New Arrivals/Restock

Title: Pierre Monteux Live
Artist: Pierre Monteux
Label: Somm Recordings
Product Type: COMPACT DISCS
UPC: 758871502825
Genre: Classical Artists
Release Date: 2024-06-21
Number of Discs: 2

SOMM Recordings is thrilled to announce Pierre Monteux Live, a two-CD set comprised entirely of first releases including never-before-issued performances led by the renowned conductor. Among these is a legendary 50th Anniversary performance of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring with the composer in attendance, given a half-century to the day after Monteux himself conducted the storied Paris world premiere! This recording captures an extraordinary moment of historical continuity: between 1913 and 1963 five decades elapsed in the evolution of 20th-century music, in the taste and understanding of the public and in the lives of both creator and pioneering interpreter. The concert was broadcast live on the BBC from the Royal Albert Hall and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra who referred to Monteux affectionately as their "Maître". Both the devoted playing and the emotional audience acclaim are preserved in vividly present sound. This set also commemorates the revered conductor - on the 60th anniversary of his death and ahead of the 150th anniversary of his birth - with moving testimony from LSO musicians involved in the landmark Stravinsky concert. These interviews were recorded between 1992 and 1995 by this set's producer, Jon Tolansky, co-founder of Music Preserved and the author of documentary features on composers and performers. Monteux is also heard speaking on tape here, in a 1955 interview and a 1959 rehearsal of the LSO in Dvorak's Seventh Symphony, providing a window onto the man's intellect, work ethic and rapport with fellow musicians. Rounding out this set are still more never-before-issued recordings of Monteux conducting the BBC Northern Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in music by Haydn, Weber and Beethoven, as well as works by Ravel, who, like Stravinsky, was a composer Monteux knew personally. To the highly discriminating players of the RPO of 1960, Monteux was a favourite guest conductor. As with The Rite of Spring, he represented a direct link to the origins of Daphnis and Chloe, another Ballets Russes production that Monteux led in it's world premiere. The RPO's Principal Clarinet, Jack Brymer, remembered "this wonderfully energetic and meticulous little man" who "even in his eighties... had the touch of elegance, the humour, the exquisite good taste" and "could produce a sudden sforzato second to none by a tiny stab of his baton." The recordings of the performances in this album, all made privately off-air from various sources, have been fastidiously polished by Restoration Engineer Paul Baily. His restoration of the recent Sir Adrian Boult Conducts (ARIADNE 5024-2) was honoured with the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik (German Records Critics' Award) in the Historical Recordings category.

Tracks:
1.1 Jubilee Overture J.245 (Op.59)
1.2 Symphony No. 6 Op. 68 "Pastoral"~I. Erwachen heiterer Empfindungen bei der Ankunft auf dem Lande
1.3 Symphony No. 6 Op. 68 "Pastoral"~II. Szene am Bach
1.4 Symphony No. 6 Op. 68 "Pastoral"~III. Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute
1.5 Symphony No. 6 Op. 68 "Pastoral"~IV. Gewitter, Sturm
1.6 Symphony No. 6 Op. 68 "Pastoral"~V. Hirtengesang. Frohe und dankbare Gefühle nach dem Sturm
1.7 Rapsodie espagnole M.54~I. Prélude à la nuit
1.8 Rapsodie espagnole M.54~II. Malagueña
1.9 Rapsodie espagnole M.54~III. Habanera
1.10 Rapsodie espagnole M.54~IV. Feria
1.11 Daphnis and Chloé Suite No. 2 M. 57b
2.1 Symphony No. 104 in D Hob. I:104~I. Adagio - Allegro
2.2 Symphony No. 104 in D Hob. I:104~II. Andante
2.3 Symphony No. 104 in D Hob. I:104~III. Menuetto and Trio: Allegro
2.4 Symphony No. 104 in D Hob. I:104~IV. Finale: Spiritoso
2.5 Rite of Spring~Part 1. Adoration of the Earth (The Rite of Spring): I. Introduction
2.6 Rite of Spring~Part 1. Adoration of the Earth (The Rite of Spring): II. The Augurs of Spring: Dances of the Young Girls
2.7 Rite of Spring~Part 1. Adoration of the Earth (The Rite of Spring): III. Ritual of Abduction
2.8 Rite of Spring~Part 1. Adoration of the Earth (The Rite of Spring): IV. Spring Rounds
2.9 Rite of Spring~Part 1. Adoration of the Earth (The Rite of Spring): V. Ritual of the Rival Tribes
2.10 Rite of Spring~Part 1. Adoration of the Earth (The Rite of Spring): VI. Procession of the Sage
2.11 Rite of Spring~Part 1. Adoration of the Earth (The Rite of Spring): VII. Dance of the Earth
2.12 Rite of Spring~Part 2. The Sacrifice: I. Introduction
2.13 Rite of Spring~Part 2. The Sacrifice: II. Mystic Circles of the Young Girls
2.14 Rite of Spring~Part 2. The Sacrifice: III. Glorification of the Chosen One
2.15 Rite of Spring~Part 2. The Sacrifice: IV. Evocation of the Ancestors
2.16 Rite of Spring~Part 2. The Sacrifice: V. Ritual Action of the Ancestors
2.17 Rite of Spring~Part 2. The Sacrifice: VI. Sacrificial Dance (The Chosen One)
2.18 Applause. Announcement by Alvar Lidell
2.19 LSO members and interviewer Jon Tolansky recall the 50th Anniversary Performance of The Rite of Spring
2.20 Pierre Monteux's appointment as Principal Conductor of the LSO
2.21 Personal recollections of Pierre Monteux in the LSO
2.22 Pierre Monteux's achievement for the LSO
2.23 Personal recollections of Pierre Monteux in the LSO
2.24 Personal recollections of Pierre Monteux in the LSO
2.25 Personal recollections of Pierre Monteux at the Pierre Monteux School
2.26 Discovery and championship of Willem Pijper's Symphony No. 3
2.27 Symphony No. 7 in D minor B.141 (Op.70) [in rehearsal]~I. Allegro maestoso (excerpts)
2.28 Symphony No. 7 in D minor B.141 (Op.70) [in rehearsal]~II. Poco adagio (excerpts)