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Pierre Monteux (1875-1964): French violinist and conductor; worked with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes with which he conducted the first performances of several major works at the beginning of the twentieth century: by Stravinsky: Petrouchka (1911), Le Sacre du printemps (1913), Le Rossignol (1914); by Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe (1913), and by Debussy: Jeux (1913). He was chief conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1919 to 1924 and founded the L'Orchestra Symphonique de Paris in 1929, leading it until 1935, after which he returned to an international career, serving as chief conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra from1935 to 1952, and of the London Symphony Orchestra from 1961 to 1964.
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Erich Kleiber ( 1890-1956): of Austrian decent, he studied in Prague and made his professional debut as a choral conductor in 1911 before pursuing a career as a conductor in various German opera houses from1912 to 1923,. He became the chief conductor of the Berlin State Opera from 1923 to 1935, where he conducted the first performances of Berg's Wozzeck (1925) and Milhaud's Christophe Colomb (1930). After leaving Germany following the Nazi assumption of power he settled in Argentina. He returned to conduct in Europe after the end of the Second World War.
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Serge Koussevitzky ((1874-1951), double -bass player, conductor and music publisher. He left Russia in 1920 and settled in Paris where he led the first performance of Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at. an Exhibition. Moving to America, he was the chief conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949. For this Orchestra he commissioned Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms (1931), Copland's Short Symphony (1932) and Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra (1944). He founded the Tanglewood Festival.
William Primrose (1903-1982) Born in England, he studied with Ysaye. He was a member of the London String Quartet before moving to America where he was active as a soloist and as a teacher. He commissioned Bartok's Viola Concerto of 1949 of which he gave the first performance.
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Jean Fournet (1913-2008) studied flute with Philippe Gaubert at the Paris Conservatoire (1932-1936) where he also won prizes for composition and conducting. Before the Second World War he served as a conductor at Rouen and Marseilles. He became chief conductor of Radio Paris in 1941 and then musical director of the Opera-Comique in Paris in 1944. He pursued a long and distinguished international career as a conductor and as teacher at the Ecole Normale in Paris, tending to specialise in French music.
Emile Passani (1905-?). A composer and pianist hailing from Marseilles. He worked in Paris during the Second World War, founding the Quinette d'Atelier and becoming in 1944 chorus master at the Opera-Comique. Subsequently he settled in the provinces, firstly Vichy and then Clermont-Ferrand, devoting himself to composition
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Edmond Clement (1867-1928) made his debut at the Opera-Comique in Paris in 1889. He remained with this company for thirty years as one of its principal singers. He established himself as one of the most famous singers of his generation. At the Metropolitan Opera, New York, he partnered Geraldine Farrar in Massenet's Manon and Werther.
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Munch, Fournet, Teyte, Endreze, Monteux, E. Kleiber, Koussevitzky, Clement, Gall, Planel - Track 6: Les Nuits d'ete: Le Spectre de la rose: Maggie Teyte, soprano / Leslie Heward /1940
04:37
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Maggie Teyte (1881-1976). Born in Great Britain, she changed her name from Tate to Teyte when she went to Paris to give a recital at which she was accompanied by the composer Claude Debussy at the piano. Debussy selected her to succeed Mary Garden as Melisande in his Pelleas et Melisande at the Opera-Comique in 1908. She repeated this role in London under the direction of Sir Thomas Beecham in 1910. Subsequently her career and personal life had their ups and downs, but she continued to sing professionally in then Uited Kingdom and United States until 1956. Her command of style iwas recognised as being extraordinary.
The English conductor Leslie Heward (1897-1943) was born in Yorkshire, the son of a railway porter and organist. He showed remarkable musical ability from an early age, winning a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in 1917, where he studied conducting with Boult and composition with Vaughan Williams. He led the Cape Town Orchestra from 1924 to 1927, and in 1930 was appointed chief conductor of the City of Birmingham Orchestra. From 1938 onwards he recorded prolifically for EMI. His career was cut short by tuberculosis. Walter Legge described him as 'the most satisfying [British] conductor...since Beecham'.
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Arthur Endreze (1893-1975). Born in America he came to France in 1918 to complete his vocal studies with Jean de Reszke at the American Conservatoire at Fountainbleu. His career developed in France, notably at Nice where Reynaldo Hahn spotted him in the title role of Mozart's Don Giovanni. He joined the Paris Opera-Comique in 1928 and the Paris Opera in 1929. In addition to singing in the traditional repertoire, he took part in the creation of many new works, including operas by Magnard, Milhaud, Honegger and Sauguet.
Francois Ruhlmann (1868-1948) began his career playing the oboe in the orchestra of the Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels. In 1905 he settled in Paris where he conducted at both the Opera-Comique and the Paris Opera. He conducted many new work for the stage, by Dukas, Sauguet, Rabaud, Magnard and Milhaud. He was also an early pioneer of the conducting of opera on record.
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Yvonne Gall (1885-1972). She took the part of Marguerite for the two thousandth performance of Gounod's Faust at the Paris Opera in 1934, singing opposite Georges Thill in the title roe and Andre Parnet as Mephistopheles. She also took participated in the first performance of Florent Schmitt's Psalm XLVII, conducted by Inghelbrecht, and of Noces corinthiennes, composed by her husband Henri Busser.
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Jean Planel (1903-1986). He studied music at the Marseilles Conservatoire, then in Paris. His career was focused upon the Opera-Comique in Paris and as a singer of oratorios.. He directed the Youth Choir of Radio France, for whom he wrote many works. He took part in the first performance of Milhaud's L'Enlevement d'Europe and in performances of Ravel's L'Heure Espagnole conducted by Manuel Rosenthal.
Francois Ruhlmann (1868-19480 began his career playing the oboe in the orchestra of the Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels. In 1905 he settled in Paris where he conducted at both the Opera-Comique and the Paris Opera. He conducted many new work for the stage, by Dukas, Sauguet, Rabaud, Magnard and Milhaud. He was also an early pioneer of the conducting of opera on record.
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Charles Munch )1891-1968). Violinist and conductor. He was chief conductor of the Orchestre de la Societe des concerts du Conservatoire in Paris from 1938 to 1946 and founded the Orchestre de Paris in 1967. He succeeded Koussevitzky as chief conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, leading this distinguished ensemble from1949 to 1962.
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Track 1: Symphonie Fantastique: March to the Scaffold / Orchestra Symphonique de Paris / Pierre Monteux / 1930
Track 2: Le Carnival Romain: Overture / Berlin State Opera Orchestra / Erich Kleiber / 1927
Track 3: Harold en Italie: Pilgrims' March / William Primrose, viola / Boston Symphony Orchestra / Serge Koussevitzky / 1944
Track 4: Requiem: Lacrymosa / Chorale Emile-Passani / Orchestre de Radio Paris / Jean Fournet /1943
Track 5: Les Nuits d'ete: Absence / Edmond Clement, tenor / Orchestra / 1916
Track 6: Les Nuits d'ete / Le Spectre de la rose / Maggie Teyte, soprano / London Philharmonic Orchestra / Leslie Heward / 1940
Track 7: La Damnation de Faust: Voici des roses / Arthur Endreze, baritone / Orchestra / Francois Ruhlmann / 1931
Track 8; La Damnation de Faust: Romance de Marguerite / Yvonne Gall, soprano / Orchestra / Henri Busser / 1929
Track 9: L'Enfance du Christ: Le Repos de Sainte Famille / Jean Planel, tenor / Orchestra / Francois Ruhlmann / 1932
Track 10: Les Troyens: Royal Hunt and Storm / Orchestre de la Societe des concerts du Conservatoire / Charles Munch / 1949
released December 11, 2020
