Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
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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Ravel & Gershwin: Piano Concertos
Denis Kozhukhin, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Kazuki Yamada
Concertos - Lançado por PENTATONE em 6 de abr. de 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Conductor's Gallery, Vol. 12: Ernest Ansermet
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Classical - Lançado por Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. em 25 de ago. de 2023
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36
Robert Denzler, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Symphonic Music - Lançado por OBX Records em 13 de jan. de 2014
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy: La boîte à joujoux - Printemps
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Ballets - Lançado por Naxos Classical Archives em 1 de nov. de 2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Orchestral Music - Saint-Saens, C. / Chabrier, E. / Ravel, M. / Debussy, C. (Ansermet) (1951-1952)
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Classical - Lançado por Naxos Classical Archives em 1 de jan. de 2000
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vocal Recital: Corena, Fernando - Rossini, G. / Cimarosa, D. / Thomas, A. / Saint-Saens, C. (1956)
Fernando Corena, Orchestre du Mai Musical Florentin , Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, James Walker
Opera - Lançado por Naxos Classical Archives em 1 de jan. de 2000
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Pedro y el lobo
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Kent Nagano, Antonio Banderas
Theatre Music - Lançado por PENTATONE em 21 de ago. de 2020
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Nutcracker (Complete Ballet)
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Classical - Lançado por Ancien Prodige em 27 de mar. de 2020
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best of Fauré
Jean-Michel Damase, Suzanne Danco, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Classical - Lançado por Discover Classical Music em 1 de ago. de 2010
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
El sombrero de tres picos
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Classical - Lançado por Ancien Prodige em 1 de jan. de 1961
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy: Petite Suite
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Classical - Lançado por Violet Hill Records em 6 de jun. de 2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Classical - Lançado por Ancien Prodige em 10 de fev. de 2020
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy: Suite Bergamasque - Clare de Lune
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Classical - Lançado por Violet Hill Records em 6 de jun. de 2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
de Falla: El Amor Brujo, The Three-Cornered Hat
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Classical - Lançado por Discover Classical Music em 1 de ago. de 2010
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 'Pathetique'
Ernest Ansermet, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Symphonic Music - Lançado por Sunday Club Records em 23 de abr. de 2014
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Rite Of Spring
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Classical - Lançado por Ancien Prodige em 22 de fev. de 2020
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty (Complete Ballet)
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Classical - Lançado por Ancien Prodige em 14 de mar. de 2020
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade Symphonic Suite, Op. 35
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Classical - Lançado por Sunday Club Records em 17 de set. de 2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: Symphony in C & Symphony in 3 Movements
Ernest Ansermet, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Symphonic Music - Lançado por Sunday Club Records em 12 de fev. de 2014
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Organ Concerto in B Flat Major, Op. 4 No. 2
Ernest Ansermet, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Jeanne Demessieux
Concertos - Lançado por Sunday Club Records em 2 de dez. de 2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy: Danse - Tarantelle Styrienne
Ernest Ansermet, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Classical - Lançado por Violet Hill Records em 6 de jun. de 2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo