![]() ![]() It is considered one of the great sleeper cycles of the era which is now available on Bibendum Records together with many other classic and popular classics recorded by the same team. Gerhardt’s keen interest in conducting and recording was encouraged by Toscanini (he worked as assistant to Toscanini) and when Readers Digest were looking for a producer to assist the the legendary Decca engineer Kenneth Wilkinson, Gerhardt came to London in early 1961 and was responsible for many classic albums, including the Beethoven Symphony cycle conducted by René Leibowitz, selling over a million copies. In his role as producer, he created easy listening releases as well as supervising the first tape transfers of Schnabel’s piano recordings and the early development of stereo sound, which led to the spectacular recordings of Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony in the mid 1950s. He began his career in the technical department at RCA Records. I began to search for other recordings with the same combination.Ĭharles Gerhardt was born in Arkansas in 1927 and trained at Juilliard as well as University College, London. Getting it home, I brandished it proudly to our esteemed publisher with whom I shared a student flat and we sat for hours enjoying the vivid scores that had not seen the light of day for decades.Īfter collecting a dozen or so of these recordings, I became familiar with the name of conductor and producer Charles Gerhardt and the powerful playing of the National Philharmonic Orchestra, the London pickup band who played on all the recordings. ![]() I was suddenly unable to concentrate on anything else as the richness of the film score poured over me-I had to get the recording immediately regardless of whatever I’d gone into the shop for. It would have been the summer of 1980 when I walked into our local music store in Marylebone High Street in London and heard the film score to The Sea Hawk blazing out of the speakers as I perused the scores I needed for conducting class. ![]()
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