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 1-25 of 1233 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Berliner | 250 | 7-in. | 3/30/1896 | King Cotton | Artists vary | Piano solo | instrumentalist, piano | |
Berliner | 253[a] | 7-in. | 10/15/1895 | Princess Bonnie : Waltzes | Artists vary | Piano solo | instrumentalist, piano | |
Berliner | 256 | 7-in. | 11/17/1892 | Geisterfunken | Frederick William Gaisberg | Piano solo | instrumentalist, piano | |
Berliner | 490 | 7-in. | Apr. 1898 | The scarlet letter | Cullen and Collins | Banjo duet | composer | |
Berliner | 824 | 7-in. | 4/10/1897 | The scarlet letter | Brass quartet (unidentified; Berliner Gramophone Co.) | Brass quartet, with piano | composer | |
Berliner | 1459 | 7-in. | Before Sept. 1897 | The scarlet letter | Metropolitan Orchestra | Orchestra | composer | |
Berliner | 5904 | 7-in. | 3/21/1899 | The scarlet letter | Joseph P. Cullen | Banjo solo | composer | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]1005 | 7-in. | July 1900 | Carnaval di Venezia | [Professor] Pallavicini | Mandolin solo | recordist | |
Gramophone | G1b | 10-in. | approximately Aug. 1905 | Una notte fra i monti | Dramatic group (unidentified; Gramophone Co.) | Dramatic scene | recordist | |
Gramophone | MELBA 1 | 12-in. | Mar. 1904 | Mattinata | Nellie Melba | Soprano vocal solo, with piano | recordist | |
Gramophone | G2 | 10-in. | ca. Aug. 1905 | Un cliente difficile | Dramatic group (unidentified; Gramophone Co.) | Comic scene, with piano | recordist | |
Gramophone | MELBA 2 | 12-in. | Mar. 1904 | Nymphes et sylvains | Nellie Melba | Soprano vocal solo, with piano | recordist | |
Gramophone | MELBA 6 | 12-in. | Mar. 1904 | Ah, fors' è lui (Andante) | Nellie Melba | Soprano vocal solo, with piano | recordist | |
Gramophone | MELBA 9 | 12-in. | Mar. 1904 | Se seran rose | Nellie Melba | Soprano vocal solo, with piano | recordist | |
Gramophone | D12b | 10-in. | 1904 | Eine Gardinenpredigt | Franz Misfeld [i.e., Gustav Schönwald] ; Martha Schulze | Female-male vocal duet | recordist | |
Gramophone | MELBA 12 | 12-in. | 3/27/1904 | Part of the Mad scene | Nellie Melba | Soprano vocal solo, with flute obbligato and piano | recordist | |
Gramophone | D 13b | 10-in. | 1904 | Eine lustige Eisenbahnfahrt | Franz Misfeld [i.e., Gustav Schönwald] ; Martha Schulze | Recitation | recordist | |
Gramophone | MELBA 15 | 12-in. | 3/27/1904 | Sweet bird | Nellie Melba | Soprano vocal solo, with flute obbligato and piano | recordist | |
Gramophone | MELBA 16 | 12-in. | 3/27/1904 | Good-bye | Nellie Melba | Soprano vocal solo, with piano | recordist | |
Gramophone | 18p | 12-in. | 1907 | Halali balali wafani el habib | Abd-el-Hai Effendi Helmi | Male vocal solo | recordist | |
Gramophone | MELBA 20 | 12-in. | Mar. 1904 | Mad scene | Nellie Melba | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | recordist | |
Gramophone | MELBA 21 | 12-in. | Mar. 1904 | Mad scene | Nellie Melba | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | recordist | |
Gramophone | MELBA 22 | 12-in. | Mar. 1904 | Caro nome | Nellie Melba | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | recordist | |
Gramophone | MELBA 23 | 12-in. | Apr. 1904 | Ah, fors' è lui (Allegro) | Nellie Melba | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | recordist | |
Gramophone | MELBA 25 | 12-in. | Apr. 1904 | Three green bonnets | Nellie Melba | Soprano vocal solo, with piano | recordist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Gaisberg, Frederick William," accessed November 7, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/116625.
Gaisberg, Frederick William. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 7, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/116625.
"Gaisberg, Frederick William." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 7 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Gaisberg, Frederick William - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr95024030
Wikidata: Fred Gaisberg - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5495215
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/38044502
MusicBrainz: Fred Gaisberg - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/8c22b145-b2f0-48ec-a151-dab518ffc9ff
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