MAURICE RAVEL / CLAUDE DEBUSSY / IGOR STRAVINSKY
Ernest Ansermet and the Ballets Russes L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet [ Decca ABC Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/Jun/2018 ] A generous collection of classic Decca stereo recordings, illuminating the idiomatic sympathy of the Swiss conductor Ernest Ansermet for ballet music and specifically the scores commissioned by Serge Diaghilev for the Ballets Russes. |
GLINKA / BORODIN / MUSSORGSKY / PROKOFIEV
Ansermet In Russia (recorded 1952-54) L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Paris Conservatoire Orchestra, Ernest Ansermet [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / CD - released 10/Oct/2018 ] Russian music was always a fundamental part of Ansermet's vast repertoire. Of course, he spent seven years as conductor with the famous Ballets Russes during a particularly glorious period for the company. Formed in 1907 by Serge Diaghilev, the... |
GABRIEL FAURE / ERNEST CHAUSSON / PAUL DUKAS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Faure: Pelleas et Melisande / Dukas: Sorcerer's Apprentice / Chausson: Symphony Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet [ Decca Eloquence / CD - released 20/Jul/2002 ] The best-loved French classics performed by the famous Orchestre de la Suisse Romande |
ARTHUR HONEGGER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Honegger: Symphonies / Le Roi David / Pacific 231 / etc (with Frank Martin - In terra pax) Suzanne Danco, Marie-Lise de Montmollin, Pauline Martin / L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande / Ernest Ansermet [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Jan/2013 ] "This double CD set is almost worth its cost for the performance of Pacific 231 - one of the most vividly descriptive tone-poems of the twentieth century...Ansermet's is perhaps the finest ever committed to disc: it has a powerful, cumulative effect... |
MAURICE RAVEL / CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Ravel: Sheherazade, etc / Debussy: La Mer & Petite Suite (recorded 1947-48) Suzanne Danco (soprano) / L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire, Ernest Ansermet [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / CD - released 10/Oct/2018 ] 'Some of the subtlest songs in the modern repertoire, marvellously interpreted and beautifully recorded.' High Fidelity, August 1955 (Shéhérezade) |
ERNEST BLOCH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bloch: Schelomo / Voice in the Wilderness (with works by Geiser & Oboussier) Zara Nelsova (cello) / L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ernest Ansermet [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / CD - released 1/Jun/2010 ] "Her Schelomo has a surprising payload of richness of sound and certainly Nelsova has deep reserves of passion which flows tirelessly." MusicWeb |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Decca Conductors' Gallery Ansermet, Van Beinum, Bernard, ·Blech, Celibidache, Coates, Coppola, Desormiere, Enescu, Fitelberg, Furtwangler, Harty, Van Kempen, Kleiber, Knapperts [ Decca ABC Australian Eloquence / 21 CD Box Set - released 25/Aug/2023 ] An A-Z of 23 conductors in a feast of classic recordings from Decca's early years - 1929-1949 - including the golden age of its 'ffrr' technology. Newly remastered from the best available sources. |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 / Overtures - Prometheus, Fidelio, Leonore 2 & 3 / Grosse Fuge Joan Sutherland, Norma Procter, Arnold Van Mill / L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande / Ernest Ansermet [ Decca ABC Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/Aug/2009 ] "…the depth and concentration of the Ansermet shines decisively out… Ansermet's reading is taut and imposing" Gramophone |
PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (complete ballet) / Suite No. 3 / Suite No. 4 'Mozartiana' LOrchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet [ Decca ABC Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/May/2009 ] The 2CD Tchaikovsky/Ansermet sets represent his complete Tchaikovsky recordings for Decca. For many, Ansermet's recording of The Nutcracker is in a league of its own. Refined, yet passionate, many of the pieces on these recordings make their first... |
PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: Symphonies Nos. 1, 5, 6 LOrchestre de la Suisse Romande / Ernest Ansermet [ Decca ABC Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/May/2009 ] These 2CD sets represent all of Ansermet's Prokofiev recordings for Decca. Both, the Paris Conservatoire and the Suisse Romande versions of the 'Classical' Symphony are included. |
PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake / Rococo Variations / Symphony No. 6 'Pathetique' L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet, with Maurice Gendron, cello [ Decca ABC Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/May/2009 ] The 2CD Tchaikovsky/Ansermet sets represent his complete Tchaikovsky recordings for Decca. Many will find fascinating his own sequencing of numbers from Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty. Refined, yet passionate, many of the pieces on these... |
CLAUDE DEBUSSY / PAUL DUKAS
Debussy / Dukas: Orchestral Works L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Paris Conservatoire Orchestra, Ernest Ansermet [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / CD - released 12/Aug/2018 ] 'The Swiss orchestra give each score a splendid performance, with the strings especially outstanding.' Gramophone, May 1959 (Jeux, La Péri) |
SIBELIUS
Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 / Tapiola (with Rachmaninov-Isle of the Dead) L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande / Paris Conservatoire Orchestra / Ernest Ansermet [ Decca ABC Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 20/Jun/2008 ] While it remains a pity that Ansermet didn't venture further into the bleaker landscapes of Sibelius, less may well be more, and these epic recordings of the Second and Fourth symphonies, together with a raw reading of Tapiola are collected together... |
MAURICE RAVEL
Ravel - The Early Ansermet Recordings Motet de Genève / L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 9/Apr/2007 ] 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... |
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
Antar / May Night / The Tale of Tsar Saltan / The Flight of the Bumblebee / Capriccio Espagnol / etc Motet de Genève / L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande / Paris Conservatoire Orch / Ernest Ansermet [ Decca ABC Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/Aug/2009 ] "The Tsar Saltan suite shows Ansermet and the Decca engineers in glittering form... The Christmas Eve suite is played with much affection and that mixture of spontaneity and remarkably graphic orchestral palette which made Ansermet's performances... |
ROYAL BALLET GALA
Royal Ballet Gala (Incls 'Nutcracker Suite', 'La Boutique fantasque' & 'Les Sylphides') Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Ernest Ansermet [ Decca ABC Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 20/Jun/2008 ] "This is the stuff of which dreams are made. The Royal Ballet Gala is one of the finest RCAs recorded in London's Kingsway Hall. The chunks of great ballet music are well served by orchestra, conductor and engineer." Audiophilia Online Magazine |
NICOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade Op 35 (rec 1954) / Le Coq d'Or [The Golden Cockerel] Suite Pierre Nerini (violin) / Paris Conservatoire Orchestra / L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande / Ernest Ansermet [ Australian Decca SBS Eloquence / CD - released 1/Aug/2008 ] While Ansermet's stereo Suisse Romande recording of Scheherazade is well-known and has been frequently reissued, his early (1954) Paris Conservatoire Orchestra recording of this piece is a relative rarity and here receives its first CD outing on... |
BERLIOZ
Symphonie Fantastique / Les Nuits d'été, Op. 7 / La Damnation de Faust, Op. 24 (excerpts) plus rehearsal sequence Regine Crespin (soprano) / L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande / Ernest Ansermet [ Decca ABC Eloquence / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Jun/2010 ] Penguin Guide Rosette Winner (for Les Nuits d'été) |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: Violin Concertos 1 & 2 / Piano Concerto No 3 Ruggiero Ricci (violin) Julius Katchen (piano) / L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande / Ernest Ansermet [ Decca ABC Eloquence / CD - released 1/May/2009 ] These CD sets represent all of Ansermet's Prokofiev recordings for Decca. Ruggiero Ricci and Julius Katchen are sterling soloists in the concertos. This is Katchen's first of two Decca recordings of the Prokofiev Third. |
LALO
Symphonie Espagnole / Namouna [excerpts] / etc (with music by Chabrier) Ruggiero Ricci (violin) / L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 10/Apr/2011 ] It used to be fashionable to include the music of Lalo in concert in the mid-20th century. At the start of the 21st century, however, his works has fallen completely into neglect, in France as much as elsewhere. This is a cruel injustice for music... |