Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Igor Markevitch

Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Igor Markevitch

Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Igor Markevitch
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Composer: Emmanuel Chabrier
Composer: Claude Debussy
Composer: Mikhail Glinka
Composer: Maurice Ravel
Composer: Richard Strauss
Composer: Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
Conductor: Igor Markevitch
Orchestra: L'Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusio
Orchestra: Lamoureux Concert Association Orchestra
Edition: Music CD
Format: Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2002-06-04
Music Label: EMI Classics
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
  1. Manfred Symphony In B Minor, Op.58: After The Dramatic Poem By Byron: I. Lenta Lugubre - London Symphony Orchestra
  2. Manfred Symphony In B Minor, Op.58: After The Dramatic Poem By Byron: II. Vivace Con Spirito - Trio - London Symphony Orchestra
  3. Manfred Symphony In B Minor, Op.58: After The Dramatic Poem By Byron: III. Andante Con Moto - London Symphony Orchestra
  4. Manfred Symphony In B Minor, Op.58: After The Dramatic Poem By Byron: IV. Allegro Con Fuoco - London Symphony Orchestra
  5. A Life For The Tsar (Excerpts): Sinfonia. Adagio - Vivace - Chorus Of The Belgrade Opera
  6. A Life For The Tsar (Excerpts): No.5 Polonaise, Moderato - Chorus Of The Belgrade Opera
  7. A Life For The Tsar (Excerpts): No.6: Krakowiak. Allegro Moderato - Chorus Of The Belgrade Opera
  8. A Life For The Tsar (Excerpts): No.6b Waltz - Chorus Of The Belgrade Opera
Music CD 2
  1. La Forza Del Destino: Overture - New Philharmonia Orchestra
  2. La Mer (Trois Esquiesses Symphonique): I. De L'Aube A Midi Sur La Mer (Tres Lent) - Igor Markevitch
  3. La Mer (Trois Esquiesses Symphonique): II. Jeux De Vagues (Allegro) - Igor Markevitch
  4. La Mer (Trois Esquiesses Symphonique): III. Dialogue Du Vent Et De La Mer (Anime Et Tumultueux) - Igor Markevitch
  5. Espana: Rhapsodie Pour Orchestre: Allegro Con Fuoco - Igor Markevitch
  6. Daphnis Et Chloe (Fragments Symphoniques - 2e Serie): I. Lever Du Jour (Lent)/II. Pantomime (Lent-Tres Lent-Vif-Tres Lent)/III. Danse Generale (Lent-Anime) - Igor Markevitch
  7. Till Eulenspiegels Lustige Streiche, Op.28: Nach Alter Schelmenweise - In Rondoform - Igor Markevitch

Music reviews of Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Igor Markevitch

Music Review: An actually great conductor is allowed to shine
Rating: 5 Stars

The Great Condcutors series has had a hard time with consistency. They don't always find great conductors or match them with great performances; here they do both. Igor Markevitch was a phenomenon as a young composer favored by no less than Diaghilev. He gave up composing for conducting after WW II and was a prominent artist for DGG throughout the Fifties, conducting both the Berlin Phil. and various French orhestras, particularly the Lamoureux. Sadly, Maarkevitch suffered a drastic hearing loss on the podium around 1961 and ended his days in much reduced prominence.

Fortunately, CD 1 features an impetuous, moody Tchaikovsky Manfred Sym. that displays all of Markevitch's dynamism and control. It's in very good 1963 stereo with the London Sym. the classic Toscanini studio recording form 1949 still holds its own for intensity and explosiveness, but Markevitch's broader, darker view makes a strong impact. Next come evocative excerpts from Glinka's A Life for the Czar from 1957 with the scrappy but colorful Lamoureux; fortunately the sonics, which tended to be raw and nasty from Paris, here sound agreeabbly smooth.

CD 2 begins with a 1967 La Forza del Destino Over. from London--it's eerily smooth and beautifully phrased. Next comes the main work, an excellent Debussy La Mer from 1959 with the idiomatic Lamoureux. Markevitch and the engineers cooperate in a lean, very detailed reading with lots of impact--this is tangy Gallic Debussy rather than the high virtuosity of Karajan's famous version from Berlin. I like it better than the classic Ansermet, too, which has been reissued by Decca on CD in disagreeable, wiry sound. Towards the end of his career Markevitch was a gypsy, conducting provincial orchestras scattered across Europe. Spanish, French and German ensembles are featured in the last three selections here: a fizzy, prickly Chabrier Espana (1966), a live Daphnis and Chloe Suite #2 (1960) that shows off Markevitch's fine ear and sense of balance--his dry-eyed reading is gratifyingly devoid of cloying Ravel perfume--and finally, the only German work in the collection, Strauss's Till Eulenspiegel (mono, 1956), which tunrs out to be the least individual performance here and is pretty well undone by tubby radio sound.

Overall, this is one of the best installments in the series, and one of the few where two performances--Manfred and La Mer--can stand up to any competition. Five stars, definitely.
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