Scribendum Recordings The Art of Oskar Fried

Oskar Fried was the first conductor ever to record Strauss’ Alpensinphonie [1925], Mahler’s 2nd Symphony [1923], Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony and Bruckner’s 7th Symphony [1924], all of which are included in this set Fried’s recordings reveal individuality of interpretation, manifested by flexibility of phrasing He was the first foreign conductor to perform in Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution Otto Klemperer paid tribute to Fried, saying: “He was a brilliant conductor, an extremely gifted composer and a most original personality.” Although Oskar Fried was a major figure amongst European conductors before the Second World War, considered the equal of Toscanini and Furtwängler, he remains relatively little known, perhaps because he died just before the development of modern recording His early acoustic recordings are each artistically superb. He had a rare gift for bringing the best out of that difficult medium.