Walter Goehr was a orchestra conductor who recorded my favorite
version of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. It was with the Radio Frankfurt
Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. I would love to know the date & place of
recording. It was release on the Audio Fidelity label. It has 1959 on
the label but that could be a copyright date, release date, or date it
was aquired by the label. I can pay $5.00 for hard, not soft
information.

I emailed Audio Fidelity but unfortunately got this reply:

"This is a new and different Audio Fidelity.  Unfortunately, we have
none of the old product.  That company was sold or absorbed.  The
Audio Fidelity was free and clear, so I reregistered.  Good luck in
your search."

Just a heads up for any researchers who had the same idea.

tisme-ga

Thank you so much tisme. Another researcher knows somebody who may be
able to shed light on the case of the disappearing record label. That
label had amazing versions of good classical stuff. Hope someday their
old inventory gets put onto CD.

Und der Cherub steht vor Abraxas! (BG).

The Ninth is such a profound work in more ways than one, especially
when it's performed on period instruments. The manner in which themes
from the first three movements are furtively recalled at the opening
of the fourth movement and peremptorily dismissed by dramatic
recitatives in the 'cellos and basses is utterly magical.

Dear Sian,                                                            
         Thank you for your feedback on the 9th, the most amazing
piece of super music we've ever had the good luck to have bequeathed
to us by Ludwig. The 1st movement makes me feel as if I'm skiing down
a breathtaking slope. And those little soft phrases come from places
unknown, but to the angels. The 2nd you can get lost in. But the 3rd!
An ocean of deepest lyricism, but clear to its deepest depths. The
greatest communication anyone has ever been allowed. To listen to at
night while ones sleeps is the easy way to grow spiritually &
psychologically. Utterly beyond what my crude adjectives can ever
convey. The sounds of heaven briefly visiting us here in the dark.
Thank you Ludwig Van. Strangely, a 60's film, A Clockwork Orange uses
it to fasinate a criminal mind. The last choral movement? Again, words
won't assist us! Bluestreak PS You haven't heard it until you hear
Goehr's Frankfurt version. How odd, an obscure conductor brings us to
the ultimate. In a 1950's book, The Best, it was chosen as the best
version of the 9th ever recorded.

bluestreak --

This is "soft" information, although it is from a source that seems to
be reliable.  Unfortunately, it does not give you the answer you seek,
but the information may be useful to you and other researchers.   The
source is the proprietor of a website offering CD reissues of old
classical music performances that are in the public domain:
http://www.rediscovery.us/index.htm

It came to me in an e-mail response to my posting at the newsgroup
rec.music.classical.recordings(accessible through Google Groups).

"I don't have a precise date, but I can tell you that the recording
was
not made by Audio-Fidelity, and it doesn't date from 1959. The 
performance appeared in the US around 1957 on a Concert Hall 2-channel
stereo tape. A catalog of Concert Hall tapes labeled "mid-1957"
includes
the Beethoven, but not as a "latest release", so the 9th probably
dates
from late 1956 or early 1957.

"Concert Hall ceased operations in the US shortly after these releases
and their tapes (few in number) quickly disappeared, but CH did
license
their recordings to a lot of US labels, such as Everest, Nonesuch, 
Vanguard, and Audio Fidelity. It was around 1962 when the AF discs of
the Goehr 9th appeared (the label said copyright 1959 but it often
said
that regardless of when the recording was made or when the LP was 
actually issued).

"We have a copy of the Concert Hall stereo tape of the Goehr 9th and
may
do something with it in the future."

I hope this helps.

markj-ga

Markj,                                                                
         OH! Joy!!! It's been my prayer that the Goehr 9th appear on
CD, since CD's first arrived. By all means encourage this good fellow
to put it out! Please!  Is there any way I could communicate with this
person? Bluestreak

bluestreak -- 

You can use the e-mail address provided as contact information at the
website to which I provided a link in my previous comment.  Good luck!

markj-ga