For immediate release:
May 25, 2022
Contact: Julie Goetz, Director of Communications
(412) 905-9058 jgoetz@pittsburghsymphony.org
Photos of André Previn and the digitization process
PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY RESTORES AND DIGITIZES HUNDREDS OF ENDANGERED CONCERT RECORDINGS FROM ITS ANDRÉ PREVIN ERA
Previously inaccessible concert recordings from 1976-1984 saved from deterioration and now available to the public
PITTSBURGH—Nearly 300 audio recordings of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concerts from its André Previn era that have not been heard in decades and were in danger of permanent loss, have been digitized and are now available to the public in the Pittsburgh Symphony Archives’ Audio-Visual Performance Recording Collection.
A conductor and composer admired for his wide range of musical interests, André Previn, who died in 2019, was Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony from 1976 to 1984 and is known for reshaping the sound and direction of the orchestra at that time and raising global recognition for its excellence. These newly digitized recordings include concerts led by André Previn and 21 other conductors, including Herbert Blomstedt, Sergiu Comissiona, Michael Lankester, Michael Tilson Thomas and Leonard Slatkin.
The digitization of the Previn-era recordings is part of an ongoing effort to preserve Pittsburgh Symphony recordings captured on obsolete formats. The “Pittsburgh Symphony’s Concert Recordings Digitization Project 1976-1984” is focused on saving and preserving Pittsburgh Symphony concert recordings including the approximately 300 previously inaccessible audio recordings from concerts in the Previn era. The project was made possible by a $10,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), which was matched by the Pittsburgh Symphony. The digitization process was led by The MediaPreserve, an internationally recognized digitization company, located in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which carefully treated and transferred the recordings from delicate reels to digital audio files.
“It is a great joy to know that we have preserved the recordings of the André Previn era for many generations to come, both for the public to enjoy and for scholars for research. We are grateful to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission for recognizing the importance of this music and making it possible to save it from being lost forever,” said Melia Tourangeau, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Nearly 300 recordings from the project are now available to the public by appointment at the PSO Archives, and a curated collection of 15 short clips and samples is available to the public online to stream at https://www.pittsburghsymphony.org/pso_home/web/pso-digitized-recordings-grant. Digitized recordings of the full concerts are only available at Heinz Hall and require an in-person appointment for listening. Interested guests must contact the PSO Archives at Archives@pittsburghsymphony.org to schedule an appointment.
The following five-minute clips are available for listening online at the PSO Archives webpage:
- Smetana, “The Moldau” No. 2 (October 22, 1976); Rafael Kubelik, conductor
- Prokofiev, Classical Symphony, Opus 25 (February 13, 1977); André Previn, conductor
- Richard Strauss, Ein Heldenleben, Opus 23 (September 10, 1977); André Previn, conductor
- Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition (October 14, 1977); André Previn, conductor
- Bruckner, Symphony No. 4 (April 8, 1978); Emil Tchakarov, conductor
- Mahler, Symphony No. 4, Movement 2 (May 13, 1978); André Previn, conductor
- Brahms, Symphony No. 2 (April 12, 1979); Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
- Rachmaninoff, Symphony No. 3 (May 4, 1980); André Previn, conductor
- Mozart, Symphony No. 34 (April 22, 1982); Raymond Leppard, conductor
- Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4 (May 6, 1982); André Previn, conductor
- Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 5 (May 1, 1983); André Previn, conductor
- Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 6 (September 10, 1983); André Previn, conductor
- Strauss, Suite from Der Rosenkavalier, Opus 59 (September 29, 1983); André Previn, conductor
- Holst, “Jupiter” from The Planets (November 5, 1983); Michael Lankester, conductor
- Bruckner, Symphony No. 9, Movement 2 (April 21, 1984); Michael Lankester, conductor
Saving the Previn Pittsburgh Symphony Concert Recordings
The importance of saving the concert recordings from possible irretrievable deterioration became clear as Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra archivist Carolyn Friedrich discovered that, according to the Library of Congress, tapes of their format and age needed to be digitized within the next eight years. A majority of the recordings were captured on Scotch/3M 227 and Ampex 406 tapes. The formula used in manufacturing these tapes has been documented as particularly susceptible to “sticky-shed syndrome,” or binder hydrolysis, making the need for professional digitization with the ability to temporarily reverse the hydrolysis imperative. The degradation of the reels from the “sticky-shed” material, combined with decades of previous handling and overlooked storage, posed a risk for permanent loss of the recordings.
The Pittsburgh Symphony reached out to The MediaPreserve, an internationally recognized archival digitization company located in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, to carefully treat and transfer the recordings from the delicate reels to digital audio files.
“Valuable audio recordings trapped in difficult conditions and obsolete formats, including the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Previn-era concert recordings, require top-of-the-line care to avoid permanent loss,” said Robert Strauss, vice president, Preservation Technologies at The MediaPreserve. “The MediaPreserve digitization studios are configured to ensure the highest quality transfers using the finest equipment and top engineers in the field. Clients such as Carnegie Hall, CBC, The Fred Rogers Company, along with hundreds of institutions, universities and museums, have entrusted the digitization of their A/V collections to The MediaPreserve.”
To preserve the concert recordings, The MediaPreserve used the following process:
- Upon arrival at The MediaPreserve, the boxes of the concert reels were assessed for condition, special requirements, and photographed for documentation.
- Depending on the condition of each reel, some needed to be baked in a special scientific oven to bring the tape’s layers back together; this process prevented the unwanted shedding of oxide layers.
- In custom soundproof, temperature-regulated studios, MediaPreserve engineers loaded each reel onto a deck for digitization, checking track alignment, calibration and waveform while constantly monitoring for extraneous noise and issues during the transfer process.
- The audio files created from the digital transfer included a preservation master file in 24 bit/ 96kHz Broadcast WAV file format, a mezzanine access file in 16 bit/44.1kHz Broadcast Wave Format, and an access copy as an mp3 file. Md5 checksums and XML-encoded metadata were also created and preserved.
- Once each reel finished digitizing, multiple spot checks and QC assessments were performed by the engineers to ensure the truest masters were captured, and the media asset conditions were updated in their internal databases.
- After all the reels were completed, MediaPreserve then returned the boxes of original reels to the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Archives for further long-term preservation.
André Previn’s Years as Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony
André Previn is widely credited for launching a new era for the Pittsburgh Symphony after his arrival in 1976. He told the Pittsburgh Symphony’s former Vice-President for Artistic Planning Robert Moir, “When I arrived for the first rehearsal, the musicians were tuning and doing the thing with the reeds and all that. And I suddenly had a moment of absolute pleasure. I thought, ‘That’s my orchestra. They’re tuning for me.’ I couldn’t get over it. It was so wonderful.”
Previn’s direction brought sold-out houses, the addition of a Thursday night series and a new recording series. He launched Previn and the Pittsburgh, a string of award-winning specials produced by WQED-TV, which ran for three years and became the highest-rated classical music series on PBS at the time.
Under Previn’s leadership, in 1977 the PSO signed its first recording contract in eight years. The 1980 Angel release of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, conducted by Previn with soprano Elly Ameling, received a GRAMMY® Award nomination for the year’s Best Classical Orchestra Recording. Previn would eventually make more than 25 recordings with the symphony. Previn’s wish for a European tour was realized in 1978 (the Pittsburgh Symphony’s first since 1964), playing in 13 cities as exceptional ambassadors for the city. During his time with the symphony, he composed a Concerto for Harp and Orchestra for Gretchen Van Hoesen, principal harp, and Reflections for English Horn, Cello and Orchestra for Anne Martindale Williams, principal cello, and Harold Smoliar, former principal English horn.
After leaving the Pittsburgh Symphony, André Previn returned regularly to the Heinz Hall stage (more than 20 times). His last subscription week was in March 2012 which also included his own Triple Concerto for Trumpet, Horn, Tuba and Orchestra, written for former principal trumpet George Vosburgh, principal horn William Caballero, and principal tuba Craig Knox. A movement from this work was also included in a program in February 2016 as part of the symphony’s 120th anniversary celebration.
WITH GRATITUDE:
This project is supported by a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s Historical Archives and Records Care Grant, a program funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
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