Lorin Maazel’s late-1970s recordings of the L’Arlésienne suites and Jeux d’enfants remain some of the most scintillating and beautifully recorded in the catalogue. They have received limited CD release and are back now, coupled with a rare recording by Sir Alexander Gibson of the Carmen Suite and Weller’s much-requested recording of Dukas’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice, both receiving their first release on CD.
GEORGES BIZET
L’Arlésienne – Suite No. 1
L’Arlésienne – Suite No. 2
Jeux d’enfants – Petite Suite for Orchestra, Op. 22
The Cleveland Orchestra
Lorin Maazel
Carmen – Suite
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Sir Alexander Gibson
PAUL DUKAS
L’Apprenti sorcier
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Walter Weller
Recording producers: James Mallinson (L’Arlésienne Suites, Jeux d’enfants); Michael Williamson (Carmen Suite); Christopher Raeburn (L’Apprenti sorcier)
Recording engineers: Colin Moorfoot, Stanley Goodall, Andrew Pinder (L’Arlésienne Suites); Colin Moorfoot, Martin Atkinson (Jeux d’enfants); Kenneth Wilkinson (Carmen Suite); James Lock (L’Apprenti sorcier)
Recording locations: Kingsway Hall, London, UK, 7 April 1959 (Carmen Suite), 7 October 1974 (L’Apprenti sorcier); Masonic Auditorium, Cleveland, USA, May 1978 (L’Arlésienne Suites), October 1979 (Jeux d’enfants)
‘razor sharp, brilliant’ (L’Arlesienne, Jeux d’enfants) ClassicsToday
‘[Weller] makes The Sorcerer’s Apprentice sound as dangerous a liability to the sorcerer as ever, in fresh and glowing colours – the LPO at their orchestral best’ (Dukas) Gramophone