André Cluytens
André Cluytens (pronounced clue-ton) was a Belgian-born conductor who rose from leading a theater orchestra to become one of the more important orchestra leaders in Europe during the 1950s and 1960s, with equally enduring contributions in both the concert hall and the opera house. Born in Antwerp in 1905, he trained as a pianist at the Royal Flemish Conservatory and in his teens served as assistant to his father, the conductor at the Royal Theater in Antwerp. After becoming first conductor at the theater, he moved to France and served in opera houses in Lyon, Bordeaux, and Vichy, and later settled in Paris and took French citizenship. He was later principal conductor and then music director of the Paris Opera-Comique. He succeeded Charles Munch as chief conductor of the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra in 1949 and also held the post of principal conductor of the Belgian National Orchestra, before becoming the chief conductor of the French National Radio Orchestra. He led the Vienna State Opera in performances and subsequently conducted the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and was the first French conductor to appear at Bayreuth.
Although Cluytens was best known for his work with French repertoire, he also gave notable performances of works in the German-Austrian tradition. His recording career began during the 78-rpm era, and it was at the tail end of that period that he made the first full recording of Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann for Columbia Records, as well as Bizet's Carmen -- that early version of Hoffmann, in particular (which remains in print on CD, through Naxos Records as of 2006), is still very highly regarded in the 21st century as one of the best ever done. Most of Cluytens' recording career was spent at EMI, and there his output covered a vast range of repertoire -- in the mono era, highlights include beautiful accounts of Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande and Massenet's Manon. The outstanding part of his stereo catalog was a complete Beethoven symphonic cycle with the Berlin Philharmonic -- the first ever recorded by the orchestra, and the only one it ever did with a guest conductor -- that stayed in print for decades.
Cluytens remained very busy in concert and recording work into the mid-'60s, at which point he was discovered to be suffering from stomach cancer. He continued working even as his health declined, and among his last recordings was Berlioz's L'Enfance du Christ. He died in June of 1967, leaving behind a major body of recorded music that, in addition to the French masterpieces (including an enviable string of operas), also encompassed the music of Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, Smetana, Dvorák, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, and Schumann. It is a sign of the worth of Cluytens' recordings that a surprisingly large number of them continue to be reissued on CD in the 21st century under license to speciality premium labels such as Testament, in addition to EMI's own reissue efforts, without regard to whether they are mono or stereo.
© Bruce Eder /TiVo
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Ravel: Les deux concertos pour piano (Stereo Version)
Samson François, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, André Cluytens
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2, 3 Danses fantastiques (Mono Version)
Dimitri Chostakovitch, Orchestre National de France, André Cluytens
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ludwig van Beethoven: Triple Concerto & Violin Concerto
David Oïstrakh, David Oistrakh Trio, André Cluytens, Sir Malcolm Sargent
Classical - Released by Praga Digitals on 1 Jul 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1965
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Violin Concerto Op. 61 by David Oistrakh
David Oïstrakh, André Cluytens, Orchestre National de France
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on 31 Oct 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Ma mère l'Oye & Valses nobles et sentimentales
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 17 May 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Le tombeau de Couperin, Menuet antique, Alborada del Gracioso, Une barque sur l'océan & Pavane pour une infante défunte
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1963
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
André Cluytens - Complete Stereo Orchestral Recordings, 1957-1966
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 16 Jun 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Overtures, Preludes & Aria by André Cluytens
André Cluytens, Orchestre de l'Opera National de Paris, Rita Gorr
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on 23 Jan 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gounod: Faust (Stereo Version)
Paris Opera Orchestra, André Cluytens, Victoria de los Angeles, Nicolai Gedda
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Boléro, La valse & Rapsodie espagnole
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 17 May 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphonie No. 6 "Pastorale" (Stereo Version)
André Cluytens, Berliner Philharmoniker
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Piano Concertos, Three Fantastic Dances, Preludes & Fugues.
Dimitri Chostakovitch, André Cluytens, Orchestre National de France, Ludovic Vaillant
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 15 Aug 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1963
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Symphonie No. 8 "Inachevée" - Liszt: Les préludes (Stereo Version)
André Cluytens, Berliner Philharmoniker
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bizet: Carmen by André Cluytens
André Cluytens, Orchestre du Théâtre national de l’Opéra-Comique, Choeur du Théâtre National de l’Opéra-Comique
Opera - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on 25 Aug 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Gounod: Faust (1958 Recording, remastered 2003)
Full Operas - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1960
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven : 9 Symphonies & Overtures
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 3 Apr 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3 - Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2
Emil Gilels, André Cluytens, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 6 Feb 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: L'Enfance du Christ
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 11 Jan 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo