Composer: Hector Berlioz, Johannes Brahms, Ernest Chausson, Claude Achille Debussy, César Auguste Franck, Franz Joseph Haydn, Vincent d’Indy
Performer: Robert Casadesus, Zino Francescatti, Pierre Fournier, Valerie Tryon, André Vessières, London Symphony Orchestra
Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Pierre Monteux, Charles Munch
Number of Discs: 4
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Ica classics
Catalogue: ICAC5150
Release: 2018
Size: 1.32 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
CD 01
Debussy: Images for orchestra, L. 122
01. No. 1, Gigues
02. No. 3, Rondes de printemps
03. No. 2, Ibéria. A. Par les rues et par les chemins
04. No. 2, Ibéria. B. Les parfums de la nuit
05. No. 2, Ibéria. C. Le matin d’un jour de fête
Chausson: Symphony in B flat major, Op. 20
06. I. Lento – Allegro vivo
07. II. Très lent
08. III. Animé
CD 02
Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90
01. I. Allegro con brio – Un poco sostenuto
02. II. Andante
03. III. Poco allegretto
04. IV. Allegro – Un poco sostenuto
05. Franck: Symphonic Variations for piano & orchestra, M46
Haydn: Symphony No. 102 in B flat major
06. I. Largo – Vivace
07. II. Adagio
08. III. Menuet – Trio. Allegro
09. IV. Finale. Presto
CD 03
Brahms: Double Concerto for Violin & Cello in A minor, Op. 102
01. I. Allegro
02. II. Andante
03. III. Vivace ma non troppo
Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77
04. I. Allegro non troppo
05. II. Adagio
06. III. Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace
CD 04
Indy: Symphonie sur un chant montagnard, Op. 25
01. I. Assez lent – Modérément animé
02. II. Assez modéré, mais sans lenteur
03. III. Animé
Berlioz: Roméo et Juliette, Op. 17, Pt. 3
04. V. Convoi funèbre de Juliette – Jetez des fleurs pour la vierge expirée
05. VIa. Roméo au tombeau des Capulets
06. VIb. Invocation – Réveil de Juliette
07. VIc. Joie délirante, désespoir
08. VId. Dernières angoisses et mort des deux amants
09. VIIa. La foule accourt au cimetière – Quoi! Roméo de retour – Je vais dévoiler le mystère
10. VIIb. Air. Pauvres enfants que je pleure
11. VIIc. Jurez donc, par l’auguste symbole
This release has been sourced from the Richard Itter archive of ‘live’ recordings. The collection is very important for collectors because it has never been released before onto the market. Following the archive’s launch in October 2017 with releases featuring Beecham, Böhm, Cantelli, Karajan, du Pré, Klemperer and Rostropovich, it has received universal praise from both the classical media and record collectors for the excellent sound and performances.
The great French conductor Pierre Monteux (1875-1964) was naturally considered a specialist of his native country’s music, though he would never allow this to restrict him. This new set of previously unpublished recordings seeks to set the record straight, with a strong representation of German repertoire, notably Brahms’ Symphony No.3 with the Boston Symphony, which he never recorded commercially, in a rare ‘live’ performance from the 1956 Edinburgh Festival. More Brahms featuring two celebrated virtuosos –the Violin Concerto with the French violinist Zino Francescatti, and the Double Concerto where he is joined by his compatriot Pierre Fournier, both ‘live’ recordings from the Royal Festival Hall in 1955. Both are previously unpublished.
French music is represented by Franck’s Symphonic Variations with the great French pianist Robert Casadesus, a long term friend of Monteux. This rare broadcast from the Edinburgh Festival with the Boston Symphony in 1956 is the first recording of Monteux conducting this work ever to be published.
The complete Debussy Images and Chausson’s Symphony with the BBCSO from the Royal Festival Hall in 1956 is the only account that exists of Monteux conducting this score ‘live’. His only studio recording of the Chausson dates back to 1950.
Likewise, d’Indy’s Symphony on a French Mountain Air with the pianist Valerie Tyron and the BBCSO from 1961 is the only ‘live’ account with Monteux while his only studio account dates back to 1941. The ‘live’ LSO recording from 1961 from the Royal Festival Hall of Part 3 of Berlioz’s dramatic symphony, Romeo et Juliette with André Vessières (bass) has also never been published until now.
A significant bonus has been added featuring Charles Munch conducting the Boston Symphony in Haydn’s Symphony No.102 from the 1956 Edinburgh Festival.
Very rare, it is Munch’s only recorded performance of the symphony. This set brings together the BSO’s two distinguished music directors and two of France’s greatest conductors.
