Georges Mager

[johntpt]

Georges Mager, one of the great trumpeters of all time, was Principal of the Boston Symphony from 1919 (after playing viola in the BSO for a year, sharing a stand with Arthur Fiedler!) until his death in 1950. As mentioned earlier by Dave Bacon, in the 30s and 40s there were 3 big names in American trumpeters: Harry Glantz in the NYPO and later in the NBC, Saul Caston in Philly, and Mager in Boston. Although many of the recordings featuring Mr. Mager are available on CD, many players have never heard his beautiful, singing sound and unique vibrato. Serge Koussevitzky, Music Director of the BSO form 1924 until 1949, and one of the "old school" conductors who rarely gave praise to anyone, described Mager as "covering the orchestra with gold."

In another thread I mentioned the 1930 Koussevitzky recording of Pictures. This is an excellent introduction to Mager's playing. The style is more lyrical than many players of today. His sound has a wonderful way of blending with all sections of the orchestra, while coming to the fore of the mix when needed without ever losing the beautiful singing quality or being forced. This recording, and many others featuring Mager, can be found in a 10 CD box released on the History label entitled "Koussevitzky Maestro Risoluto." Also in this set are the world premiere recording of Strauss' Also Sprach from 1935, recordings of Tchaik 4, Francesca da Rimini, La Mer, Shostakovich 9, Rachmaninov 3, Harris 3, Hanson 3, Appalachian Spring, a live concert performance of Prokofiev 5, and a wonderful live Poem of Ecstacy. I'm not sure if this set is easily found in the CD shops, but it shows up on Ebay regularly in the $30-35 range.

Another excellent choice is a CD on the Naxos label in their series of recordings featuring great historical conductors. This one includes the 2nd and 5th Symphonies of Sibelius led by Koussevitzky, an early Sibelius specialist. The recording of the 2nd was a favorite of Herseth even before he studied with Mager.

Also on the Naxos label is a CD featuring the first broadcast of the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra from December, 1944, the same month as it's premeire by the BSO and Koussevitzky. First recordings are always interesting because a "performance tradition" had yet to be established. This is no exception and the BSO plays in top form. Very exciting!

John Urness