Sep. 04 – Stockholm, Concert Hall – with piano

⋅         Geehl – For you alone [Sw]

⋅         Leoncavallo – Mattinata [Sw]

The Sept. 4, 1929 tests have been found; and in surprisingly good sound. The recordings were earlier thought to have been destroyed in March 1930. EMI has now included it in on CD in their latest collection: Icon - Jussi Björling. The recording is with piano and not with orchestra as earlier assumed.

Apr. 01 – Stockholm, Kungl. Operan

⋅      Gounod – Faust

with Joel Berglund (Mephistophélès)

A lengthy excerpt (7 minutes) from act 1 with Joel Berglund as Mephistopheles in good sound is according to Harald Henrysson in the hands of a private collector.

Nov. 13 – Detroit, Masonic Temple – J. Iturbi

⋅         Gounod – Faust: Salut, demeure chaste et pure [Sw]

⋅         Massenet – Manon: En ferment les yeux [Fr]

⋅         Gounod – Messe Sonelle: Sanctus [Eng]

⋅         Sibelius – Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte [Sw]

⋅         R. Strauss – Cäcilie [Ger]

Björling's only live recording from 1938 is a collector's item and has only recently partly been published. For a long time, it was not known if the recording existed at all. The very reliable Harald Henrysson doubted it. The excerpts known are not easy to judge because Björling's voice sounds a bit mature for 1938. The orchestra is without doubt American. On the other hand, there are only a handfull of other known recordings of "Cäcilie" around, which were made between 1955 and 1959 and which are not identical with this one. The "Sanctus" is different from the Firestone version from 1946.

Addendum: Apparently "Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte" was aborted from the programme and thus not included on VAI's reissue of the Nov. 13, 1938 programme.

Aug. 16 – Lucerne

⋅         Verdi – Messa da Requiem

with Jussi Björling, Zinka Milanov, Nicola Moscona, Kerstin Thorborg

A. Toscanini

A recording has been recently discovered in Library of Congress. The Toscanini society has opposed publication of this recording. The sound varies, and again we have a terrible Zinka Milanov in the cast.

Feb. 16 – New York

⋅         Leoncavallo – Pagliacci: Vesti la giubba

The famous 'Vesti' (We, the People) from the date when JB was interviewed together with Dorothy Caruso. It will be released on WHRA in October 2010.

May 25 – Stockholm, Skansen – H. Ebert, piano

⋅         Meyerbeer – L'Africaine: Ô Paradis [It]

⋅         Millöcker – Der Bettelstudent: Ich hab' kein Geld [Sw]

⋅         Ponchielli – La Gioconda: Cielo e mar [It]

⋅         Althén – Land, du välsignade [Sw]

⋅         Söderman – Trollsjön [Sw]

A complete recording of this program has been found, which in addition to the selections in Harald Henrysson's Phonography included "Trollsjön" and have been reissued on Bluebell.

Jan. 18 – Helsinki, Messuhalli - with piano [Not published]

⋅         Wagner – Lohengrin: In fernem Land [Sw]

⋅         Grieg – En svane [Nor]

⋅         Grieg – En drøm [Nor]

⋅         Nordqvist – Till havs [Sw]

⋅         Sibelius – Säv, säv, susa [Sw]

⋅         Sibelius – Demanten på marssnön [Sw]

⋅         Tosti – L'alba separa dalla luce [It]

⋅         Sjöberg – Tonerna [Sw]

⋅         Mascagni – Cavalleria rusticana: Mamma, quel vino [It]

The date has been confirmed to Jan. 18, 1955. The accompanist is Harry Ebert.

Jun. 15 – Stockholm – Stockholm Philharmonic – Stig Westerberg

⋅         Söderman – Kung Heimer och Aslög

Harald Henrysson played the recording for me at the museum, and the sound is barely listenable. Serveral elements of JB's voice could not be heard, but he is good form.

Oct. 20 – Seattle, F. Schauwecker, piano

⋅         Grieg: Jeg elsker dig

⋅         Verdi – Rigoletto: La donna è mobile

⋅         Giordano – Andrea Chénier: Come un bel dì di maggio

J.B. is unfortunately not in good shape this evening. The sound is good.

Dec 14 – New Orleans, Municipial Auditorium – F. Schauwecker, piano

⋅         Händel – Serse: Fondi tenere... Ombra mai fu [It]

⋅         Schubert – Frühlingsglaube [Ger]

⋅         Schubert – Die Forelle [Ger]

⋅         R. Strauss – Traum durch die Dämmerung [Ger]

⋅         R. Strauss – Zueignung [Ger]

⋅         Grieg – En drøm [Nor]

⋅         Bizet – Carmen: La fleur que tu m'avais [Fr]

⋅         Giordano – Fedora: Amor ti vieta [It]

⋅         Rachmaninov – Siren [Eng]

⋅         Rachmaninov – V molchan 'i nochi taynoy [Eng]

⋅         Sibelius – Demanten på marssnön [Sw]

⋅         Sibelius – Svarta rosor [Sw]

⋅         Sjöberg – Tonerna [Sw]

⋅         Tosti – Ideale [It]

⋅         Tosti – L'alba separa dalla luce l'ombra [It]

⋅         Morgan – Clorinda [Eng]

⋅         Giordano – Andrea Chénier: Come un bel dì di maggio [It]

Appearently, a more complete, but distant recording of the whole program has been found, which also includes the encores. JB is unfortunately in bad form. The accompanist goes terribly wrong in "Because". Premiere Opera has released it, but appearently it comes direct from Vocal Record Collectors Society VRCS 2007.