Ernest Ansermet Conducts Ballet Music

On this CD:

1. La boutique fantasque, ballet after Rossini, P. 120
Composed by Ottorino Respighi
Performed by London Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Ernest Ansermet

2. Petrushka, ballet (burlesque) in 4 scenes for orchestra (1911 version)
Composed by Igor Stravinsky
Performed by Suisse Romande Orchestra
Conducted by Ernest Ansermet

Customer Reviews:

Another Testament to Great Reissues.......2004-03-12

In this era of homogenized classical collections, it is great to see a label like Testament rescue gems from the Decca vaults and reissue them on CD. This disc presents the legendary conductor Ernest Ansermet performing orchestral works by Debussy, Dukas and Saint-Saens. While Decca has made most of Ansermet's stereo recordings available on CD via its own label (though some are only available as imports, or are now out-of-print), the majority of the recordings featured here are in mono, and were most likely licensed to Testament for that reason. Well hopefully Testament will be releasing more of these mono recordings because these performances are fantastic. Whether he was leading the group he founded, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, or the Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire as he is on the disc's two Dukas selections, Ansermet was known for his clean, precise recordings. There are times that you would swear these pieces were in stereo because the sound is so crystal-clear. For fun, I compared the 1953 recording of Debussy's "Jeux" (only the second ever made), and the 1954 recording of Dukas' "The Sorceror's Apprentice" to their stereo counterparts, and amazingly they are of virtually the same sound quality. However, the highlights of this reissue are not those two pieces, but are instead the 1953 performance of Debussy's "Six epigraphes antiques," which Ansermet himself orchestrated, the 1954 account of Dukas' "La Peri," released here in stereo for the first time, and Saint-Saens' "Danse Macabre," Ansermet's only recording of this work, made in 1952. In all, this disc is yet another "testament" to a great reissue program.

Average customer rating:

Forget about any other Petrushka in the market!
Disappointing

Ansermet Conducts Stravinsky

Manufacturer: Dutton Laboratories
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00004YU8Z
Release Date: 2000-11-14

Tracks:

Petrouchka Ballet Ste: The Shrovetide Fair
Petrouchka Ballet Ste: Magic Trick
Petrouchka Ballet Ste: Russian Dance
Petrouchka Ballet Ste: Petrouchka's Room
Petrouchka Ballet Ste: The Moor's Room
Petrouchka Ballet Ste: Dance Of The Ballerian
Petrouchka Ballet Ste: Waltz
Petrouchka Ballet Ste: Petrouchka Appears
Petrouchka Ballet Ste: The Shrovetide Fair (Evening)
Petrouchka Ballet Ste: Dance Of The Nursemaids
Petrouchka Ballet Ste: The Peasant And The Bear
Petrouchka Ballet Ste: Dance Of The Coachmen
Petrouchka Ballet Ste: The Mummers
Petrouchka Ballet Ste: Death Of Petrouchka
The Firebird Ste: Intro - Ernest Ansermet/LPO
The Firebird Ste: Dance Of The Firebird - Ernest Ansermet/LPO
The Firebird Ste: Dance Of The Princesses - Ernest Ansermet/LPO E
The Firebird Ste: Infernal Dance Of King Kastchei - Ernest Ansermet/LPO
The Firebird Ste: Lullaby (Berceuse) - Ernest Ansermet/LPO
The Firebird Ste: Finale - Ernest Ansermet/LPO
The Firebird Ste: Scherzo - Dance Of The Princesses W. The Golden Apples - Ernest Ansermet/LPO
Sym Of Psalms: Exaudi Orationem Meam, Domine - LPO Chor
Sym Of Psalms: Expectans Expectavi Dominum - LPO Chor
Sym Of Psalms: Alleluja, Laudate Dominum - LPO Chor

Amazon.com

Dutton's overprocessing of 1946-'47 recordings considered state-of-the-art in their day lends an opacity to the CD's sound, but it's still an important release for Ansermet's fans and for historical buffs. Ansermet, a preeminent Stravinsky interpreter, recorded most of the composer's major works, and his gentler readings have long been considered viable alternatives to the harder-edged ones of the composer himself. Here, a younger Ansermet takes a tougher approach in the ballet suites, with a thrust and drive sometimes missing from his later stereo versions. He's as authoritative in the Symphony of Psalms, one of Stravinsky's most austerely beautiful works, although the choral contributions lack crispness. These colorful scores need wide-ranging stereo, so most will opt for later versions of all three pieces by Stravinsky and, in the ballets, by those of Monteux, Dorati, and Boulez. --Dan Davis

Album Description

DECCA's Full Frequency Range Recordings (ffrr) recordings made in 1946 and 1947.

Customer Reviews:

Forget about any other Petrushka in the market!.......2005-09-25

You can try with any other version recorded previous or late respect this one. You won ` t get this sensation of wholeness and plenitude this performance maintains. From its instantaneous release I heard about it since I was a child about its grandness and expressive eloquence . No other version can beat with this one. The London Philharmonic and Ernest Ansermet those days of 12 and 13 Feb. 1946

Forget about it. The jewel of the crown is Petrushka. Don 't waste your time and even money essaying with others.

If I had to cite the four great moments of the brilliant career of this Swiss conductor: this recording, Scherezade - Paris Conservatoire - , The three cornered hat (See my review about it) and Prokoviev ' s Romeo and Juliet.

To your memory, master Ansermet!

Disappointing.......2004-06-23

I do not recommend this as either a good historical transfer, true to the original, nor as a particularly memorable series of performances. I was so disappointed after two or three plays that I traded the album at a used disk dealer. The original 78s made a good impression if one was lucky to get a playable copy; but the characteristic dry Ansermet style is better heard in his OSR recordings. The LPO plays as if it has very little direction or shaping to the readings; and in places the masters sound as if they were intrinsically distorted compared to better 78 material of the immediate postwar period. As an enthusiast and fan of Ansermet I was surprised at the mediocrity all round: the ballets were quickly surpassed in the early mono era, and stereo period, by Dorati, Ansermet himself, and Monteux. I also found the reading of the Symphony utterly dull, cold, and unmoving, preferring myself the drily archaic and classically static and glacial performances conducted by Stravinsky on 78s or in stereo format.