In the summer of 1949, Ross Russell announced a change of focus, with the label turning to the release of classical music by contemporary composers. The first release in this new series was Béla Bartók's Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion.[2] This series, titled the Library of Contemporary Classics, was inspired when Russell obtained the master tape of a recording of Arnold Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony No. 1 from Blue Star Records in Paris, in lieu of payment for a number of Dial jazz masters for European distribution.[3]
Russell's interests shifted focus again in 1953, when he made field recordings of calypso music in the British, French, and Netherlands West Indies. This resulted in the Dial Ethnic Series (Dial 400 label) of ten ten-inch 33+1⁄3 rpm discs, issued between June and November 1953.[4]
Dial also continued to release material from jazz sessions recorded earlier, but in 1954 Russell sold his jazz recordings to Concert Hall Records, sending them the masters, pressing lists, and log sheets on June 3, 1954.[5]
Mosaic Records released a limited edition box-set (CD) of Dial recordings called The Complete Dial Modern Jazz Sessions.[6]
Releases
Dial 1002: "A Night in Tunisia" and "Ornithology." Both tracks were recorded by the Charlie Parker Septet on 28 March 1946.[7] On its release, Billboard considered it "A collector's item".[8]
Dial No. 6: Alan Hovhaness, Piano Concerto (Lousadzak); Tzaikerk, for flute, violin, timpani, and strings; Achtamar, for piano solo; Shatakh, for piano and violin. Maro Ajemian, piano; Anahid Ajemian, violin; Phillip Kaplan, flute; Saul Goodman, timpani; Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Alan Hovhaness.
Dial No. 7: Anton Webern, 5 Movements for String Quartet; 6 Bagatelles; Symphony op. 21. Pro Arte String Quartet, Paris Chamber Orchestra, conducted by René Leibowitz.
Dial No. 15: Alban Berg, Seven Songs of Youth; "Schliesse mir die Augen beide"; An Leukon; Four Songs Op. 2 (orch. Leibowitz); Four Pieces for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 5. Bethany Beardslee, soprano; Jacques-Louis Monod, piano. Irene Joachim, soprano; chamber orchestra conducted by René Leibowitz; Earl Thomas, clarinet; Jacques-Louis Monod, piano. Recorded 1951.
^David Smyth, "Schoenberg and Dial Records: The Composer's Correspondence with Ross Russell". Journal of the Arnold Schoenberg Institute 12, no. 1 (June 1989): 68–90. Citation on 69.
^Edward M. Komara, The Dial Recordings of Charlie Parker: A Discography, Discographies, no. 76 (Westport and London: Greenwood Press, 1998), p. 6. ISBN0-313-29168-3. Accessed 1 August 2016.
^Edward M. Komara, The Dial Recordings of Charlie Parker: A Discography, Discographies, no. 76 (Westport and London: Greenwood Press, 1998), p. 8. ISBN0-313-29168-3. Accessed 1 August 2016.
^"Dial". Mosaicrecords.com. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
Wheeler, Geoffrey. 1999. Jazz by Mail: Record Clubs and Record Labels, 1936 to 1958—Including Complete Discographies for Jazztone and Dial Records. Manassas, VA: Hillbrook Press. ISBN0-9667819-0-2.
Hoek, D.J. 2013. “Beyond Bebop: Dial Records and the Library of Contemporary Classics.” ARSC Journal 44, no. 1 (Spring): 70-98.