Frederick William Gaisberg

Frederick William Gaisberg (1 January 1873 – 2 September 1951) was an American musician, recording engineer and one of the earliest classical music producers for the gramophone. He himself did not use the term 'producer', and was not an impresario like his protégé Walter Legge of EMI or an innovator like John Culshaw of Decca. Gaisberg concentrated on talent-scouting and persuading performers to make recordings for the newly invented Gramophone.

Gaisberg began working in the recording industry in America as a young man, becoming a pioneer of early recording, and also worked as piano accompanist for the Berliner Gram-O-Phone Company, the inventors of the practical lateral-groove disc and associated playback apparatus, the Berliner Gramophone. In 1898, he joined the Gramophone Company in England as its first recording engineer. In 1902, he recorded music sung by the tenor Enrico Caruso and the recordings became a sensation. By 1921, Gaisberg was artistic director of HMV's 'international artistes' department. After 1925, he concentrated on artist management. In 1939, he retired from his position but continued as a consultant in the industry through the 1940s.

Birth and Death Data: Born January 1, 1873 (Washington, D.C.), Died September 2, 1951 (Hampstead)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1892 - 1920

Roles Represented in DAHR: recordist, composer, piano

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1226-1229 of 1229 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Gramophone 20265b 10-in. 10/29/1918 'O surdato 'nnammurato Beniamino Gigli Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 20270b 10-in. 11/6/1918 Apri la tua finestra Beniamino Gigli Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 20275b 10-in. 11/9/1918 Giunto sul passo estremo Beniamino Gigli Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
Gramophone 20520b 10-in. 5/30/1919 Il n'était pas là M. Delayrac Male vocal solo, with orchestra recordist  
(Results 1226-1229 of 1229 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Gaisberg, Frederick William," accessed April 27, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/116625.

Gaisberg, Frederick William. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 27, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/116625.

"Gaisberg, Frederick William." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 27 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/116625

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