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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Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue & An American in Paris by Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on 30 Sep 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini Without Words
André Kostelanetz And His Orchestra, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 26 Oct 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky conducts Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring & The Firebird (2023 Remastered)
Igor Stravinsky, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on 5 Dec 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann, Beethoven, Dvorak, Mendelssohn, Ravel...
Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, RCA Victor Orchestra
Symphonic Music - Released by Les Indispensables de Diapason on 25 Jun 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gustav Mahler Edition
Classical - Released by Profil on 3 Jun 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, WAB 109 (1894 Version, Orel Edition) [Remastered 2022]
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Bruno Walter
Classical - Released by Archipel on 1 Jul 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Opera Without Words
André Kostelanetz And His Orchestra, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 22 Jan 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov: Symphony No. 1 - Igor Stravinsky: Symphony, Op. 1
Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, Boris Khaikin, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, CBC Symphony Orchestra, Igor Stravinsky
Symphonies - Released by Praga Digitals on 1 Jul 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rudolf Serkin: The Legendary Concerto Recordings 1950-1956
Alexander Schneider, Eugene Ormandy, George Szell, Rudolf Serkin, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 26 Jul 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 23 & 27
Robert Casadesus, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, George Szell
Classical - Released by Artemisia on 2 Jul 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Best Violin Concerts
Cologne New Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra San Marco, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Profil Medien GmbH Edition Günter Hänssler on 18 Jan 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphony No.1; other short works
André Kostelanetz And His Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 22 Jul 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonies from Tartini, Cherubini, Respighi & Verdi
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra E Coro Del Teatro Alla Scala
Classical - Released by Ermitage Rc on 19 May 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Glenn Gould Plays Bach
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Glenn Gould
Classical - Released by La Bambolina s.a.s. on 11 Dec 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Orchestral Works
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Occidental College Chorus, Bruno Walter
Classical - Released by Urania Records on 1 Oct 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 28, 40 & 41
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Bruno Walter
Pop - Released by Royale Grande on 1 Mar 2022
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
Classical - Released by Artemisia on 1 Mar 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony NO. 9 - Symphony NO. 1
Symphonic Music - Released by Altair on 31 Oct 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach, Handel & Tartini: Violin Sonatas & Concertos
Joseph Szigeti, Carlo Bussotti, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, George Szell
Classical - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 15 Dec 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Orchestral Works
Zino Francescatti, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Jean Morel, Eugene Ormandy
Classical - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 31 Dec 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Sound Spectacular. Music Of Edgar Varèse Vol. 2: Arcana ‧ Déserts ‧ Offrandes
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Dona Precht
Classical - Released by Dnv on 19 Apr 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo