Everest Records
Everest Records is an American audiophile record company founded in 1958, primarily for classical music , which existed until 1962.
History and repertoire
The record label Everest Records was founded in 1958 by Harry Belock (1908–1999), an electronics engineer and music lover who invested money earned with patents for rocket control in a modern, audiophile recording studio . The studio, based in Bayside, Long Island , hired technicians from other companies such as Ampex and Westrex and used recording equipment from regular devices and in-house developments. At that time, innovative multi-channel mixing consoles and, as a special feature, 35 mm magnetic film were used .
The main focus of the catalog was on classical music , especially music from the 20th century, supplemented by jazz and easy listening productions and the like. a. by Charlie Barnet , Cy Coleman , Wild Bill Davis , Woody Herman , Chubby Jackson , Gloria Lynne , Tony Pastor and Charlie Shavers . Since most of the well-known American ensembles and soloists were contractually bound to other record companies, mainly European orchestras were signed, in particular the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra , with conductors such as Malcolm Sargent , Adrian Boult , Josef Krips , Eugène Goosens , János Ferencsik and John Carewe . Another winner was Leopold Stokowski , whose New York Philharmonic operated as the “Stadium Symphony Orchestra” for recording purposes for Everest. The recordings with only three microphones each ( 3-channel stereophony ) were made under the direction of sound engineer Bert Whyte mostly in the ballroom of the Manhattan Center , or in Europe in the Walthamstow Town Hall or the Watford Town Hall. The cover design was entrusted to the graphic designer Alex Steinweiss (1917–2011).
The Everest Records catalog includes the first recording of the 3rd symphony by Aaron Copland under his own direction and the first recording of the 9th symphony by Ralph Vaughan Williams under Adrian Boult. The large number of recordings (78 classic titles between 1958 and 1961) and the costs associated with the high recording standard led to the curtailment of the classical area and expansion of the repertoire in the direction of pop music just two years after it was founded , without Everest Records competing against established companies such as Columbia or RCA was able to enforce. In 1962, Belock was forced to sell to a Californian interest group, which republished some recordings. Parts of the studio equipment were later used by Mercury Records and Command Classics . In 1995 DCC-Records released some high quality re-editions of Everest. Today (as of 2014) the majority of the recordings from Everest Records are available as remasterings .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Tom Lord : The Jazz Discography (online, accessed May 25, 2015)
- ↑ Everest Records Returns in All its Glory, March 6, 2014
literature
- Frank Wonneberg : Vinyl Lexikon , Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-89602-546-3 , p. 66