Fred Gaisberg

Fred Gaisberg, completely Frederick William Gaisberg , (born January 1, 1873 in Washington, DC , † September 2, 1951 in London ) was an American musician, sound engineer and one of the first producers of the music industry, which was just establishing itself at the time.

Life

Frederick William Gaisberg was born in Washington, DC on January 1, 1873, the son of William Konrad Gaisberg and Emma E. Gaisberg née Klenk, immigrants of German origin who immigrated to the United States in 1854. He attended the local school institutions and, following his musical interests, supported by his mother, was active in various local musical institutions, including the church choir of St. John's Episcopal Church near Lafayette Square in Washington.

He worked as a piano accompanist and unit manager for Emil Berliner .

Around 1898 he traveled to London on behalf of Berliners and became the first sound engineer for the Gramophone Company, which was part of Emile Berliner's corporate empire . He and Jo Sanders set up the first recording studio for Europe in the Cockburn Hotel, London, Henriettastr. His recording of Enrico Caruso in Milan on April 11, 1902, was a best seller and won an award the following year.

When the Gramophone Company HMV Group was founded in 1921 , he became its artistic director. After 1925 he focused on artist management.

Publications

• The Music Goes Round . New York, Macmillan, 1942.

literature

• Curt Riess : Knaurs world history of the record . Droemersche Publishing House, Zurich 1966.
• Frank Hoffmann & Howard Ferstler: Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound, Routledge, London 2005, ISBN 0-203-48427-4 .
• Jerrold Northrop Moore : Sound Revolutions: A Biography of Fred Gaisberg, Founding Father of Commercial Sound Recording Sanctuary Publishing, London 1999, ISBN 978-186-074235-4 .

Web links

• Fred Gaisberg at Discogs (English)