During Maurice Abravanel's long tenure as music director of the Utah Symphony, he and the orchestra recorded more than 100 albums for Vanguard Classics. From their debut in the 1960s and '70s, most of these recordings have remained in print over the years in one format or another.
Now, in addition to the more than two-dozen CDs currently on the market, many of Abravanel's recordings with the Utah Symphony are being made available in a new format. Los Angeles-based Silverline Classics, an offshoot of Silverline Records, has started to re-issue a number of Abravanel's recordings in DVD-Audio.
The company's goal, according to its president, Jeff Dean, is to release around 20 DVDs with Abravanel and the Utah Symphony.
Dean said there are several advantages to issuing recordings in DVD. "The cool thing about DVD-Audio as a format for records is in the sound. You have an immense amount of space for audio." In playback, you can create a surround-sound effect and the feeling of being in the concert hall, he said. And the quality surpasses that of CDs. "You hear what the engineers listened to," Dean said.
The best audio results come from playing these discs on a DVD-Audio player, although they're compatible on any DVD system. They cannot, however, be played on a CD player.
Another advantage these discs have over CDs is in the bonus material. Every DVD comes with archival photos of Abravanel and the orchestra, many taken during the recording sessions in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. There are also reproductions of contract agreements signed by Abravanel and Vanguard, letters and other documents.
Each disc also contains anywhere from three to five minutes' worth of interviews with Abravanel's widow Carolyn Abravanel, as well as Herold "Huck" Gregory; current and former members of the Utah Symphony, including John Chatelain and Craig Fineshriber; and others who were closely associated with the orchestra. There is also the eulogy that former associate conductor Ardean Watts delivered at Abravanel's memorial service in Abravanel Hall on Sept. 28, 1993.
The bonus material also includes composer biographies, a behind-the-scenes look at the process involved in restoring and transferring the master tapes to disc, and information on audio and speaker setups to obtain the optimal effect, as well as technical notes.
Eight DVDs are currently available: Brahms, Symphony No. 1 and Variations on a Theme by Haydn, op. 56a; Brahms, Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3; Mahler, Symphony No. 1; Mahler, Symphony No. 2; Tchaikovsky, "Swan Lake" (the complete ballet); Sibelius, Symphonies Nos. 1 and 4; Rachmaninoff, Symphony No. 3; and Leroy Anderson, "Fiddle Faddle."
Dean said that a tremendous amount of work and research went into these discs. "Even though the label (Vanguard Classics) changed hands several times over the years, their material was archived and well-preserved. Among the material we found were file cabinet after file cabinet of correspondence between Vanguard and Maestro Abravanel and Huck Gregory and others."
Dean and series consultant Gerald Courtney came to Salt Lake City to conduct interviews and do research and visited the Maurice Abravanel Studio in the Emma Ray Riggs Music Library at the University of Utah. "We videotaped it," Dean said. "Carolyn met us there and gave us a tour. It was a powerful experience being there."
Dean and Courtney also went to the Salt Lake City Main Library. "They gave us access to their material," Dean said. "Gerry and I wore white gloves, and we looked at over 900 photos to find the ones we wanted to use."
Sifting through so much archival material and interviewing Abravanel's widow and people who were closely associated with him made a deep impression on Dean. "I had no idea when I went there how respected Abravanel is and the kind of reverence people have for him."
Dean said his trip to Salt Lake City was an eye-opening experience. "I found out so much about the history of the Utah Symphony and the symphony's importance, not only to classical music of the time, but also to the city and the state and to outreach programs. I came away saying, 'We don't dare screw it up. There are so many people who are proud of this heritage.' "
Once the project got under way, everybody at Silverline got into the spirit of it, Dean said. "Everybody here began taking it personally."
Even Greg Barbero, president of Artemis Classics, which now owns Vanguard's classical catalogue as well as Omega Records, took a hands-on approach. "He's been a fantastic partner," Dean said. "He rolled up his sleeves and went into the tape vaults with the engineers to examine the masters."
Thanks to the advanced recording techniques of Vanguard's founders, Seymour and Maynard Solomon, the master tapes were of a particularly high quality. The Solomon brothers were visionary recording engineers who used techniques that were unheard of 30 to 40 years ago.
Not satisfied with the way music was typically recorded in the 1960s, the brothers pioneered multichannel technology that was beyond the playback capabilities of the average record buyer. "They were savvy and very intelligent recording engineers," Dean said. "They were ahead of their time, because they were guys who were interested in getting it right." The Solomons experimented with surround sound and even recorded some of their early mono records in stereo. "They refused to compromise on quality."
The relationship between Vanguard and Abravanel was remarkable, Dean said, because the Solomons and Abravanel had uncompromising standards. "It was a perfect marriage. Abravanel tried to develop the symphony into a major orchestra, and the Solomon brothers appreciated his genius."
The license agreement between Artemis and Silverline calls for 39 master recordings. "This is a big project," Dean said. "We're releasing more than 39 works because several of the discs have two or more works on them." Dean also has plans on expanding the series to include other orchestras and conductors.
Silverline Classics was created specifically for this project. "Silverline Records is an exceptionally diverse label," Dean said. "We record reggae, classic rock, pop and alternative jazz. We realized that our classical division needed its own identity. It needs to stand separately on its own. That's why we created Silverline Classics."
Dean said the company recognized it needed a convincing reason to proceed with the project. "When we started, we asked ourselves, 'What are we going to do to make this special? How can we connect with people?' " And for Dean, the answer was simple. He was interested in adding depth to these legendary recordings and to present the consumer with a well-rounded product. "We wanted to give more background and flesh out the people who made these recordings. And we wanted to put a perspective on how amazing these recordings were in their time, and how well they stand up today."
Dean admitted that before visiting Salt Lake City, he had no idea about the extent of resource material that existed on the Abravanel years. "There is a wealth of information there. Someone could do a full-fledged documentary on the Utah Symphony and Maurice Abravanel. The interviews on (our discs) give you a pretty good handle on what was going on, but a documentary would definitely be in order."
E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com