Ernest Ansermet - The Mono Years | Boxset

As a conductor, philosopher, mathematician and composer, Ernest Ansermet occupied an exceptional position in the world of music. At the frontier of modernity, he offered up recordings of music by several composers whom he counted among his friends: Debussy, Ravel, Roussel and Stravinsky but also Honegger, Frank Martin, Bartók and Prokofiev – all of whom are represented in this collection of recordings made for Decca between 1929 and 1955. The collection opens with a recording of six of Handel’s Op. 6 Concerti Grossi made with a specially formed band of London musicians, the ‘Decca String Orchestra’ in 1929, the year in which the label was founded. Ansermet returned to the studio to record for the label from 1946 and from then on became one of its most frequently recorded conductors. Fortunately, the music of his friend Igor Stravinsky is strongly represented in this collection. Of other composers Ansermet knew personally, several landmark recordings of works by Maurice Ravel are significant. 1952 was a particularly busy year for the conductor and his Orchestre de la Suisse Romande - with recordings of Handel, Prokofiev as well as his famous interpretation of Debussy's 'Pelléas et Mélisande'. An orchestral version of Mussorgsky's two-minute 'Gopak' was recorded as the last work in this collection. The stereo recording from 1955 was only available as a test pressing - this box presents it as a veritable world premiere.

Tracks

1~1~Handel Concerti Grossi Op.6 Nos. 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 12 Dso
1~2~Vivaldi Bassoon Concerto Rv 481 Henri Helaerts
1~3~Handel Organ Concertos Hwv 289 & 290 Jeanne Demessieux
1~4~Marcello Oboe Concerto Roger Reversy, Osr
1~5~Mozart Symphony No. 38 “Prague”
1~6~Serenade No. 10 Osr
1~7~Exsultate, Jubilate Janine Micheau; Oscc
1~8~Haydn Symphony No. 101 “Clock”
1~9~Schumann Symphony No. 1 “Spring” Osr
1~10~Schumann Genoveva Overture Oscc
1~11~Schumann Piano Concerto Dinu Lipatti · Cello Concerto Maurice Gendron
1~12~Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations Maurice Gendron, Osr
1~13~Mussorgsky Pictures At An Exhibition [1947] Lpo
1~14~Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade Pierre Nérini, Oscc
1~15~Rimsky-Korsakov Capriccio Espagnol
1~16~The Golden Cockerel – Introduction, Bridal Procession & Suite
1~17~Mussorgsky Gopak (Sorochintsy Fair – Mono & Stereo) Osr
1~18~Villa-Lobos Piano Concerto No. 1 Ellen Ballon, Osr
1~19~Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 Ellen Ballon, Lso
1~20~Ravel Alborada Del Gracioso [1947]
1~21~Debussy La Mer [1947] Osr
1~22~Ravel La Valse [1947] · Shéhérazade Suzanne Danco
1~23~Debussy Petite Suite Oscc
1~24~Rossini
1~25~Respighi La Boutique Fantasque Lso
1~26~Falla El Sombrero De Tres Picos Suzanne Danco
1~27~Ravel 3 Poèmes De Stéphane Mallarmé Suzanne Danco, Osr
1~28~Debussy Images
1~29~Ravel L’Heure Espagnole Michel Hamel, Suzanne Danco, Paul Derenne, Heinz Rehfuss, André Vessières, Osr
1~30~Debussy Pelléas Et Mélisande
1~31~Pierre Mollet, Heinz Rehfuss, André Vessières, Flore Wend, Suzanne Danco, Hélène Bouvier, Derrick Olsen, Osr
1~32~Ravel Piano Concerto In G
1~33~Piano Concerto In D For The Left Hand
1~34~(Jacqueline Blancard) [1949 & 1953] Osr
1~35~Debussy Nocturnes · Ravel Rapsodie Espagnole
1~36~Valses Nobles Et Sentimentales · Le Tombeau De Couperin Os
1~37~Ravel Daphnis Et Chloé Geneva Motet Choir, Osr
1~38~Debussy La Mer [1951]
1~39~Prélude À L’Après-Midi D’Un Faune
1~40~Ravel Ma Mère L’Oye Suite · Alborada Del Gracioso [1951]
1~4

Details

Format: CD
Artist: Ernest Ansermet
Release Date: 19 January 2024
Genre: Classical Music
Label: DECCA - IMPORTS
Distributor: Universal Music