MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Andre Cluytens
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BIZET / BERLIOZ / DEBUSSY / MUSSORGSKY / RAVEL / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Andre Cluytens
Boris Christoff (bass) / National Opera of Sofia / Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française, Orchestre du Théâtre National de l'Opéra, André
[ EMI Classics / 2 CD ]
Release Date: Sunday 25 February 2018
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Great Conductors of the 20th Century is a joint venture between the production and licensing expertise of IMG Artists and the international marketing and distribution clout of EMI. Sixty volumes were planned with hopes for even more. Unfortunately, though, perhaps reflecting our leaner climate for classical projects, the producers now advise that only forty will be issued. Thus, rather than a proud celebration of the full wealth of this keystone of classical art,six of the Great Conductors of the 20th Century volumes the truncated result is tinged with regret for what might have been. Even so, the edition stimulates many thoughts, not only about its particular subjects but of trends and issues that transcend the specific contents.
"If you're looking for evidence that Cluytens belongs in this series, you'd best skip the first selection. the EMI Great Conductors Edition - Andre Cluytens His 1953 Bizet Symphony in C is a waste of a half hour of disc space that could have been devoted to some of the omitted performances hailed in the notes. While the most enthusiasm the notes can muster for this reading is to call it "straightforward," I think "dull" is more accurate - strictly routine and crudely recorded. The same orchestra went on to cut the work with Munch (preserved on his volume here) and Beecham, who brought a far bouncier touch and élan. The Debussy and Schumann, too, lack any particular distinction. The Ravel is livelier and graceful yet superficial, skirting the work's undercurrent of sadness and loss. The only saving grace here is the Berlioz, a live (and how!) reading that's marvelously sensitive to the shifting moods, and leads up to a hugely stirring march and a scorching finale. It's hard to believe it's led by the same conductor. Cluytens was known as a solid opera conductor (evidenced by the Mussorgsky excerpt here) and a reliable accompanist (where reticence is a virtue), but this collection does little to suggest that he's been slighted. The portrait that emerges is of an artist who may have shone in concert (and thereby stoked the memories of those who heard him live) but was merely competent in the studio, whence all but the Berlioz arose. Cluytens was a greatly respected conductor in his time, but the evidence on record just isn't here." ClassicalNotes Net
Tracks:
Bizet: Symphony in C;
Debussy: Images pour orchestre;
Ravel: La Valse;
Schumann: Manfred Overture;
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique;
Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov - Coronation Scene (with Boris Christoff, bass).
