Bargain finds at Shabby Records - Solomon performs Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto

EMI HMV BSD 751
Beethoven: Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 (1956)

ARTISTS:

Solomon, piano
Herbert Menges, conductor
Philharmonia Orchestra

LABEL/PRESSING:

White/gold

STAMPERS: 

OYEA 36-9
OYEA 37-13

PRICE RANGE:

Median $30, max $109

COMMENTS:

Shabby Records is a little gem of a record shop located in the coastal town of Haugesund (population 37,855), Norway, not far from the harbor. According to its website, it has been in business since 1989. They sell vinyl records, CDs, and DVDs of a wide variety of musical genres, including classical. It is here that I was fortunate enough to come across this interesting 10 inch EMI/HMV record for 70 Krone, which comes out to just under $7. For some reason, their credit card reader just wouldn't accept mine, so the owner held onto my records while I jogged over to the nearest ATM (called a "minibank") a couple of blocks away where I could withdraw some local currency.

Solomon Cutner (1902-1988), known professionally only by his first name Solomon, was a highly talented British pianist whose name is seldom mentioned these days. He made over 100 recordings (many for EMI/HMV), including the concertos and sonatas of Beethoven, Brahms, and Schumann, among many others. Interestingly, he performed the world premiere of Arthur Bliss' piano concerto in 1939 at the New York World's Fair. His musical career was sadly cut short by a stroke in 1956 that left his right arm paralyzed. At the time of the stroke, he was in the middle of recording the complete Beethoven piano sonatas, which he unfortunately never completed. Solomon never returned to the stage but lived for another 32 years. I came across a nicely written tribute, which I encourage you to check out if you are interested in learning more about this past master.

Most of Solomon's recordings were made before the age of stereo, but he did leave us with a few early stereophonic records, this being one of them. The others were EMI/HMV ASD 294 (Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1) and EMI/HMV ASD 272 (Schumann/Grieg Piano Concertos). These were all recorded in 1956, shortly before his stroke. I found this information via a Solomon discography compiled by Michael H. Gray.

This is an enjoyable performance of Beethoven's third piano concerto. The third is one of my favorite of the five concerti and the only one in a predominantly minor key (although the gorgeous middle movement is in E major). Back in the day when my piano teacher encouraged me to pick up a concerto to work on, she suggested this one. I balked and went with the Gershwin Concerto in F.

This EMI/HMV 10 inch is not my reference recording but is worth considering if you can find it for a low price (see releases below). I definitely would not pay the Popsike prices quoted above. Solomon plays with such a beautiful and warm tone, which I find to be the highlight of this record. The sonics of my particular pressing are only okay for early stereo, certainly not in the same league as some of the better EMI/HMV and UK Columbia stereo records of the late 1950s and early 1960s. The soundstage is somewhat cavernous. Strings can sound a little bit muddy at times, and there is a bit of distortion during loud climactic passages. But hey, for $7, I'm not complaining. It's still a keeper with its beautifully laminated cover.

RELEASES:

There have been a number of vinyl releases of this recording:

• HMV ALP 1546 (mono)
• EMI SLS 5026 (boxed set of the five concerti)
• World Record Club T 540, ST 540
• Angel Seraphim (S) 60019 (US release)
• Regal SREG 1053 (Spanish release)

I have not heard any of these but would wager that the EMI boxed set, WRC, and Regal could sound cleaner and more dynamic than the original pressing. If any of you have experience with these, please share your thoughts. We'd love to hear from you.

Here is a link to a Youtube video of this recording:

For more on the Beethoven piano concertos on vinyl, check out Meles' dedicated post on this topic from February 2015.