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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Beethoven: Orchestral Works
Zino Francescatti, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Jean Morel, Eugene Ormandy
Klassiek - 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
Klassiek - Released by Dnv on 19 apr. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Eileen Farrell as Medea - Scenes from the Opera by Luigi Cherubini
Eileen Farrell, Andre Turp, Ezio Flagello, Arnold Gamson, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by G.O.P. on 31 jul. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, vol. 25
Bruno Walter, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by ArnebAudio on 27 mrt. 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Johann Sebastian Bach: Cantatas BWV 198 Trauer Ode & BWV 131 Aus der Tiefe (Album of 1960)
Robert Craft, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by GazzaLadra on 20 mrt. 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruno Walter dirige Mozart (Mono Version)
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Bruno Walter
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1956
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony N°1 'titan'
Bruno Walter, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by Classically on 16 nov. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Romances pour violon et orchestre Nos. 1 & 2 (Mono Version)
Zino Francescatti, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Jean Morel
Klassiek - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1955
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Concertos pour piano Nos. 24 & 26 "Le couronnement" (Mono Version)
Robert Casadesus, George Szell, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphony N°6 in F Major
Bruno Walter, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by Vinyle Numérique on 27 sep. 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: Petrouchka (Mono Version)
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Igor Stravinsky
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bizet: Carmen, extraits (Mono Version)
Jennie Tourel, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Jean Morel
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Music of Alban Berg: Vol. 1: Lulu: Four Symphonic Exerpts, Der Wein, Lyric Suite: Three Movements for String Orchestra
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Bethany Beardslee
Klassiek - Released by Soundmark on 1 jan. 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony NO. 9, Wab 109
Symfonische muziek - Released by Altair on 4 nov. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy, Ravel, Honegger & Berlioz
New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, CBS Symphony Orchestra, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Oscar Levant
Klassiek - Released by Altair on 14 mrt. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 19
Glenn Gould, Leonard Bernstein, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by Vinyle Numérique on 29 jun. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphony N°4 in B Flat Major
Bruno Walter, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by Vinyle Numérique on 27 sep. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonies Nos. 28, 40 & 41
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Bruno Walter
Pop - Released by Apollo Spark on 1 okt. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphonies No. 1 & 9
Bruno Walter, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Symfonische muziek - Released by Infinity on 11 apr. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik
Klassiek - Released by Past Classics on 15 jan. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Copland: El Salón México, Music for the Theatre
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic
Klassiek - Released by Past Classics on 20 mrt. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo