Albert Spalding (1888-1953) was an American violinist who studied in Bologna and Paris and achieved a successful career before and after the First World War. He made many acoustic recordings for Edison, then some electricals for Victor, and not long before his death he made some early LPs for Remington. On some of the latter he was partnered by Ernst von Dohnanyi, with whom he had worked for some years.
This issue is valuable for the inclusion of the unpublished Mendelssohn Concerto. Here Spalding plays in an affectionate, spirited fashion, and the slow movement in particular is very pleasantly shaped. I don't feel, however, that the performance is of the greatest distinction either tonally or technically, and there are certainly some perilous moments in the finale. In the Spohr Spalding plays in an attractively free, positive style, but there is nothing especially outstanding in his performance, and his technique is again a little fallible. Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra are sympathetic accompanists in both concertos.
Spalding was also quite an ambitious composer, and the 12 short descriptive pieces which comprise of his Etchings are by no means negligible musically. Here and in the three other short pieces Spalding plays with more technical assurance, but his vibrato is rather tight and rapid. Ward Marston's transfers are first-rate.'