Customer Reviews

Sunday Evenings With Pierre Monteux: Broadcast Performances From California, 1941-1952

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These are recordings/transcriptions of some of the best days of Monteux and the fine San Francisco Symphony, of it's day. One can find Strauss tone poems, excerpts from Wagner operas, a Mendelssohn 4th, Cesar Franck, Borodin, excerpts from Berlioz's larger works, Beethoven, etc. The recording quality is fine, and the interpretations are on a par with other, more-famous examples of the great, French conductor.

These are off-the-air transcripts of live performances from early 1940s to early 1950s, so expect that the sound quality is not up to current standards. Monteux's art is cherishable and this set should appeal to his many fans. Since no one at this site has listed the contents of the 13 Cds, I provide the following excerpted from the Music & Arts website:

"CD-1192 (13) Sunday Evenings with Pierre Monteux: Broadcast performances from California, 1941-1952. All Performances with The Standard Symphony Orchestra (San Francisco). CD No. 1 (78:13) BEETHOVEN: Consecration of the House Overture - Symphony No. 5 Prometheus Adagio - Egmont, Fidelio & Leonore No. 3 Overtures. CD No. 2 (75:51) MOZART: Don Giovanni Overture - Symphony in D, Haffner Piano Concerto in A (exc.) (W. Kapell, soloist) - Die Zauberflöte Overture - Die Entführung Aus Dem Serail Overture GLUCK: Iphigénie en Aulide Ouverture HAYDN: Symphony No. 88. CD No. 3 (70:12) R. STRAUSS: Don Juan - Tod und Verklärung - Till Eulenspiegels Lustige Streiche - Der Rosenkavalier Suite. CD No. 4 (66:33) WAGNER: Parsifal (exc.) - Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (exc.) Der Fliegende Holländer (exc.) - Tristan und Isolde (exc.). CD No. 5 (61:54) WAGNER: Die Walküre (exc.) - Siegfried (exc.) - Götterdämmerung (exc.) - Rienzi Overture LISZT: Les Préludes - Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. CD No. 6 (74:02) BERLIOZ: Roman Carnival Overture - The Trojans Prelude - L'enfance du Christ (exc) - La Damnation de Faust (exc.) - Romeo and Juliet (exc.) - The Corsair Overture. CD No. 7 (70:14) MENDELSSOHN: Ouverture Die Fingals-Höhle - Symphony No. 4 - Ouverture zu Ruy Blas - TCHAIKOVSKY: Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy - BRAHMS: Five Waltzes from Op. 39 (arr. Hertz). CD No. 8 (76:27) ROSSINI: L'Italiana in Algeri Overture - BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1 (exc.) - THOMAS: Mignon Overture - DUKAS: L'Apprenti Sorcier - MESSIAEN: L'Ascension - SIBELIUS: Valse Triste BRAHMS: Tragic Overture - WEBER: Euryanthe Overture SOUSA: The Stars and Stripes Forever. CD No. 9 (75:51) BORODIN: Polovetsian Dances from Prince Igor RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Christmas Eve Suite - Russian Easter Overture - Capriccio Espagnol - GLAZUNOV: Scènes de Ballet RACHMANINOFF: Symphony No. 2 (exc.). CD No. 10 (74:59) FRANCK: Prelude, Chorale and Fugue (arr. Pierné) - Rédemption - Psyche Suite (exc.) - Symphony in d. CD 11 (1:19:12) GRETRY: Cephale et Procris - NICOLAI: Merry Wives of Windsor Overture - MASSENET: Phedre - FALLA: 3-Cornered Hat Suite ROSSINI: William Tell Overture - WAGNER: Tannhäuser Overture - RESPIGHI: Fountains of Rome. CD 12 (1:11:47) BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 3 in c, Op. 37 mvt 1 (Solomon) - SCHUBERT-LISZT: Wanderer Fantasy (Lili Kraus, piano) - TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Concerto in Bb minor, Op. 23 mvt 1 (Cherkassky) - BRAHMS: Concerto for violin and cello in a, Op. 102 mvt 1 (Naoum & Boris Blinder). CD 13 (1:13:59) WALTON: Façade Suite - SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 4 in d, Op. 120 - MOZART: Symphony No. 41 in C, K 551 - ALFANO: Aria from Resurrection - SIBELIUS: Pohjola's Daughter - CHADWICK: Jubilee ... Contents of CDs 1-10 previously issued on Music & Arts set CD-978 in 1997 (deleted). Contents of CDs 11-13 previously unissued Revised and Enlarged New Edition. Contains Nearly 4 Hours of New Material! ..."

Note that some of these performances are incomplete. For example, CD 12 contains only the first movement of Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto and the first movement only of Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto. Also, note that these performances feature Monteux conducting the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra whose Music Director he was during this period. The set id's the orchestra as the "Standard Symphony Orchestra," probably for copyright reasons given the sponsor of the broadcasts. It's an amusing throwback to RCA's practice in the 1950s when the company transferred some of its 78 rpm recordings from the 1930s and 1940s to Lp for low-price release on its 'Camden' label, in the process identifying the orchestras by fictitious names and often declining to id the conductor. I believe Monteux's Camden recordings with San Francisco were identified as performed by the 'Standard Symphony Orchestra.'

Music & Arts is a superb company and very responsible when it comes to providing the best sound possible on the historic recordings it reissues, so I'm confident these CDs represent the best sound we're likely to get for these live performance recordings. If you are a serious fan of historic recordings of classical music, look into their extensive catalog most of which is available at Amazon.