First Electrical Recordings Issued (1925)

The First Electrical Recordings Issued

1. A Miniature Concert (Excerpt) (0:07)

Billy Murray and 8 Victor Artists (The first electrical recording issued commercially)

2. Chopin: Waltz in C-sharp minor, op. 64, No. 2 (2:30)
3. Schubert: Litanei, D. 343 (arranged Cortot) (5:40)
4. Brahms: Wiegenlied, Op. 49. No. 4 (arranged Cortot) (9:04)
5. Chopin: Etude in A-flat Major Op. 25, No. 1 (11:35)
6. Chopin: Impromptu No. 2 in F-sharp Major, Op. 36 (13:40)
7. Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11 in A minor, S.244 (Unissued) (18:16)

Alfred Cortot, Pianist (The first electrical recording of classical music issued commercially.)

8. Saint Saens: Danse Macabre (22:29)

Leopold Stokowski, conductor
The Philadelphia Orchestra (The first electrical recording of an orchestra in history.)

The first electrical recordings issued were actually made by Columbia in February, 1925, but they were not the first ones issued. That distinction goes to the Victor Company.

The first Victor electrical recordings were tests that were unissued. Early Victor engineer Harold Sooy gives the following account:

"...February 10th, 1925: We had our first Electrically recorded date to-day. Talent: Miss Helen Clark with piano (J. Pasternack) and violin obbligato (A. Schmidt)...February 11th, 1925: Made a duet selection by Miss Olive Kline and Miss Elsie Baker (electrically). Messrs. [Joseph P.] Maxfield, [Stanley] Watkins and [Elmer A.] Raguse present...March 6th, 1925; We kept constantly on the go with this electrical recording from February 9th to March 6th...Vocal Solos, Instrumental Solos, Vocal Duets, Symphony Orchestras, Dance Orchestras and a Mixed Chorus of 36 voices, etc...March 11th, 1925...starting to make Electrically recorded records for our Catalog...This work started on permission from the Bell Company. Mme. [Olga] Samaroff being the first artist to make records for Domestic use..."

The first electrical recording issued was a two-sided 12" disk. The Eight Popular Victor Artists sing “A Miniature Concert” on Victor 35753 recorded on February 26, 1925 and was issued on May 29. Essentially it is a Victor Demo.

The next issued session was piano music from Alfred Cortot, which was recorded at Camden on March 21, 1925. The order of recording is based upon the matrix numbers.

The last in this set is the first electrical orchestral recording made in history, The Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Leopold Stokowski, in the famous performance of Saint Saens "Dance Macabre". Recorded April 29, 1925.

For this recording the practice of orchestration used for acoustic recordings was still observed. Percussion could not be used for acoustic recordings, because the sudden impact of percussion would cause the stylus to jump and ruin the recordings. The actual instrument used to replace percussion in the present recording is a bass saxophone. The violin solo is Thaddeus Rich, concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Transfer of "A Miniature Concert": Courtesy of National Archives
Transfer of Alfred Cortot (2012): Studio Art et Son, Paris
Transfer of "Dance Macabre": RCA New York
Field acoustic and other sonic restoration (2022-23): Paul Howard - The Yucaipa Studio

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