Julius Baker in Works by Foote and Griffes

Flutist Julius Baker made any number of records in the 1950s. During much of the period he was a New York freelance musician, but when these recordings were made, in June 1952, he was the principal flute of the Chicago Symphony. He later was the principal of the New York Philharmonic for many years.

Julius Baker

The repertoire could not be more welcome, consisting of the Poem for flute and orchestra by the American Impressionist Charles Tomlinson Griffes and "A Night Piece" by the American Romantic Arthur Foote.

Assisting in the Griffes is a chamber orchestra led by Daniel Saidenberg, also a busy performer during the period. In "A Night Piece" Baker is joined by the then violins of the Stuyvesant Quartet (Sylvan Shulman and Bernard Roberts), violist Harold Coletta of the NBC Symphony, and cellist Bernard Greenhouse, later of the Beaux Arts Trio.

These are excellent performances that I recommend. The sound is good. They come from American Decca's spartan (no notes) 4000 series of 10-inch LPs, dating from the early 1950s. I have a few more from this series coming up.

By the way, if you are interested in the Stuyvesant Quartet, fellow blogger Bryan over at The Shellackophile offers three different recordings by the group, including one he just posted.

Mitch Miller Plays Mozart and Bach

Yes, it's the same Mitch Miller, he of the sing-alongs, children's records, Botch-A-Me and Mama Will Bark. The man who never met a novelty tune he didn't like. The sworn enemy of rock and roll. That very same fellow was a fine oboist who made classical records such as this one.

Our friend Joe Serraglio, who has contributed two superb Virgil Thomson recordings to this blog, now wants to draw attention to Mitch's other life as a classical musician - less well known than his work as A&R king of Mercury then Columbia records, and sing-a-long honcho on television and on records that are widely available at your local thrift store.

Here Miller assays works by Mozart, J.C. Bach and J.S. Bach, with the backing of the Saidenberg Little Symphony. Just a few words about Daniel Saidenberg, a most interesting figure in his own right. A cellist, he won the Naumburg Competition and then joined the Chicago Symphony. Upon moving to New York, he formed his chamber orchestra, which was in residence at the 92nd Street Y for several years. At the time of this recording, he and his wife also operated the Saidenberg Gallery, which purveyed masterpieces of 20th century art.

These works were recorded in March 1952 and October 1953 in Columbia's 30th Street studio.

Thanks so much again to Joe for making them available!

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