Fantasy and folklore are the subject of this 2CD collection of orchestral pieces by Rimsky-Korsakov recorded between 1953 and 1963 by the Suisse Romande Orchestra and Ernest Ansermet. We encounter Antar, disillusioned son of a slave who rises to become a Bedouin chief and dies in the arms of a fairy queen. We meet a […]

Recorded between October 1951 and June 1953, these mono recordings have been much prized and sought-after by collectors and now reappear on CD at super-budget price. Ravel and Ansermet were well acquainted and that adds a special authenticity to these sublime readings, presenting the majority of Ravel’s orchestral music (Bolero and La Valse appear on […]

This release brings together Ansermet’s complete Ravel concerto/concertante recordings with the first international release on CD of Swiss pianist Jacqueline Blancard’s aristocratic readings of the two Piano Concertos and Ruggiero Ricci’s dare-devilry in the Tzigane.

At the time of its release – 1960 – Ansermet’s stereo recording of the Mussorgsky-Ravel ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’ was demonstration worthy, and it still, today, retains its sense of space and impact. Much of the remainder of the program makes its first international appearance on CD, and the ‘Dance of the Persian Slaves’ (from […]

Both Mahler’s First and Third symphonies, originally enjoyed subtitles for their movements. The first movement of the First was one ‘Spring Without End’, the second ‘Under Full Sail’. For the Third, Mahler paid tribute to the ‘Flowers in the Meadow’, the ‘Animals in the Forest’, ‘Man’, ‘Angels’ and ‘Love’, respectively, for its five movements. Both […]

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 […]

There’s nothing quite as heady as being at the Last Night of the Proms. As the summer comes to a close and this great annual festival in London concludes, the crowds gather in the park to watch this event broadcast in the park (and now, in other British cities too). And those that have been […]

One of the greatest soprano legends of all time, Nilsson’s 1963 Decca recital with Edward Downes of popular opera arias by Wagner, Weber, Beethoven, et.al. has never been fully issued. Here it is on CD – issued complete for the first time and in the fabled sumptuous Decca sound – coupled with her rare ‘Ah, […]

Fascinated by children, Ravel composed two one-act operas, ‘L’enfant et les sortileges’ and ‘L’Heure espagnole’. These priceless Ansermet recordings now return to the catalogue, coupled with the rare and much-requested disc of Ravel vocal works with Danco and Ansermet. As a coupling we have the Paris Conservatoire recordings of Bolero (the stereo version making its […]

In 1979, the much-loved British cellist Jacqueline du Pre, then beset with multiple sclerosis (she was diagnosed in 1973), stepped into the recording studio to make what was to be her last recording – not as cellist but as an engaging narrator in ‘Peter and the Wolf’. Her husband, Daniel Barenboim, conducted a spacious and […]

Glazunov’s wonderfully atmospheric ‘The Seasons’ ballet, joins other Russian compositions by Liadov and Glinka as well as the colourful orchestral arrangement by Glazunov and others of Schumann’s ‘Carnaval’, in stunning recordings by Ernest Ansermet as part of the Decca Ansermet Legacy on Eloquence. In addition to the Glazunov and Glazunov-by-arrangement Ansermet recordings, this generous 2CD set […]

Gerald English was a founder member of the legendary Deller Consort; he sang under the batons of Stravinsky, Ansermet, Vaughan Williams, Britten, Barbirolli and Beecham; he premiered works by Tippett, Henze, Berio and Dallapiccola. He also premiered 12 pieces by the Australian composer (and broadcaster), Andrew Ford. The last of these, the one-man music-theatre piece […]