BEYOND BEBOP: CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL MUSIC ON DIAL RECORDS presented by D.J. Hoek

The Association for Recorded Sound Collections presents the following program from its 2012 ARSC Annual Conference at Rochester Radisson Riverside, New York on Saturday May 19, 2012:

BEYOND BEBOP: CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL MUSIC ON DIAL RECORDS
presented by D.J. Hoek

Dial Records, established in 1946 by Ross Russell, is best remembered for its groundbreaking bebop recordings, especially those of Charlie Parker. But upon Parker’s departure from Dial in 1948, Russell took the company in a different direction by turning from jazz to modern classical music.

At a time when few classical labels were presenting contemporary repertoire, Dial’s Library of Contemporary Classics, a series of eighteen long-playing albums issued from 1949 to 1951, featured works of Bartók, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Cage, and other twentieth- century innovators, introducing many listeners to a striking array of revolutionary sounds.

Today, Dial’s celebrated jazz recordings, particularly those by Parker, continue to be studied thoroughly and are widely available, but the classical series, now mostly out-of-print and almost entirely forgotten, also represents another important and productive period in Dial’s history.

This presentation will cover the practical circumstances and aesthetic rationale behind Dial’s shift to contemporary classical music, including Russell’s aspirations for the series and the setbacks that led to its premature cessation.

This research, drawing greatly on Russell’s personal and business papers held at the University of Texas at Austin’s Harry Ransom Center, has revealed that Dial’s classical series was not simply a peculiar departure from jazz. Rather, the Library of Contemporary Classics was a carefully considered, purposeful effort by Russell to document and promote another emerging facet of contemporary music that, like bebop, signaled something decidedly new.

THE ASSOCIATION FOR RECORDED SOUND COLLECTIONS (www.arsc-audio.org) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and study of sound recordings, in all genres of music and speech, in all formats, and from all periods. ARSC is unique in bringing together private individuals and institutional professionals—everyone with a serious interest in recorded sound.

Videographers: Michael and Leah Biel
Editor: Nathan Georgitis