An Expert Senior, posing for a portrait in the NPG

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neilmack
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An Expert Senior, posing for a portrait in the NPG

Post by neilmack »

A 1960s photograph of what I take to be an Expert Senior, in the National Portrait Gallery. The covering of that horn is snakier than any other I have seen. Has a radio been fitted to the front?
expert senior.jpg
https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/sear ... ell-Davies

epigramophone
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Re: An Expert Senior, posing for a portrait in the NPG

Post by epigramophone »

Some pedestal Expert Seniors were fitted with radio, occupying the wasted space beneath the motor which curiously was not used for record storage. The moving coil loudspeaker played through the Expert horn, and was also available as a separate item.
The pedestal model pictured on page 69 of "The EMG Story" had at one time been fitted with a radio, but when I last saw the machine on a visit to Frank James the radio had disappeared.

It would be interesting to discover the identity of the gentleman operating the gramophone.
Could it possibly be a young Frank James?

neilmack
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Re: An Expert Senior, posing for a portrait in the NPG

Post by neilmack »

Peter Maxwell Davies. The NPG wrongly suppose him the primary subject of the photograph.

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Orchorsol
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Re: An Expert Senior, posing for a portrait in the NPG

Post by Orchorsol »

What a fantastic photo! Loving the horn decor, heavy cords suit and turtleneck - style all the way! Here's a slightly adjusted version. The Expert seems to be heavily modified - whilst retaining the original tonearm (and an EMG soundbox in PMD's hand) it has an autochanger turntable and some kind of amplifier panel set into the motorboard at the front. The thing in the panel next to the drawer in the cabinet (which otherwise looks the same as the separate cabinet of my Junior) could possibly be an additional high frequency horn - just a guess.
Seeing the horn support strut, could it be an All Range rather than a Senior? Even more exciting!
Attachments
expert senior Peter Maxwell Davies.jpg
BCN thorn needles made to the original 1920s specifications: http://www.burmesecolourneedles.com

Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe4DNb ... TPE-zTAJGg?

epigramophone
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Re: An Expert Senior, posing for a portrait in the NPG

Post by epigramophone »

Orchorsol wrote: Wed Sep 08, 2021 12:17 pm What a fantastic photo! Loving the horn decor, heavy cords suit and turtleneck - style all the way! Here's a slightly adjusted version. The Expert seems to be heavily modified - whilst retaining the original tonearm (and an EMG soundbox in PMD's hand) it has an autochanger turntable and some kind of amplifier panel set into the motorboard at the front. The thing in the panel next to the drawer in the cabinet (which otherwise looks the same as the separate cabinet of my Junior) could possibly be an additional high frequency horn - just a guess.
Seeing the horn support strut, could it be an All Range rather than a Senior? Even more exciting!
Alastair's Expert Senior has a horn support strut, so this fitment was not exclusive to the All Range.

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Inigo
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Re: An Expert Senior, posing for a portrait in the NPG

Post by Inigo »

I believe the all-range horn has a much wider flare. There's a photo at the beginning of Boris Semeonoff book on collecting 78s. I'll add it later.
Inigo

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Orchorsol
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Re: An Expert Senior, posing for a portrait in the NPG

Post by Orchorsol »

I found a photo-montage in a New York Times article showing part of that amazing horn - so, tantalisingly, there must be at least one more photo of it somewhere.

There are also other photos of Peter Maxwell Davies with his beloved EMG which he had for many years:
Attachments
PMD5.jpg
PMD4.jpg
PMD4.jpg (57.62 KiB) Viewed 1310 times
PMD3.jpg
PMD2.jpg
PMD1.jpg
PMD1.jpg (10.38 KiB) Viewed 1310 times
BCN thorn needles made to the original 1920s specifications: http://www.burmesecolourneedles.com

Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe4DNb ... TPE-zTAJGg?

neilmack
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Re: An Expert Senior, posing for a portrait in the NPG

Post by neilmack »

Orchorsol wrote: Wed Sep 08, 2021 6:07 pm I found a photo-montage in a New York Times article showing part of that amazing horn - so, tantalisingly, there must be at least one more photo of it somewhere.

There are also other photos of Peter Maxwell Davies with his beloved EMG which he had for many years:
Excellent finds! Retreating to the Northern Isles with an EMG is a great idea. I'm still stuck in Argyll with an Expert.

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Marco Gilardetti
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Re: An Expert Senior, posing for a portrait in the NPG

Post by Marco Gilardetti »

Oh wow, Peter Maxwell Davies!!! 8-) I was lucky enough to meet him when he came in Torino in the year 2006 - the year of the Olympics - as the featured star of the year of Settembre Musica concerts program. What an intelligent and nice fellow he is! The main concert, kept at the Giovanni Agnelli Auditorium in the Lingotto building, was directed by no less than Gianandrea Noseda. But he also directed in first person his Antartic Symphony, which I rank among the best pieces of contemporary symphonic music ever.

I remember that at least two compositions of Maxwell Davies - the Missa Super L'Homme Armé and the Vesalii Icones - require the ensamble to also feature a "slowing down gramophone". I wonder if some of the pictures refer to a performance of any of these pieces. Unfortunately, at the Turin's concerts the gramophone was "emulated" with an ordinary record player fed through a public address system.

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Re: An Expert Senior, posing for a portrait in the NPG

Post by emgcr »

Wonderful photos and many thanks for sharing ! I was lucky enough to meet the great man at the Festival Hall on the occasion of the recommissioning of the newly restored Harrison and Harrison organ. He was still very excited about his EMG Xb Oversize which he played every day.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26613078

It is always hard to determine the horn size from photos which can be very misleading. The superbly decorated example under discussion looks like a Junior to me but could well be a Senior which perhaps is more likely, sometimes requiring more support.
Attachments
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.jpg

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