American. Formed in 1946 by brothers David and Samuel Josefowitz, the Concert Hall Record Club issued hundreds of LPs and EPs of classical music during the quarter-century or so of its existence; it also made forays into the Pop and Folk fields. Many of its recordings were in something called 'Synchro-Stereo', which apparently gave a better sound on mono players than did some other stereo records. The company won several awards for the quality of its products, and sold buckletloads of them; they often turn up in charity shops, car boot sales and the like. EPs were numbered in various series, including M-900 and SMS-900 for classics and SVS-500 for popular / folk / world music; there was a short-lived EPC-700 series in the early '60s, for pop. Numbering appears to have applied worldwide, which makes a would-be discographer's task difficult - not every record was issued in every country. Those records which are reported to have been issued in Britain and have a date on them in the 1970s are listed below. Items marked with an asterisk fit into catalogue sequences from the 1960s; they may have been issued elsewhere in that decade and been released here in the '70s, or they may be reissues / re-pressings of old British issues with a new date given them. The '60s label appeared in at least two different shades of blue (1, 2); there was a special design for 'Synchro Sound' releases (3, 4), which also came in black-on-white. Concert Hall seems to have expired in the early '70s, after David Josefowitz sold his interest in it. Pressing of the '70s items that I have seen in the vinyl was done by Pye. An article about the label can be found on the Sound Fountain site.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.