Columbia Symphony Orchestra
The Columbia Symphony Orchestra was a name linked to numerous ensembles recording at different times for Columbia Records. The name itself was an artifact from a time in which record labels and radio networks assembled and named their own orchestras, or used the name as a "cover" for the use of an orchestra that was contracted elsewhere.
For purposes that concern us here, the "Columbia Symphony Orchestra" name was used by Columbia Masterworks in the 1950s on New York recording sessions with an orchestra comprised of members of the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and the NBC Symphony. The label could hire members of those orchestras as freelance players, assemble an orchestra every bit as good as (and perhaps better than) the New York Philharmonic, and pay them for their work without having to pay royalties against sales to the Philharmonic or any of the players other than the conductor or soloist. This orchestra -- as it appeared on monaural recordings made by Bruno Walter in New York between 1954 and early 1956, and with other New York-based conductors into the early '60s -- was a good ensemble, a match for the Philharmonic in the studio. Indeed, one of the most highly acclaimed and best-selling recordings by Leonard Bernstein on the Columbia label -- of George Gershwin's An American in Paris -- was a Columbia Symphony Orchestra recording, not a Philharmonic record.
However, the Columbia Orchestra which appeared on Bruno Walter's stereo recordings from 1957 onward was something different and very special. Walter (1876-1962) had retired at age 80 after a very successful career on Columbia with the New York Philharmonic, where he served as Musical Advisor from 1947 to 1949, and as a frequent guest conductor over the following seven years. In 1957, while living in California, he was approached by Columbia's executives with a new proposal. Told of the advent of stereo recording and the threat that it constituted to the future sales of monaural records, Walter was asked to undertake a new series of recordings in stereo to preserve his interpretations in the most modern sound possible and to allow them to reach new generations of listeners.
The result was a new Columbia Symphony Orchestra, chosen specifically by and for Walter. This group was an ensemble of 50 to 70 members, assembled from the best freelance musicians on the West Coast, many of whom typically never took on orchestral work but made the exception to work with Walter. It was one of the best recording orchestras ever assembled in the United States, incorporating many of the best characteristics of the Vienna Philharmonic and the Leipzig Gewandhaus -- which Walter had conducted in Austria and Germany during the '20s and '30s -- as well as the New York Philharmonic. This orchestra recorded much of the core classical and Romantic repertory under Walter's baton, including the late Mozart symphonies, Mahler's symphonies Nos. 1 and 9, the four Brahms symphonies, Dvorak's symphonies Nos. 8 and 9, Schubert's Ninth, the Wagner orchestral music, and the complete Beethoven symphonies.
© Bruce Eder
Beethoven: Symphonies 1-9 Sony Classical [8] (Walter cond.)
Symphony No. 5 sketches Sony Classical [7] (Bernstein cond.)
Brahms Symphonies 1-4 Sony Classical [7] (Walter cond.)
Bruckner Symphony No. 9 Sony Classical [9] (Walter cond.)
Symphony No. 4 Sony Classical [7] (Walter cond.)
Dvorak Symphony No. 9 Sony Classical [8] (Walter cond.)
Gershwin An American In Paris Sony Classical [8] (Bernstein cond.)
Mahler Symphony No. 1 Sony Classical [8] (Walter cond.)
Symphony No. 9 Sony Classical [8] (Walter cond.)
Mozart Symphonies 25, 35, 38-41 Sony Classical [8] (Walter cond.)
Schubert Symphony No. 9 Sony Classical [8] (Walter cond.)
Stravinsky Rite Of Spring Sony Classical [6] (Stravinsky cond.)
Firebird Suite Sony Classical [6] (Stravinsky cond.) /TiVo
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Debussy: Images pour orchestre - Ravel: Concerto pour piano in G Major (Stereo Version)
New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Orchestral Works
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Occidental College Chorus, Bruno Walter
Klassik - Erschienen bei Urania Records am 01.10.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruno Walter conducts Richard Wagner (1925, 1962) (Bruno Walter)
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Occidental College Concert Choir, New York Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bruno Walter
Klassik - Erschienen bei IDIS am 04.06.2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue; An American in Paris
Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei Past Classics am 10.07.2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Columbia Symphony Orchestra & Bruno Walter - Brahms: 4 Symphonies
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Bruno Walter
Symphonieorchester - Erschienen bei The Golden Legacy of Music am 29.05.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
You Can't Run Away From It (Original Soundtrack Recording)
June Allyson, The Four Aces, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Original Soundtrack - Erschienen bei Foyer am 01.02.2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor
Klassik - Erschienen bei Past Classics am 01.02.2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rosenthal, Offenbach: La gaîté Parisienne (Mono Version)
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Efrem Kurtz
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 28, 40 & 41
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Bruno Walter
Pop - Erschienen bei Royale Grande am 01.03.2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Concertos pour piano Nos. 22 & 23 (Stereo Version)
Robert Casadesus, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, George Szell
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bruno Walter dirige... (Mono Version)
New York Philharmonic, Bruno Walter, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky: Concerto in D for Violin & Orch., Mvts. for Piano & Orch., Symphony in C, Symphony in 3 Mvts.
Klassik - Erschienen bei Soundmark am 08.06.2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Leonard Bernstein conducts and plays Mussorgsky-Ravel, Gershwin & Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic
Klassik - Erschienen bei Artemisia am 01.03.2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Glenn Gould (Enregistrement de 1957)
Glenn Gould, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Montreal String Quartet, Leonard Bernstein
Klassik - Erschienen bei Naxos am 29.09.2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony NO. 9 - Symphony NO. 1
Symphonieorchester - Erschienen bei Altair am 31.10.2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music of Alban Berg: Four Symphonic Excerpts from "Lulu," Der Wein, & Three Movements from "Lyric Suite," for String Orchestra
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Robert Craft
Klassik - Erschienen bei Soundmark Records am 08.11.2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi Arias
Eileen Farrell, Max Rudolf, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Oper - Erschienen bei Music Manager am 09.11.2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Varèse (Mono Version)
Robert Craft, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Ouvertures (Mono Version)
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Bruno Walter
Oper - Erschienen bei BnF Collection am 01.01.1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach, Handel & Tartini: Violin Sonatas & Concertos
Joseph Szigeti, Carlo Bussotti, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, George Szell
Klassik - Erschienen bei Biddulph Recordings am 15.12.2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Orchestral Works
Zino Francescatti, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Jean Morel, Eugene Ormandy
Klassik - Erschienen bei Biddulph Recordings am 31.12.2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo