Eloquence has been making a systematic and critically acclaimed survey of the Mercury legacy of recordings made by the Hungarian conductor Antal Doráti. Boxes of his complete recordings with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonia Hungarica have revived albums from the 1950s and 60s which set new standards for lifelike sound and intensely engaged performances in the recording studio.
Volume 1 of Doráti’s London recordings covers sessions from July 1956 to July 1961. Conductor and orchestra met for an intensive fortnight each year after the end of the concert season. Both the conductor and the Mercury engineers were demanding in their pursuit of perfection, in terms of orchestral attack, ensemble, balance, colour and all the disparate elements which contribute towards the kind of repeatability that made these albums such artistic and commercial successes.
The repertoire for these Mercury sessions in London played to Dorati’s strengths. Volume 1 includes library versions of music by Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker and Stravinsky’s Firebird. Symphonies by Haydn (Nos. 45, 100 & 101) and Mozart (No. 40) are rhythmic and stylish. Anthologies of Verdi and Wagner orchestral music from operas tap into Dorati’s theatrical strengths, no less than ballet scores by Khachaturian (Gayaneh) and Copland (Appalachian Spring and Billy the Kid). A powerful meeting of minds is achieved with the pianist Byron Janis in the standard-setting Rachmaninoff Third Piano Concerto, with the violinist Henryk Szeryng in Brahms and the cellist János Starker in Dvořák.
As David Patmore reveals in his new essay for the collection, illuminating the background to Doráti’s relationships with both Mercury and with the LSO, the Mercury team wanted to make ‘event’ recordings of a new and unrivalled immediacy. Unique to this new collection is the first official CD release of Dvořák’s Carnaval Overture.
TRACK LISTING
CD 1
PROKOFIEV: The Love for Three Oranges: Suite; Scythian Suite
CD 2
MOZART: Eine kleine Nachtmusik
Symphony No. 36 ‘Linz’
CD 3
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Le Coq d’Or: Suite
BORODIN: Polovtsian Dances
CD 4
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3
The Hebrides – Overture
CD 5
RESPIGHI: The Birds; Brazilian Impressions
CD 6
BRAHMS: Variations on a Theme by Haydn; Hungarian Dances
CD 7
HAYDN: Symphonies Nos. 100 & 101
CD 8
VERDI: Overtures & Preludes
CD 9
HANDEL–HARTY: Water Music: Suite
Music for the Royal Fireworks
CD 10
KHACHATURIAN: Gayaneh (excerpts)
TCHAIKOVSKY: Romeo and Juliet
CD 11
SMETANA: Vltava
MUSSORGSKY: Night on Bald Mountain
LISZT: Les Préludes
SIBELIUS: Finlandia
CD 12
STRAVINSKY: The Firebird
CDs 13
WAGNER: Overtures & Preludes
CD 14
ENESCU: Romanian Rhapsodies
LISZT: Hungarian Rhapsodies Nos. 2 & 6
CD 15
DVOŘÁK: Symphonies Nos. 7 & 8
Carnaval – Overture*
*FIRST CD RELEASE ON DECCA
CD 16
COPLAND: Appalachian Spring
Billy the Kid
CD 17
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5
CD 18
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Russian Easter Festival Overture; Capriccio espagnol
BORODIN: Polovtsian Dances
CD 19
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1
CD 20
BEETHOVEN: Wellington’s Victory
Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus – Overture
Leonore Overture No. 3
Deems Taylor
CD 21
BERG: Lulu Suite
Wozzeck (excerpts)
Helga Pilarczyk
CD 22
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 4
CD 23
MOZART: Symphony No. 40
HAYDN: Symphony No. 45
CD 24
RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 3
Byron Janis
CD 25
WAGNER: Overtures & Preludes
CD 26
DVOŘÁK: Cello Concerto
BRUCH: Kol Nidrei
Janos Starker
CD 27
TCHAIKOVSKY: The Nutcracker
CD 28
BRAHMS: Violin Concerto
Henryk Szeryng
CD 29
WEBER: Oberon – Overture
SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 4
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 6
London Symphony Orchestra
ANTAL DORÁTI
“Clearly the best now to be had on compact disc. There is an ethnic authenticity about this reading, difficult to express precisely in words, but it’s there.” Fanfare, November 1991 (Enescu: Romanian Rhapsodies)
“A well-planned reading with the gentler passages caressed effectively while the more brilliant ones had plenty of exhilaration but were in no way exaggerated. This is one of the finer non-Czech editions.” Fanfare, January 1999 (Smetana: Vltava)
“A classic from the word go. Great playing, dynamic conducting, and an absolutely glittering recording.” Fanfare, September 1992 (Borodin/Rimsky-Korsakov)
“No one hearing this could possibly miss the fearsome power that erupted in the creation of these operas.” Musical Times, October 1962 (Berg: Suites from Wozzeck and Lulu)
“A splendid reading under a conductor who knows his way around a ballet score.” High Fidelity, January 1964 (Prokofiev: Scythian Suite)
“Strongly rhythmed interpretations … brilliantly executed, cleanly, vibrantly reproduced.” High Fidelity, March 1958 (Prokofiev: Scythian Suite, etc.)
“The Coq d’or concert suite here is accorded a brilliant performance, enhanced by very realistic sound.” High Fidelity, January 1964 (Rimsky-Korsakov)
“Doráti keeps this music alive and on its toes. Mercury’s 35-mm film recording offers the purest, most realistic sound yet to come from that company.” High Fidelity, November 1964 (Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker)
“Doráti’s inclination to treat it as absolute rather than nationalistic music is commendable. I confess to finding the grim concentration of his interpretation both compelling and persuasive.” High Fidelity, October 1969 (Dvořák: Symphony No. 7)
“This version is light, brisk, witty, and particularly attractive in the two middle movements, which you rarely hear played this well.” High Fidelity, May 1963 (Haydn: Symphony No. 45)
“Performances full of fire and temperament, and there is abundant lyrical beauty where that is appropriate. The recording is all it should be … A decided success.” High Fidelity, August 1966 (Brahms: Hungarian Dances)
“All other complete Nutcrackers pale beside this newest version.” High Fidelity, February 1963 (Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker)
“Doráti approaches both works with keen perception. His interpretation of The Birds may be a trifle more stately than those of other conductors, but with that stateliness goes a lovely feeling of serenity and sensitive execution.” High Fidelity, July 1957 (Respighi)
“Doráti’s new rendering is … everything his old one was – sparking, alive and sensitive – with superb stereo sound added. It clearly leads the field now.” Stereo Review, May 1963 (Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker)
“This disc should give delight to Handelians who place colour and subtlety above the occasional drabness of scholastic monochrome.” Gramophone, April 1960 (Handel)
“Fastidiously prepared … well prepared and sensibly paced … to say that the thrilling finale [of No. 100] is supercharged is an understatement.” Gramophone, December 2020 (Haydn)
“This Firebird is really alive, and it pecks hard! … It still sounds ridiculously good … a riveting performance.” Gramophone, January 2024 (Stravinsky)
“Szeryng’s playing all through has unusual distinction. His tone is pure, his intonation faultless, his control of the bow miraculous … This is a quite unusually expressive performance.” Gramophone, April 1963 (Brahms: Violin Concerto)
“Doráti, as usual, never fails to make the maximum effect from every instrumental line in the score … Starker’s feeling for this work and his great technique are well known.” Gramophone, April 1963 (Dvořák: Cello Concerto)