Ezio Pinza - Recordings

Recordings

Pinza recorded extensively for HMV and the Victor Talking Machine Company during his prime in the 1920s and 1930s. These 78-rpm discs consist largely of individual operatic arias and some ensemble pieces (plus a complete Verdi Requiem conducted by Carlo Sabajno in 1927, and another with Tullio Serafin in 1939). They are prized by music critics and general listeners alike for the exceptional beauty of voice and the fine musicianship that Pinza displays on them. Today, they are freely available on various CD reissues.

As late as 1953, Pinza was still committing arias to disc, although his voice was now in obvious decline. Previously, in the mid-1940s, he had made a few 78-rpm albums for Columbia Records that have been re-released on CD. He occasionally recorded popular songs and was featured on Columbia's original cast recording of South Pacific with Mary Martin, which was sold on both LP and 78-rpm discs. This recording has been digitally remastered from the original magnetic tapes by Sony and reissued on CD. Pinza performed, too, on the RCA Victor original cast album of Fanny in 1954.