Ernest Ansermet
For 50 years he directed an orchestra that was second-rate in tone and technique, yet Ernest Ansermet drew performances from it that cut right to the heart of the music. A musician of catholic taste, Ansermet was a reliable, insightful interpreter of composers from Mozart to Martin. His recordings in the 1950s and 1960s with the Suisse Romande Orchestra, which he founded, retain strong interest for collectors who value nuance over tonal sheen. These recordings are of especial interest as they provide a link to composers active in Paris in the early twentieth century, with whom Ansermet was closely associated.
As a child, he studied math with his father, a teacher, and music with his mother. Ansermet's early training seemed to add up to a career in mathematics; he specialized in that subject at Lausanne University, graduating in 1903. Ansermet served as a professor of mathematics from 1905-1909. But during this time his interest in music only increased; he kept an eye trained on the technique of local conductors, and took courses in music with Alexandre Denéréaz, Otto Barblan, and Ernest Bloch. Ansermet sought further advice on conducting from Felix Mottl in Munich and Artur Nikisch in Berlin, then concentrated mainly on teaching himself the art of the baton.
His first professional efforts were leading the summer Kursaal concerts in Montreux (1912-1914), and conducting symphonic concerts in Geneva (1915-1918). In 1918 he organized the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva, from the start performing a substantial amount of contemporary French and Russian music. Ansermet befriended many of the great progressive composers of the time, especially Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, and Igor Stravinsky. Through Stravinsky, Ansermet met Serge Diaghilev and was appointed principal conductor of the latter's Ballets Russes, touring with the company to Paris, London, Italy, Spain, South America, and the United States. During a 1916 tour Ansermet made his first recordings with the Ballets Russes orchestra -- the beginning of a half century of making intriguing records with less-than-stellar ensembles. Through his association with the Ballets Russes, Ansermet was able to premiere many of the period's most important dance scores, including Falla's Three-Cornered Hat, Prokofiev's The Buffoon, Satie's Parade, and Stravinsky's Pulcinella. As an extra-curricular wartime diversion, on September 28, 1918, Ansermet premiered Stravinsky's L'Histoire du soldat in Geneva.
He developed the reputation of -- in the words of Nicholas Slonimsky -- "a scholarly and progressive musician capable of fine interpretations of both classical and modern works." Although the Suisse Romande Orchestra, with which he recorded for Decca in the 1950s and 1960s, could be criticized for its wiry strings and sour woodwinds, the group delivered to Ansermet highly accurate performances notable for their clear textures and delicate timbral balances.
Ansermet was, not surprisingly, a gifted conductor of Classical-era music, but he had little opportunity to record it. He is best remembered for his sui generis recordings of the music of his French contemporaries Debussy, Ravel, and Roussel, and his Swiss compatriots Honegger and Martin. But Ansermet was also a strong champion of such other contemporary composers as Bartók and Britten, premiering the latter's opera The Rape of Lucretia. He retired from conducting in 1967, to the end performing and committing to disc such rarities as Magnard's Symphony No. 4.
Ansermet's compositions include a symphonic poem, Feuilles de printemps; he also orchestrated Debussy's Six épigraphes antiques, among other pieces. His publications include Le Geste du chef d'orchestre (1943) and Les Fondements de la musique dans la conscience humaine (1961), in which he used mathematics to discredit 12-tone and other advanced compositional techniques.
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Debussy: Images pour orchestre - Stravinsky: Symphonie d'instruments à vent - Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte (Stereo Version)
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 3 in E Major, Sz. 119 & Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet, Julius Katchen
Concertmuziek - Released by Radio Tower Records on 10 okt. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rimsky-Korsakov: Shéhérazade - Borodin: Danses Polovtsiennes (Mono Version)
Ernest Ansermet, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Chœur de Radio-Lausanne
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Albéniz: Iberia, Orchestrated Extracts - Turina: Fantastic Dances (Mono Version)
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos.1-2, Piano Concerto No.3
Ruggiero Ricci, Julius Katchen, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Concertmuziek - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 10 apr. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel Ma Mère l'Oye Suite
Ernest Ansermet, L'Orchestre da la Suisse Romande
Klassiek - Released by Mangora Classical on 5 jul. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart Coronation Concerto, Liszt concerto No. 2 and De Falla
Robert Casadeus, Ernest Ansermet
Klassiek - Released by Mangora Classical on 16 feb. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy: Petite suite, L. 65 (Mono Version)
Ernest Ansermet, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
LP Pure, Vol. 41: Ansermet Conducts Stravinsky (Historical Recordings)
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Klassiek - Released by Archiphon on 17 aug. 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ernest Arsermet Conducts Ballet Music (Recorded 1949-1950)
London Symphony Orchestra, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Klassiek - Released by SOMM Recordings on 18 jun. 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ernest Ansermet Collection, Vol. 6 : Symphonie fantastique (Berlioz) - Liszt & Wagner
Ernest Ansermet, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Symfonische muziek - Released by RTS Radio Télévision Suisse - Evasion Music on 12 okt. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Britten: Les Illuminations, Op. 18 - Falla: 7 Canciones Populares Españolas
Suzanne Danco, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Vocale muziek (wereldlijk en religieus) - Released by Cascavelle on 30 jun. 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: Clock Symphony; Bizet: Symphony in C
Ernest Ansermet, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 8 jun. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: Symphonie No. 45 "Les adieux" - Wagner: Siegfried-Idyll (Mono Version)
Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Ensemble de l'Orchestre de la Suisse romande, Ernest Ansermet
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1952
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Works for Piano (Live)
Clara Haskil, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Klassiek - Released by Andromeda on 27 jan. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: 3 Symphonies
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Klassiek - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 jan. 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bizet: Carmen & L'Arlésienne suites (Mono Version)
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Isaac Stern, Vol. 10 (Live)
Isaac Stern, Ernest Ansermet, Sir John Pritchard, Myra Hess, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by DOREMI on 5 nov. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Offenbach, Gounod, Rossini/Respighi
Royal Opera House Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Klassiek - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 jan. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Manuel de Falla: The Three Cornered Hat / Isaac Albéniz: Iberia
Ernest Ansermet, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Klassiek - Released by Music Manager on 4 feb. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Manuel De Falla: El Amor Brujo - La Vida Breve
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orquesta De La Opera De Barcelona, Ernest Ansermet, Ernesto Halffter
Klassiek - Released by Cantus Classics on 1 jan. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo