The Music Pages | June 2008

The Decca Ansermet Legacy For many years, Ernest Ansermet was one of Decca’s staple conductors in repertoire that, while it focused on music by French and Russian composers, also explored the masterpieces of the Austro-German school. Following requests from around the world, Australian Eloquence embarks on a survey of the bulk of these recordings, many of which have never before been internationally released on CD. Clearly, it’s time for a reassessment of this remarkable force who, with his personal contact with Ravel, Debussy, Stravinsky and Honegger, among others, bridged the gap between two generations.
	Cat. No.: 442 9986 Barcode: 0028944299861 Label: Decca 2CD Release Date: May			ERNEST ANSERMET \| Royal Ballet Gala ARTISTS Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Ernest Ansermet TRACK LISTING TCHAIKOVSKY: Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a ROSSINI: La Boutique fantasque DELIBES: Coppélia (excerpts) ADAM: Giselle (excerpts) TCHAIKOVSKY: Swan Lake, Op. 20 (excerpts) SCHUMANN: Carnaval, Op. 9 (excerpts) TCHAIKOVSKY: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 (excerpts) CHOPIN: Les Sylphides (excerpts) While the bulk of Ansermet’s recordings were made with L’Orchestre de la Susise Romande, there were a few with the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra and the very occasional foray into recordings with London orchestras, one of these being with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1959 with producer Michael Williamson and engineer Kenneth Wilkinson in tow at London’s Kingsway Hall. Reviewing this recording, Audiophilia Online Magazine wrote: “This is the stuff of which dreams are made. The Royal Ballet Gala is one of the finest RCAs recorded in London's Kingsway Hall. The chunks of great ballet music are well served by orchestra, conductor and engineer. Performances are executed to a very high standard - the Royal Opera House Orchestra, both then and now, rank as one of the finest of opera orchestras. “Conductor Ansermet keeps the pace moving, giving the listener the impression of a dance event rather than a dramatic concert hall reading. With the exception of some of the Tchaikovsky scenes, the music is light and remains so under Ansermet's gentle touch. Each ballet is given full attention by the players, something not always attained at Covent Garden during long ballet nights! The threat of eternity does have its merits. The recorded sound is simply amazing! Lustrous is one word that comes to mind, accurate is another. Tonally, Messrs. Williamson and Wilkinson have used their considerable talents to capture the orchestra superbly. Woodwind and strings glow and resonate, transporting this listener to a time when simpler recording was better. Brass ring out thrillingly and percussion effects are very musical. Be it a bang, swish, rattle, crack or snap, each percussionist is situated perfectly within the beautiful Kingsway soundstage. Even the difficult-to-record sound of the celeste is captured in its purely mechanical form. Its delicate sound is heard to great effect during the Nutcracker - originating stage left, the sound decays across the stage of Kingsway with sparkling beauty. Wonderful.” This is its first outing on Decca CD and the voluminous original liner notes are included. RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 480 0044 Barcode: 0028948000449 Label: Decca 2CD Release Date: May			ERNEST ANSERMET SIBELIUS: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 \| Tapiola RACHMANINOV: Isle of the Dead ARTISTS L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande Paris Conservatoire Orchestra* Ernest Ansermet TRACK LISTING SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 43 SIBELIUS: Tapiola, Op. 112 SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 4 in A minor. Op. 63 RACHMANINOV: The Isle of the Dead, Op. 29* While it remains a pity that Ansermet didn’t venture further into the bleaker landscapes of Sibelius, less may well be more, and these epic recordings of the Second and Fourth symphonies, together with a raw reading of Tapiola are collected together on CD for the first time. The mood of desolation continues with the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra’s recording of Rachmaninov’s hypnotic tone poem The Isle of the Dead. RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 480 0448 Barcode: 0028948004485 Label: Decca 4CD Release Date: May			ERNEST ANSERMET BRAHMS: Symphonies Nos. 1-4 \| Overtures Alto Rhapsody \| A German Requiem ARTISTS Helen Watts, contralto* Agnes Giebel, soprano Hermann Prey, baritone Choeur de la Radio Suisse Romande Choeur Pro Arte de Lausanne L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande Ernest Ansermet TRACK LISTING BRAHMS: Symphonies Nos. 1-4 Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a Tragic Overture, Op. 81 Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80 Nänie, Op. 82 Rhapsody for Alto, Chorus and Orchestra, Op. 53* Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45** ‘The veteran Swiss conductor was a fine Brahms conductor’ wrote Gramophone magazine, and as these recordings prove, he was indeed. The majority of these recordings make their first international debut on CD, following repeated requests by Ansermet fans around the world. Classically poised yet Romantically generous in their spirit, they make a welcome appearance on CD. Surveying the series in his liner notes for this set, Colin Anderson writes: “Ansermet takes a broad view of Brahms’s Requiem setting; expressive and imploring at the outset, but never mawkish, weighted in the second and not afraid to reveal the music’s bittersweet quality (fourth and fifth movements) while aiming for clarity in even the most lung-bursting, cathedral-filling passages. The music is typically well-analysed by Ansermet; although this is not a ‘heavyweight’ performance, the music emerges with a big if burdened core, enough to convince that Ein deutsches Requiem might just be Brahms’s greatest achievement. Similarly, Ansermet’s conducting of Brahms’s four symphonies is trusting and unvarnished, perceptive of the written page and overall structure while being generously appreciative of the music’s poetic machinations; music at once painstakingly Classical and heart-divulgingly Romantic.” RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 442 9992 Barcode: 0028944299922 Label: Decca 2CD Release Date: May			ERNEST ANSERMET LISZT: A Faust Symphony \| Mephisto Waltz Procession Nocturne \| Battle if the Huns MAGNARD: Symphony No. 3 ARTISTS Werner Krenn, tenor* Choeur Pro Arte de Lausanne* L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande Ernest Ansermet TRACK LISTING LISZT: Eine Faust-Symphonie* LISZT: The Dance in the Village Inn (Mephisto Waltz No. 1); Nocturnal Procession (Scenes from Lenau’s Faust) LISZT: Battle of the Huns MAGNARD: Symphony No. 3 Liszt’s Eine Faust-Symphonie, based on the Faust legend, is an hour-long work for tenor, choir and orchestra, based on the Faust legend. The Suisse Romande Orchestra take to this complex score, one with which they could hardly have been familiar, with clear enthusiasm and imbue the performance with alertness and vivacity. The woodwind playing of the orchestra (not always enjoyed by critics) in the Gretchen movement is especially sensitive. Ansermet is direct, honest and conveys emotional intensity without resorting to sentimentality or the vulgarity to which conductors of this music are sometimes prone. The recording is vivid and full of presence. So too for the pair of Scenes from Lenau’s Faust – the familiar Mephisto Waltz No. 1 (this time with the alternative quiet ending) coupled with the beautifully atmospheric ‘Nocturnal Procession’. Magnard, sometimes described as the ‘French Bruckner’ was clearly part of a group of French composers influenced by the Austro-German school. Yet, his third symphony shows a Classical discipline and poise. This work was recorded by Ansermet very late in his career, at a time when musical byways were far less likely to be explored than today. For many years, it was virtually the only recording of any work by Magnard and it demonstrates how Ansermet’s keen musical curiosity remained undimmed by his advancing years. The Suisse Romande perform the work with poise and clarity. RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 480 0567 Barcode: 0028948005673 Label: Decca CD Release Date: May			ERNEST ANSERMET \| WAGNER: Overtures & Preludes ARTISTS L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande Ernest Ansermet TRACK LISTING WAGNER: Prelude to Act I (Lohengrin) Siegfried’s Funeral March (Götterdämmerung) Prelude (Die Meistersinger von Nümberg) Prelude & Good Friday Music (Parsifal) This, Ansermet’s only Wagner recording for Decca, was made in November 1963. He paces the Meistersinger Prelude implacably and his Wagner interpretations have plenty of fire as well as richness and gravitas. Much requested for reissue, this recording finally makes its appearance on CD in the international arena. RETURN TO THE TOP