The Commercial Recording Legacy of Serge Koussevitzky and the BSO
The first BSO recording with Serge Koussevitzky was made just over a decade after the orchestra's first acoustical recording in 1917 under Karl Muck. In 1928, Victor Talking Machine Company (which became RCA Victor in 1929) employed a new electrical technology to capture Koussevitzky and the BSO in Symphony Hall, releasing the first of many albums that Victor/RCA Victor would produce during Koussevitzky's tenure. Shaped by Koussevitzky's passion to promote living composers, the first album featured works by Prokofiev, Stravinsky, and Ravel. In 2024, in celebration of Koussevitzky's 150th birthday, the remastering of these historical recordings commenced, and in November 2026, the full 56-album set will be available for the first time as a complete digital set.
RCA Victor Red Seal Records catalog pamphlets featuring Serge Koussevitzky
RCA Victor released its prestigious orchestral and opera works on its Red Seal label. These catalog pamphlets featured conductor Serge Koussevitzky.
The First Recordings: 1928
Victor Talking Machine (later RCA Victor) recording of the suite from Stravinsky’s ballet Pétrouchka (M-49), conducted by Serge Koussevitzky and recorded in Symphony Hall, November 13 and 14, 1928
Koussevitzky deliberately chose works less than 20 years old to feature on his first recording with the BSO. Other works recorded during the earliest sessions included the “Pas de Deux” from Stravinsky’s Apollon musagète and the second suite from Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé.
A brochure listing Victor Records by Serge Koussevitzky and the BSO, 1928
Koussevitzky demonstrated his advocacy for contemporary composers by including works by Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Ravel in his earliest recording sessions with Victor Records.
Boston Symphony Orchestra Portrait with Serge Koussevitzky, Conductor, from the 1928-1929 Season
This postcard depicts the personnel that would have performed on the first electrical recordings of the BSO.
Photograph by Purdy, Boston.
“Symphony’s Playing Is Captured in Wax”
Reports about the BSO’s first electric recordings made in Symphony Hall (November 13-15, 1928) were carried by newspapers far and wide.
The Hamilton, Ontario News, November 24, 1928
Newspaper clippings covering the 1928 electric recordings of the BSO
Includes Chicago’s Musical Leader
Serge Koussevitzky receives a Christmas present of the BSO's first electric recordings, 1928
The Boston Transcript, December 18, 1928
RCA Victory Royalty Statement for BSO/Serge Koussevitzky Recordings, 1930
The BSO and conductor Serge Koussevitzky earned over $3,000 each in royalties in approximately 21 months.
Brahms' Violin Concerto with Jascha Heifetz (Autographed 1947 Reissue)
The cover of RCA Victor’s 1947 reissue of its BSO recording of Brahms' Violin Concerto in D featuring Jascha Heifetz, originally recorded and released in 1939
This copy was autographed by Serge Koussevitzky, Jascha Heifetz and the entire roster of BSO members in 1947.
RCA Victor’s 1947 reissue of its BSO recording of Brahms' Violin Concerto in D featuring Jascha Heifetz, originally recorded and released in 1939: Jascha Heifetz and Serge Koussevitzky autographs
This copy was autographed by Serge Koussevitzky, Jascha Heifetz and the entire roster of BSO members in 1947.
RCA Victor’s 1947 reissue of its BSO recording of Brahms' Violin Concerto in D featuring Jascha Heifetz, originally recorded and released in 1939: Musician signatures, part 1
This copy was autographed by Serge Koussevitzky, Jascha Heifetz and the entire roster of BSO members in 1947.
RCA Victor’s 1947 reissue of its BSO recording of Brahms' Violin Concerto in D featuring Jascha Heifetz, originally recorded and released in 1939: Musician signatures, part 2
This copy was autographed by Serge Koussevitzky, Jascha Heifetz and the entire roster of BSO members in 1947.
Jascha Heifetz and Serge Koussevitzky curtain call at Tanglewood, August 4, 1949
Photograph by Heinz Weissenstein (Whitestone Photo)
Recording at Tanglewood
While most BSO recordings were made at Symphony Hall in Boston, there were several albums that were recorded during the summer at Tanglewood in the Berkshires.
Serge Koussevitzky listens during a playback session after a recording session at Tanglewood’s Theatre-Concert Hall, August 14-15, 1946
Repertoire recorded included Bach's Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 2 and 5; Bach’s Suite No. 4; Mozart’s Symphony No. 33; and a movement from Mozart’s String Quintet in G minor (arranged for orchestra).
Photographer unknown
RCA Victor recording engineers at work recording the BSO in Tanglewood’s Theatre-Concert Hall, August 14-15, 1946
Photographer unknown
RCA and the BSO: A Prolific Relationship
Koussevitzky promoting the 45 rpm release of the BSO recording of Ravel's Bolero and the 78 rpm BSO recording of Thompson's The Testament of Freedom, ca. 1949
Photographer unknown
45 rpm release of the BSO’s 1947 recording of Ravel’s Bolero
Koussevitzky and the BSO recorded Bolero twice: April 14, 1930, in Symphony Hall and August 13, 1947, in the Music Shed at Tanglewood.
Figure of RCA Victor mascot “Nipper” with 45 rpm player
The BSO recorded exclusively with RCA until 1969.
RCA Advertisement, 1946
RCA Victor celebrated its one billionth record by recording and releasing two “rousing” Sousa marches, “Semper Fidelis” and “Stars and Stripes Forever” featuring Koussevitzky and the BSO.