MANHATTAN CENTER
Recording was an intensive part of the work schedule but the recording conditions themselves, back then, were a bit strange. All recordings, save a few, were made in the cavernous Hammerstein Ballroom, built in 1906 by Oscar Hammerstein l. It was constructed to house a company that would rival the Metropolitan Opera. In an attempt to eliminate the competition, the Metropolitan paid Hammerstein a substantial sum to stop all operatic performances at his venue. Thus began a slow decline for the property which began with vaudeville extravaganzas, evolved in to a massive ballroom for dancing and finally ended up in 1980 as the New York headquarters for mega evangelist Reverend Moon. It has since been bought up and renovated and serves as a showcase these days for rock concerts, boxing matches and theatrical presentations. In 1975, when I played there, the Ballroom, though enormous, had seen much better days. The Philharmonic used it for its size and flexibility. It could contain up to 2,500 human beings therefore housing an orchestra and a big choir plus recording equipment was not a problem. Every recording that I did with the Philharmonic, and there were five that season, took place in this gargantuan and dilapidated structure. The recordings made were a veritable survey of the periphery of the symphony orchestra repertoire and included, in addition to the Wagner, “La Peri” by Paul Dukas, Symphony #3 by Albert Roussel, “The Wooden Prince” by Bela Bartok and only one familiar pie ce “El sombrero de tres picos” by the Spanish composer Manuel de Falla.
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