Posts tagged as "antal-dorati"

Mendelssohn, Schumann: Symphonies

August 25, 2020

Noted for his Haydn and Mozart and for his affinity with 20th-century music from Berg to Bartók to Messiaen, the Hungarian conductor Antal Doráti also demonstrated a particularly idiomatic flair in presenting music of the early romantic era. Of these Mendelssohn and Schuman recordings, all but the Minneapolis ‘Italian’ Symphony are in stereo. Unlike many […]

Antal Doráti – The Mozart & Haydn Recordings on Mercury Living Presence

August 25, 2020

Antal Doráti’s complete Haydn and Mozart recordings for Mercury, predating his landmark collection of the Haydn cycle for Decca. In 1966 the Stereo Review critic made a prescient observation: ‘Doráti here establishes himself as a first-rate Haydn conductor.’ There is the passion of advocacy as well as the foundational principles of his Haydn performing style […]

Concertgebouw Lollipops

July 14, 2017

This highly appealing collection of light-orchestral classics, gathers up eighteen years in the history of one of the world’s most celebrated orchestras during the golden age of the LP. Ever since its foundation in 1883, the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam has been blessed with a hall that to all intents and purposes, belongs to them. […]

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4; Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

June 16, 2017

The Hungarian conductor Antal Doráti had already made several recordings in the US with various orchestras for the Mercury label when Philips engaged him to begin working in the studio with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. There had been thrilling accounts of Tchaikovsky from both Minneapolis and Chicago and so it was to be […]

Doráti in Holland

June 16, 2017

‘I think that every art is an art of authority but between “authoritarian” and “dictatorial” there is a vast difference.’ So remarked the Hungarian conductor, Antal Doráti, towards the end of a long career which included, near its beginning, almost a decade spent working closely with orchestras in The Hague and Amsterdam. That work, very […]

Be Glad Then, America!

November 22, 2016

To celebrate America’s bicentennial, the National Symphony of Washington DC commissioned Robert Russell Bennett to write a work and he responded with ‘The Fun and Faith of William Billings’. It appeared on the official souvenir LP recording of the JFK Center for Performing Arts. The LP – and this CD, the first appearance on Decca […]

Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf; Britten: Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

June 22, 2016

So perennial are the texts and music for ‘Peter and the Wolf’ and ‘The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra’ that many a celebrity has recorded it. Both works have drawn some of the most famous actors, including Meryl Streep and here, a young Sean Connery (in 1966). It was vividly recorded for Decca’s Phase 4 […]

Strauss: Sinfonia Domestica; Parergon; Eine Alpensinfonie; Macbeth

May 25, 2016

Zubin Mehta’s LAPO recording of Strauss’ ‘Sinfonia Domestica’ has long been considered a benchmark and after a considerable absence from the catalogue reappears here, coupled with the later ‘Parergon’ for piano (left hand) and orchestra. Equally celebrated is Mehta’s reading of the ‘Alpine Symphony’ and the set concludes with one of Strauss’ earliest tone poems, […]

The Best of Tchaikovsky

April 29, 2016

A brilliant collection of some of Tchaikovsky’s most moving and most exciting moments. Continuing Eloquence’s popular ‘Best Of’ series – ideal for the newcomer.

Orff: Carmina Burana

April 29, 2016

Legendary since its ‘Phase 4’ Decca release, Dorati and his team bring to this recording all the swagger, colour and panache the work deserves. A thrilling performance!

Bohemian Rhapsody – Smetana, Dvorak, Enescu

April 29, 2016

You will search far to find such potent, explosive recordings of the Smetana ‘Bartered Bride’ excerpts or the selection of five ‘Slavonic Dances’ here included, or as picturesquely sculpted a ‘Vltava’. Istvan Kertesz brings poetry and fire in equal measure to these works in a superbly recorded concert that is rounded off with Dvorak’s tuneful […]