Відео

Thanks for listening and for your comment.

Thanks for listening.

It's my pleasure Yona, thank you for listening, I'm really pleased that you enjoyed the selection. Thanks also for mentioning the restorations.

Thanks for listening and for your comment Luis.

Thanks for listening and for your comment Moishe. It's a great performance by Jussi and definitely live.

Thanks for listening and for your comment.

Thanks for listening and for your kind words Lawrence, glad you like the selection.

Thanks for listening and for your comment Giulio.

​@@michaelmcgrailenglandgrazie a te

Thanks for listening and for your comment. I like them all for one reason or another but my personal favourites are Enrico Caruso and Kathleen Ferrier.

Thanks for listening and for your comment with which I fully agree.

It's my pleasure Olof, thank you for listening, glad that you enjoyed it.

Thanks for listening and for your comment. I spend a long time trying to give these old acoustic recordings a more up-to-date sound and the occasional comments I receive from listeners such as yourself who appreciate the improvement makes it all worthwhile, thank you.

Good choice. Bjorling and Caruso are my own favourites.

Happy memories Vicky.

It's my pleasure Vicky, thank you for listening, I'm glad that you are enjoying some of my videos. Three tenors share first place at the top of my list of favourites, Enrico Caruso, John McCormack and, of course, Jussi Bjorling and I started my UA-cam channel in order to help to preserve their names by uploading recordings with improved audio in the hope that younger listeners might find them more acceptable. I read in Anna Lisa Bjorling's biography of Jussi that in the 1930s the American entrepreneur Charles Wagner agreed to be Jussi's manager because he felt that his voice had the best qualities of Caruso and McCormack, so my three favourites are a nice mix. I'm not a member of the JBS-USA. I'm actually in the UK. but I wish every success to your organisation.

Thanks for listening and for your comment Vicky. I uploaded the 1959 recording a few years ago and when I started colourizing the old black and white photos I did an updated version with improved audio, an added, spoken, Christmas greeting from Jussi and an on screen translation to English. If you would like to watch the video the link is ua-cam.com/video/juGPcku2Ghc/v-deo.html

Thanks for listening and for your comment.

Thanks for listening.

Thanks for listening.

Thanks for listening and for your comment Suzanne.

to be fair recording equipment a bit thin

It's my pleasure, thank you for listening and for your interesting comment. The photo is of the NYPO playing at Carnegie Hall but it's not the orchestra that played at the Sibelius Memorial Concert, it's just to give an indication of how things would have looked at the concert. The conductor on 8th Dec 1957 was Martti Siliä. The full concert included a complete performance of Symphony No4 and another piece, E Saga, Op.9.

Thanks for listening and for your comment Manuel.

Thanks for listening and for your comment Goran.

Thanks for listening and for your comment Richard. It's a good question, but many these days certainly regard him as one of the best, if not the best ever.

Thanks for listening and for your comment.

Hello Rosa, thank you for listening and for your kind words, I'm really pleased that you enjoyed the video and I hope that you are keeping well at the moment. My brother stayed with us last week for a couple of nights and we spent most of the time returning to our distant childhood, talking about things from then that we've talked about a thousand times before. Warm regards and best wishes for good health to you.

​@@michaelmcgrailenglandCongratulations! I also really enjoyed the visit of two of my daughters and grandchildren. I also wish you good health, happy days and success in everything you undertake.

Thanks for listening and for your comment I'm glad that you enjoyed it.

Thanks for listening and for your interesting comment.

Good man, thanks for that, I'll kick myself later!!

Thanks for listening and for your comment Gordon.

Thanks for listening and for your comment Alberto.

It's my pleasure, thank you for listening and for your interesting comment.

It's my pleasure Patricia, thank you for listening. I'm glad that you like the video and, actually, even though the Caruso and Di Stefano recordings are very different, they are my personal favourites

@@michaelmcgrailengland I agree that they are very different but I also love them both. What are your thoughts on Bergonzi - I love him, too. One of my absolute favorite vinyl LPs is Arias and Songs of the Italian Baroque with Bergonzi accompanied by Felix Lavilla -I never get tired of it.

@@patriciagordon160 Bergonzi was certainly a great tenor but I haven't really listened to him. Years ago I ended up with some favourite tenors and basically listened to them and collected their recordings. I suppose at that time Bergonzi was a bit too recent for me but I shall put that right and include him next time I do a mixed compilation. Thanks for recommending him.

@@michaelmcgrailengland - He was one tenor who did “manage” his voice so it lasted quite a long time. I heard him in person after he had retired from staged opera but still sang concerts - he still sounded wonderful. I have my little “cadre” of favorites, too, very similar to yours, and Bergonzi and Wunderlich are among them. Thank you again for your charming commentary.

Thanks for listening Jim, glad that you enjoyed it.

Thanks for listening and for your comment.

Thanks for listening again Ralph.

Thanks for listening Lawrence, this is one of my favourite Caruso recordings.

Hello Lawrence. In my UA-cam recommended videos yesterday was one of an Australian tenor called Lawrence Allen and I thought "I must tell Lawrence that he shares his name with an Australian tenor". However, I now know that you share much more than your name. For some reason, perhaps just something like the spelling of "favourite", I thought that you were in the USA, I don't know if you are still singing but, in my opinion, back in 1984 you were a top class tenor, absolutely brilliant, and after all the nice things you've said about my You Tube videos over the past few years, it's nice to be able to return the compliment. How could you fail to be good with Caruso as your inspiration!!

@@michaelmcgrailengland Hello Michael, I am so humbled and flattered to receive your comment and it is nice to be recognised and of course also for the wonderful restoration work you’ve done. You have (with technology) been able to give the world an indication of what the great singers of the past really sounded like. Caruso has been my idle since I was a boy for I grew up in a musical family who sat around the piano and sang on Sunday evenings before television and listened to the singers on vinyls. I also had the fervent support of Australia’s two greatest tenors namely Ronald Dowd, who became my closest and trusted friend, and Donald Smith - I’m sure they are both known to you. Incidentally I had a work colleague at JC Williamson Theatres Ltd here in Melbourne, who heard and witnessed our King of tenors Caruso on a number of occasions including his very last performances of La Juive at the Met. His name is was Claude Kingston( referred to as Mr Kingston in the Firm) and who died in the late 1970’s). I will never forget what he told me of the experience witnessing Caruso’s performance that night in La Juive “all the singers were of high quality BUT Caruso dominated and was something else above them all”. Mr Kingston wrote a book “ It don’t seem a day too much”. He was the Firm’s Director responsible for all the great artists that in concert and opera, performed in Australia from Melba through to Sutherland/Pavarotti( 1965 Williamson/Sutherland Opera Season) . There is so much more I could say but I would be rambling on a bit. Again Thankyou so much Michael and I look to your up and coming work with ongoing interest. You are a marvel.👏👏👏

Thanks for listening and for your comment.

Thanks for listening and for your comment Leonardo.

Yes,,Caruso brings me thrills, Giuseppe brings me tears, Lanza brings me both.

@@frankodesandy4688 Thanks for listening Franko.

Thanks for listening Judy.

My pleasure,Michael.

Michael,I meant to add that I love the duet also.

@@judysummerell2038 That's great Judy, thanks for your message.

Are you English Michael? I live in Sydney,Australia.

Thanks for listening and for your comment, I'm glad that you enjoyed the video.

Thanks for listening and for your comment Faan.

Thanks for listening and for your comment Rosy.

Thanks for listening and for the helpful information Aslog. I couldn't find a proper translation and, although some of the google translation was obviously wrong, I decided that it was better than nothing. Thanks again

Thanks for listening Nestor and I certainly agree with what you say.

It's my pleasure Marc, thank you for listening, I'm really pleased that you like the video. I'm pretty sure that the conductor was Martti Siliä as his name is given on the Carnegie Hall performance history and I've put a link below to the web page. I'm not familiar with Jorma Hynninen and I'll have a listen later. The Carnegie Hall page is at www.carnegiehall.org/About/History/Performance-History-Search?q=&dex=prod_PHS&page=2&event=11185&pf=Jussi%20Bj%C3%B6rling_

Thanks for these comments hornshrink, especially your mention of Jorma Hynninen I heard him several times in Finland, also at Chicago Lyric (Don Carlo, as I recall) and have many of his CDs. Also am glad that I heard Björling 4 times in NYCity: first as a teenager (1955 duets with Tebaldi at Carnegie Hall0, then Ballo at the Met '56, also recitals in '56 and '59). Dan Shea, JB Society member.

Thanks for listening and for your comment Alberto.

It's my pleasure Laura, thank you for listening and for sharing the video. The concert was actually recorded in New York's Carnegie Hall on 8th Dec 1957 which would have been Sibelius's 92nd birthday.

@@michaelmcgrailengland This Dec. 8th Concert was his last concert that year on his 1957 USA. Tour. The sound quality is excellent and singing as you'd expect from Jussi of high polished musical perfection. Carnegie Hall is also very good as for acoustics also, as I have heard several different singers there, when I attended concerts in NYC. making special trips to N.Y.C to hear them.

@@shicoff1398 Thanks for listening and for your comment, I hope that you're still coping OK with your health problems.

@@michaelmcgrailengland Thank you, I'm getting along the best I can!

It's my pleasure Sheila, thank you for watching/listening, I'm glad that you like the video. It does involve quite a bit of work but I enjoy it and the new eyes help a a lot, just need some new ears now!!! I used to listen to the radio a lot and recorded some great music over the years. Not just classical but loads of Folk, Country and Jazz mostly from Radio 2 but also a lot from the Irish radio. Terry Wogan's breakfast show sent me off to work with a smile for many years. I seldom listen to the radio now, there's so much music on the internet but in some ways it's not quite the same, it was nice to hear the announcers like Allan Keith on Your Hundred Best Tunes, I listened to it just about every week until he retired at about age 90.

@@michaelmcgrailengland yes Sunday night used to be a great radio night , I think David Jacobs took over from Allan Keith. I love UA-cam and Spotify and with my fancy hearing aids can listen directly into my ears when I’m out with the 🐶! But Radio 3 still delivers, however I access it. After I listened to your JB, UA-cam popped up with an amazing Stockholm 1985 concert with some of the greats paying tribute to him. Mostly past their best but still wonderful!