Frederick William Gaisberg

Frederick William Gaisberg (1 January 1873 – 2 September 1951) was an American musician, recording engineer and one of the earliest classical music producers for the gramophone. He himself did not use the term 'producer', and was not an impresario like his protégé Walter Legge of EMI or an innovator like John Culshaw of Decca. Gaisberg concentrated on talent-scouting and persuading performers to make recordings for the newly invented Gramophone.

Gaisberg began working in the recording industry in America as a young man, becoming a pioneer of early recording, and also worked as piano accompanist for the Berliner Gram-O-Phone Company, the inventors of the practical lateral-groove disc and associated playback apparatus, the Berliner Gramophone. In 1898, he joined the Gramophone Company in England as its first recording engineer. In 1902, he recorded music sung by the tenor Enrico Caruso and the recordings became a sensation. By 1921, Gaisberg was artistic director of HMV's 'international artistes' department. After 1925, he concentrated on artist management. In 1939, he retired from his position but continued as a consultant in the industry through the 1940s.

Birth and Death Data: Born January 1, 1873 (Washington, D.C.), Died September 2, 1951 (Hampstead)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1892 - 1920

Roles Represented in DAHR: recordist, composer, piano

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1001-1025 of 1233 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Gramophone 13126b 10-in. 4/26/1909 Una notte sulla laguna Diversi artisti, Milano [i.e., Colantuoni] Comic scene recordist  
Gramophone 13147b 10-in. 4/28/1909 Gavotta Josephina Huguet Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13152b 10-in. 4/28/1909 'A campagnuola Annita di Landa Female vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13157b 10-in. 4/28/1909 La spagnuola Annita di Landa Female vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13164b 10-in. 4/30/1909 Stella Josephina Huguet Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13173b 10-in. 5/1/1909 Piangi, fanciulla Albertina Cassani ; Francesco Federici Vocal duet (soprano and baritone), with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13179b 10-in. 5/3/1909 Pari siamo Ernesto Badini Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13180b 10-in. 5/3/1909 Non sapete Ernesto Badini ; Giuletta Battaglioli Vocal duet (mezzo-soprano and baritone), with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13182b 10-in. 5/3/1909 Dio possente Francesco Federici Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13186b 10-in. 5/4/1909 Ah, non giunge Albertina Cassani Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13191b 10-in. 5/4/1909 Aria della serva Josephina Huguet Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13217b 10-in. 5/10/1909 Fripponette Luisella Lamy Female vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13218b 10-in. 5/10/1909 La mode Luisella Lamy Female vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13220b 10-in. 5/10/1909 Giuochi d’amore Luisella Lamy Female vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13221b 10-in. 5/10/1909 La pipa Luisella Lamy Female vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13233b 10-in. 5/12/1909 Serenata Ernesto Badini ; Salvatore Nicolicchia Vocal duet (2 baritones), with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13240b 10-in. 5/13/1909 Danza ungherese Carlo Sabajno Orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13241b 10-in. 5/13/1909 Danza ungherese Carlo Sabajno Orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13253b 10-in. 5/14/1909 O dolor Aristodemo Giorgini ; Salvatore Nicolicchia Vocal trio (soprano, tenor, and baritone), with chorus and orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13331b 10-in. 5/21/1909 Sulla bocca amorosa Fernando De Lucia Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13332b 10-in. 5/21/1909 Era di maggio Fernando De Lucia Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13336b 10-in. 5/21/1909 'O sole mio Fernando De Lucia Tenor vocal solo, with mandolin, violin, and piano recordist  
Gramophone 13337b 10-in. 5/21/1909 Carmela mia Fernando De Lucia Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13357b 10-in. May 1909 O vouleftis Stella Kokini Female vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 13376b 10-in. May 1909 La veuve joyeuse Stella Kokini Female vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
(Results 1001-1025 of 1233 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Gaisberg, Frederick William," accessed November 14, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/116625.

Gaisberg, Frederick William. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 14, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/116625.

"Gaisberg, Frederick William." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 14 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/116625

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.