Customer Reviews

Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Igor Markevitch

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This 2-CD set contains the best recording of Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony currently available. (Why they don't market the CD this way is beyond me!)There have never been too many good recordings of this work, but Markevitch's 1963 recording with the London Symphony Orchestra is among the best ever. The entire symphony is given a propulsiveness and urgency lacking in other recordings, without getting bogged down by the emotional weight of the score. The outer movements are very exciting and intensely played, while the inner movements are balletic and colorful, without any sense of lack of cohesion as a result of the contrast. In fact, Markevitch holds this sometimes unruly symphony together better than anyone else, while coaxing truly Russian performances out of the British orchestra. Just listen to that brass roar! The sound quality is very good for the period, although not as good as Mercury's famous recordings.The only flaw is that when the organ makes its entry at the end of the last movement, the sound is just too muddled to make a strong impact, but anyway the organ isn't the strongest part of this score, and thus it shouldn't cause you any hesitation to buy this recording. The filler on this first CD is excerps from Glinka's A Life for the Tsar, very well played, giving this CD 78 minutes of great Russian music.

The second CD has great recordings, but with the modest asking price it really is worth buying this CD-set just for the Manfred. Until a new digital recording is made that surpasses this one, the Markevitch Manfred is the one to own.

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.

It's sad that the "Great Conductors of the 20th Century" reissue series has not gotten more notice on Amazon and in other places, because it has my vote for the best reissue program thus far of the 21st Century. Drawing from the archives of all the major classical labels (EMI, Sony, BMG, DG, Decca, Philips, Supraphon, etc.), EMI and IMG Artists have assembled a wonderful series of affordable two-disc sets by the leading conductors of the last century. And unlike its counterpart, "The Great Pianists of the 20th Century," which are basically compilations of material already available on other CDs, the "Great Conductors" features rare and, for the most part, previously unreleased performances!

This particular CD, Volume 12, features the great Igor Markevitch. While the recordings presented here of Glinka, Verdi, Chabrier, Ravel and Strauss are all excellent, there are two performances that truly stand out above the rest. The first is the 1963 recording Tchaikovsky's "Manfred Symphony" with the London Symphony Orchestra. Markevitch recorded the entire Tchaikovsky Symphony Cycle with the LSO, and those performances have been celebrated since their initial release. Symphonies 1-6 have been available for years as two Philips Duo CD sets, but the Manfred remained unissued on CD until now. The second standout is Debussy's "La Mer," recorded in 1959 with the Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux. This combination (Markevitch/Lamoureux) made many recordings of note, including a terrific "Symphonie Fantastique" last available on CD in the DG Originals series, but now sadly out of print. Of the dozen or so recordings I have of "La Mer," the Markevitch more than holds its own with my personal favorites by Reiner, Ansermet, Martinon, Munch and Paray.

Whether you are a serious collector of classical music or a beginner, the "Great Conductors of the 20th Century" has something for everyone. If the prized, rare performances previously unreleased on CD (or ever!) doesn't excite you, then use this as an opportunity to check out one of the greatest conductors ever recorded. Since stores are offering increasingly homogenized classical music sections, this conductor may not be in your collection, and that would truly be a shame.

Markevitch's reading of Manfred is probably the best ever recorded on CD. There is also one by Muti (RCA), but it doesn't match this recording. So, get it for Manfred, which is a astounding symphonic piece rarely conducted.

Listening to these powerful performances is quite an experience. Igor Markevitch studied with Alfred Cortot and Nadia Boulanger and became a successful composer. He abandoned composing for conducting while in Italy during World War II and has a reputation of an insightful musician. The recordings on this pair of discs cone from the late 1950's and 1960's.

The first work is a superb performance of the Manfred Symphony of Tchaikovsky. The first movement soars and is relentless in revealing the darker side of the music. The inner movements are full of charms with the second movement's bucolic melody of the being beautifully expressed and the Andante's pastoral music is colorfully played. The Finale is played with energy and the death of Manfred is sensitively performed. Manfred is followed by excerpts from Glinka's A life for the Tsar. This music was new to me and the selections included orchestral and music for chorus that was impressively performed.

The second disc begins with a nicely played La forza del destino overture followed by a beautiful performance of Debussy's La Mer. The drama and visual beauty of the score is brought to life by Maestro Markevitch. His tempos allow the music to develop and blossom with real feeling for the score. A nice addition is Chabrier's Espana, played with great charm, fittingly, by the Orquesta Sinfonica del la Radio Television Espanola. The Suite No. 2 from Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe was live performance and I am wondering if this was excerpted from a complete performance. The choir is included in the performance which is usually absent from performances of the suite. The recording, from 1960, is wonderfully realized and made me want more. The second disc concludes with Richard Strauss' Til Eulenspiegel in an excellent reading of the score. This recording has a freshness that many do not achieve.

This set is a good survey of the conducting of Igor Markevitch showing his attention to detail and craftsman-like approach to performing music. The recording quality hardly up to digital standards but the performances are definitely worth having.