The Complete Decca Reordings of Ataślfo Argenta, 1953-1957 [Box Set] [Box set]

Emmanuel Chabrier (Composer), Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Composer), Enrique Granados (Composer), Moritz Moszkowski (Composer), Claude Debussy (Composer), Franz Liszt (Composer), Isaac Albeniz (Composer), Hector Berlioz (Composer), Joaquin Turina (Composer), Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (Composer), Ataulfo Argenta (Conductor), London Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (Orchestra), London Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Paris Conservatory Orchestra (Orchestra), Julius Katchen (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Julius Katchen
• Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra, L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Paris Conservatory Orchestra
• Conductor: Ataulfo Argenta
• Composer: Emmanuel Chabrier, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Enrique Granados, Moritz Moszkowski, Claude Debussy, et al.
• Audio CD (January 9, 2007)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 5
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B000G6BJKI
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,295 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Argenta Finally Stateside, January 27, 2007

By 

Michael B. Richman (Portland, Maine USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Decca Reordings of Ataślfo Argenta, 1953-1957 [Box Set] (Audio CD)

Like many of the recent Original Masters reissues, this 5CD set of music conducted by Ataulfo Argenta has been available since last July as an import, and now has finally been released in the U.S. For those who do not know Argenta's tragic story, he died accidentally of carbon monoxide poisoning at the age of 44 in 1958. Fortunately Decca and Spanish Columbia/EMI recognized Argenta as a massive talent in the making, and we have something to remember him by musically. The majority of the music collected here as "The Complete Decca Recordings 1953-1957" has been available previously on various single titles. Ten years ago as a budding collector, I had an early infatuation with Argenta, most of which I now realize was because of how hard (and satisfying) it was to track down his rare CDs, and not primarily because of the music itself. That it is not to say there aren't some absolute masterpieces within this set. His account of Chabrier's Espana, which fittingly bats lead off, is arguably the single best performance ever made! In fact the whole of CD1, originally available as "Espana" in both the old "Classic Sound" and "Decca Legends" series, is amazing. Also his performances of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with Alfredo Campoli, and 4th Symphony (both of which I had never previously heard) are thoroughly enjoyable. However, his readings of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, Debussy's Images and Liszt's Faust Symphony and Piano Concertos (with Julius Katchen), all of which I considered early personal favorites, haven't held up as I once expected they would, now that I have been exposed to so many other great performances. Despite this my biggest problem with this set, and any reissue that collects the "Complete" recordings, lies not with the music's quality, but with the fact that almost all of this material has been previously available elsewhere, and in most cases the original discs cost me a pretty penny. But that is the risk any serious collector runs, and it will not be a troublesome issue for most -- in fact there are probably a lot of people thrilled they now don't have to pay $50 just to hear Argenta's Fantastique. In all, this is a very good set by a man who, had he lived to a ripe old age, would without a doubt have been universally considered Spain's greatest conductor.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A lost talent given a fine memorial, February 6, 2007

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Complete Decca Reordings of Ataślfo Argenta, 1953-1957 [Box Set] (Audio CD)

Mr. Richman has said all the necessary things about Ataulfo Argenta, who died tragically but embarrassingly when he and a music student sought to keep warm on a cold winter's night by sitting in the garage and turning on the car engine. That event in 1958 curtailed Argenta's discography, which in any case had only one classic recording, the "Espana" collection beloved by audiphiles for its vintage, spectacular analog sonics. They've come out very well in Decca's most recent remastering, and the album remains evergreen. So much for CD 1.

CD 2 begins with energetic, even brash readings of the two Liszt Pinao Concertos with Julius Katchen that are all but unlistenable because of the boomy, hollow, clattery sound given to the piano and the buzzy strings in the orchestra; God knows how Decca everr released these. Junky recordings of junky pieces. However, what follows is a delightful, idiomatic Iberia by Albeniz (orchestrated from the piano suite) that I've never heard. The Paris Conservatoire Orch. is in its element here, sounding at once exotic and dandyish. Argenta's phrasing couldn't be improved upon.

CD 3 gives us a Symphonie fantastique from the same orchestra that's French in all the wrong ways: wobbly horns, indifferent execution, and not much involvement from Argenta, either. Then Argenta returns to strength with Turina's alluring Danzas fantasticas, again with the Conservatoire forces, in a swinging, slam-bang reading.

CD 4 is devoted to Liszt's Les Preludes and Faust Symphony. EMI did Argenta no favors by trumpeting him as a Great Condcutor of the Century, hwere I first encountered this Faust Symphony with the Conservatoire orchestra sounding scrawny (but nicely spooky) and Argenta funning a decided second-best to Beecham from that era. The Suisse Romande orchestra, then in its heyday under Ernest Ansermet, play much better in Les Preludes, which gets a rousing, thoroughly enjoyable reading from Argenta.

CD 5 brings the acid test. If Argenta's name is to survive as more than a Spanish local colorist, surely he can do Tchaikovsky. Here we get the violini concerto with Campoli, a Decca star in early stereo, and the Sym. #4. Well, Campoli is soupy but incrdibly well recorded in the concerto; this is Moscow on the Tiber. The symphony brings in the Suisse Romande orchestra again, sounding a bit shrill but also tangy and not at all bland. And bless Argenta, he conducts with interest and originality, mostly on the brisk side but never succumbing to routine. I'm glad he puts his best foot forward at the end in a reading that ranks among his best.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Argenta memorium, March 26, 2009

By 

C. S. Rathore - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Decca Reordings of Ataślfo Argenta, 1953-1957 [Box Set] (Audio CD)

How unfortunate for us when Argenta died accidentally! His recording of "Nights in the gardens of Spain"sends shivers down one's back. Unfortunately this particular recording is not included in the album. However, his talent as conductor is very evident in the Decca recordings. His growing authority and musical sensibilities are very evident in this set, a fitting memorial.