Georges Prêtre
Georges Prêtre was one of the leading conductors of the last half of the 20th century, especially known for operatic conducting and performances of French music. He studied trumpet as a boy, graduating from the Douai Conservatory. Nazi occupation of Paris did not substantially interfere with the teaching activities of the famous Paris Conservatory, where Prêtre continued his musical studies. He took first prize in trumpet in 1944 and studied harmony with Henri Challan and Maurice Duruflé. He began studying conducting with André Cluytens, Pierre Dervaux, and Richard Blareau. His conducting debut was in operetta, a fact that eluded biographers since he used the assumed name of Georges Dherain.
His official conducting debut was at the Marseilles Opera in 1946, in Lalo's Le Roi d'Ys. He spent a decade primarily in provincial French opera houses: Marseilles (1946-1948), Lille (1948), Casablanca (1949-1951), and Toulouse (1951-1955). He was appointed music director of the Opéra-Comique in Paris in 1956, debuting with Richard Strauss' Capriccio and conducting a wide variety of repertory there. He made his American conducting debut at the Chicago Lyric Opera in 1958. By 1960, he had become well-known and was selected by composer Francis Poulenc, who selected Prêtre to conduct the premiere of Le voix humaine (1959) and was highly esteemed for his performances of Poulenc's full-length opera Dialogues de Carmelites. He also led the premiere of the Sept répons des ténèbres (1963).
In 1959, he joined the staff of the Paris Opéra, becoming music director in 1966. He debuted at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (1961), the Metropolitan Opera in New York (1965), and La Scala (1965). During this period he became a conductor often requested by opera superstar Maria Callas. He frequently returned to the Met and La Scala, especially known for his French repertory.
His concert conducting career also advanced during this period. Over the years he conducted most of the important orchestras of Europe and America, and in 1962 was appointed deputy director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1971, the Paris Opéra's periodic political problems erupted into a huge backstage dispute that closed the Opéra for several months, during which Prêtre left the company.
Since that painful experience, Prêtre most frequently worked outside of France. He became principal guest conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in 1986, holding that post through 1991, when he was named one of its honorary conductors for life. In 1995, he became artistic director and principal conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra. Among his world premieres were Symphony No. 4 by Marcel Landowski (1988) and Concerto for 15 Soloists and Orchestra by Françaix (1990).
In 1999, he conducted a major series of concerts in Paris in honor of the 100th anniversary of Poulenc's birth.
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Gounod: Faust (Highlights)
Classical - Released by Parlophone (France) on Jan. 1, 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
RAVEL: Daphnis et Chloe, Valse (La) / BIZET: Symphony in C major
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Georges Prêtre
Classical - Released by SWR Classic on Jan. 1, 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roussel : Symphonies n° 2-4 & Ballets
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Oct. 2, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Poulenc: Gloria & Concerto pour orgue (Mono Version)
Maurice Duruflé, Orchestre National de France, Georges Prêtre
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on Jan. 1, 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tosca: Best Of
Georges Prêtre, Maria Callas, Carlo Bergonzi, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire
Classical - Released by Warner Music Group - X5 Music Group on Jul. 22, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz La damnation de Faust; La mort de Cléopatre
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Nov. 25, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Karneval Der Tiere - Carnival Of The Animals
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jun. 28, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music of the 20th Century: Poulenc, Dutilleux, Milhaud & Gershwin
Georges Prêtre, Daniel Wayenberg, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire
Classical - Released by Jube Classic on Jul. 16, 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Dec. 22, 2017
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Le Carnaval des animaux
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Mar. 15, 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Gluck: Airs d'Alceste (Stereo Version)
Consuelo Rubio, Nicolai Gedda, Orchestre du Theatre National De L'Opera De Paris, Georges Prêtre
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on Jan. 1, 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Leoncavallo: Pagliacci; Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana
Plácido Domingo, Teresa Stratas, Elena Obraztsova, Juan Pons, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Georges Prêtre
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan. 1, 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Carnival of the animals (International Version)
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jun. 28, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bécaud: L'opéra d'Aran (Stereo version)
Agnes Disney, Peter Gottlieb, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Georges Prêtre
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on Jan. 1, 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Claude Debussy - Florent Schmitt - Jean Françaix - Antonin Dvorak (1er décembre 1960)
Orchestre National de la RTF - Georges Prêtre - Jean Françaix
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on Dec. 16, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Airs et duos de Verdi (Mono Version)
Janine Micheau, Ernest Blanc, Georges Prêtre
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on Jan. 1, 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Georges Prêtre - The Last Concert At La Scala (Live in Milan, La Scala / Feb. 22, 2016)
Georges Prêtre, Filarmonica della Scala
Classical - Released by Universal Music Division Decca Records France on Feb. 21, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The 1963 Recital at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris: Works by Berlioz, Bizet, Gluck, Gounod & Massenet (The Original Sound of Maria Callas)
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Georges Prêtre, Maria Callas
Opera - Released by Unbeldi on Dec. 13, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cherubini: Médée, extraits (Mono Version)
Rita Gorr, Guy Chauvet, Orchestre du Theatre National De L'Opera De Paris, Georges Prêtre
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on Jan. 1, 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Gershwin: Concerto pour piano & Rhapsody in Blue (Mono Version)
Daniel Wayenberg, Georges Prêtre, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on Jan. 1, 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: Harold in Italy, H 68, Op. 16
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Dec. 22, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo