Back in the early 60's, RCA sought to expand its budget Camden label from being primarily a reissue label to one that also included newly recorded performances, in good sound, available at a very low price. Nowadays, companies would look towards Central Europe and the former Soviet republics but in the early 60's, companies looked North, in RCA's case, Norway and Sweden.
This recording of Haydn's "Surprise" Symphony and Mozart's Symphony No. 41 was issued on both the Camden label and the "National Academy Record Club" label, of which the latter is my transfer. Good stereo, with a no frills record jacket, NRS-7 sold for under 3 bucks and was available in bookstores, supermarkets, drugstores, in other words non-traditional record outlets. These recordings were obviously geared for the novice and, they sold well.
As for Oivin Fjeldstad , he was a fine conductor who was mostly known for his work with "northern composers." His complete Peer Gynt with the LSO was a big seller in its day and widely admired by critics and connoisseurs alike. However, I think that Fjeldstad had interpretative gifts far beyond Scandinavia and this unmannered, cleanly played Mozart and Haydn attests to that. The orchestra performs quite well, though at the time, the Oslo PO was not the world class orchestra that it is today. These are very enjoyable performances nonetheless.
DOWNLOAD
