he was prior to 1980 or so. A craftsman heading a famed ensemble, not flashy or particularly " with it ", neither pilot nor playboy, nor even elder statesman.

A reliable professional, in every positive sense of the term.

I'm glad his efforts are still being recognized and re-released, as they should be.

[aukhawk]

Plenty of premiere recordings to his name.

[André]

When l think about Ormandy ( who introduced me to Sibelius and a few of the " lighter " composers ), I'm always tempted to compare him with Haitink, as he was prior to 1980 or so. A craftsman heading a famed ensemble, not flashy or particularly " with it ", neither pilot nor playboy, nor even elder statesman.

A reliable professional, in every positive sense of the term.

I'm glad his efforts are still being recognized and re-released, as they should be.

Good point. Both were attentive to every facet of the wide repertoire they performed. Artistic results were widely different but at their source was the same honesty, commitment and respect for the score. IMO the Philadelphia Orchestra was the best on the planet in its heyday (ca 1958-1965).

[brewski]

We have been seeing a plethora of Ormandy boxes recently. It's given me a chance to listen his ouevre in much greater detail than I had previously. I have to agree with a few others here - the recordings are consistently good or very good. Sure, they might not be reference but to maintain a consistently good standard is rather admirable too. Especially for their time when (ostensibly/correct me if I'm wrong) access in America to European records was rather limited and a lot of people had access to Ormandy's recordings the easiest. In that context, I think you could do a lot worse than Ormandy - a man you can trust (generally.)

____


The folks at Discogs are doing the Lord's work with how extensively detailed the contents of each box are. Thanks to AI, I have been able to tabulate the 3 Columbia boxes (and Minneapolis/RCA*) as a Google Sheet.

It's quite the thing: http://tiny.cc/ormandydiscography

*Sadly I can't find the same kind of detailed information for the Philadelphia RCA 1935-45 box.

Thank you for this, quite a helpful resource. It comes when coincidentally, I am finishing up an article based on the most recent box of Columbia recordings (1964-1983). Most of the contents I had never heard (94 CDs!) and many of the discs are revelatory. Of course, since Ormandy and the orchestra recorded so much, not everything is gold, and in some repertoire (e.g., the Beethoven symphonies) the competition is insane. But for many others, my ideas about his output have been altered.

For example, just today I was listening to the 1967 all-Kodály recording, and heavens, it's terrific.

[lordlance]

Thank you for this, quite a helpful resource. It comes when coincidentally, I am finishing up an article based on the most recent box of Columbia recordings (1964-1983). Most of the contents I had never heard (94 CDs!) and many of the discs are revelatory. Of course, since Ormandy and the orchestra recorded so much, not everything is gold, and in some repertoire (e.g., the Beethoven symphonies) the competition is insane. But for many others, my ideas about his output have been altered.

For example, just today I was listening to the 1967 all-Kodály recording, and heavens, it's terrific.

Sadly the Sheet isn't reliable. I gave AI too much credit. It's missing at least a hundred pieces apparently? My friend made a similar sheet using Excel without AI. A shame.

Yeah the Beethoven isn't terribly good. Even even it came out, I can't imagine it was very competitive. Although I guess that's just the recording industry... Every conductor needs to do a cycle regardless of their preferences and strengths.