Jean Martinon
In the words of one of his biographers, conductor Jean Martinon's performances "were distinguished by a concern for translucent orchestral textures, and sustained by a subtle sense of rhythm and phrasing." Occasionally, "he stressed a poetic inflection at the expense of literal accuracy."
Martinon's first instrument was the violin; he studied at the Lyons Conservatory (1924-1925), then transferred to the Paris Conservatory, where he won first prize in violin upon his graduation in 1928. He subsequently studied composition, with Albert Roussel, and conducting, with Charles Munch and Roger Desormière. Until the outbreak of World War II, Martinon was primarily a composer. His early substantial works include a Symphoniette for piano, percussion, and strings (1935); Symphony No. 1 (1936); Concerto giocoso for violin and orchestra (1937); and a wind quintet (1938). At the start of the war he was drafted into the French army. Taken prisoner in 1940, he passed the next two years in a Nazi labor camp. There, he wrote Stalag IX (Musique d'exil), an orchestral piece incorporating elements of jazz; during his internment, he also composed several religious works, including Absolve, Domine for male chorus and orchestra, and Psalm 136 (Chant des captifs), the latter receiving a composition prize from the city of Paris in 1946.
Upon his release from the Nazi camp, Martinon became conductor of the Bordeaux Symphony Orchestra (from 1943 to 1945) and assistant conductor of the Paris Conservatory Orchestra (from 1944 to 1946), then associate conductor of the London Philharmonic (from 1947 to 1949). He toured as a guest conductor as well, although his U.S. debut did not come until 1957, with the Boston Symphony giving the American premiere of his Symphony No. 2. Although he devoted as much time as he could to composing in the early postwar years -- producing a string quartet (1946), an "Irish" Symphony (1948), the ballet Ambohimanga (1946), and the opera Hécube (1949-1954) -- he was increasingly occupied with conducting, working with the Concerts Lamoureux (from 1951 to 1957), the Israel Philharmonic (from 1957 to 1959), and Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra (from 1960 to 1966). In 1963, he succeeded Fritz Reiner as head of the Chicago Symphony. Martinon's tenure there was difficult. In five seasons, he conducted 60 works by modern European and American composers, and made a number of outstanding LPs for RCA, mostly of bracing twentieth century repertory in audiophile sound. Chicago's conservative music lovers soon sent him packing.
Martinon jumped at the chance to take over the French National Radio Orchestra in 1968; working with this ensemble, he recorded almost the entire standard French repertory for Erato and EMI. His earlier Erato efforts that focused on such secondary but nevertheless interesting figures as Roussel, Pierné, and Dukas, whereas EMI assigned him integral sets of the Saint-Saëns symphonies and the orchestral works of Debussy and Ravel, among other projects. In 1974, he was appointed principal conductor of the Residentie Orkest in The Hague, but he died before that relationship could bear much fruit.
Martinon resumed his career as a composer around 1960, writing his Violin Concerto No. 2 (1960) for Henryk Szeryng, his Cello Concerto (1964) for Pierre Fournier, and his Symphony No. 4 ("Altitudes"), composed in 1965, for the 75th anniversary of the Chicago Symphony. He acknowledged Prokofiev and Bartók as strong influences on his scores, which meld Expressionism with French Neoclassicism. Martinon continued composing into the 1970s, but he seldom recorded any of his own music, with the notable exceptions of the Second Symphony, "Hymne à la vie" (ORTF, for Barclay Inedits) and Fourth Symphony, "Altitudes" (Chicago SO, for RCA).
© TiVo
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Borodin: Symphony No. 2; Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnole; March From "Tsar Saltan"
London Symphony Orchestra, Jean Martinon
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 07.04.1959
24-Bit 176.4 kHz - Stereo -
Lalo / Saint-Saens: Cello Concertos
Pierre Fournier, Orchestre Lamoureux, Berliner Philharmoniker, Alfred Wallenstein, Jean Martinon
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 01.01.1999
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bruch: Kol Nidrei (Adagio for Cello and Orchestra), Op. 47 by Pierre Fournier (2024 Remastered, Studio 1961)
Orchestre Lamoureux, Pierre Fournier, Jean Martinon
Klassik - Erschienen bei Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording am 31.07.2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Borodin: Symphonies Nos.2 & 3; Overture & Polovtsian Dances (Prnce Igor)
London Symphony Orchestra, Jean Martinon, Sir Georg Solti, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 18.03.2002
Qobuz’ Schallplattensammlung16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns : Les Symphonies (Intégrale)
Symphonieorchester - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 24.07.1989
Qobuz’ Schallplattensammlung16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 05.11.2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Concerto en sol, Concerto pour la main gauche & Tzigane
Itzhak Perlman, Aldo Ciccolini, Orchestre de Paris, Jean Martinon
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 01.01.1975
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Dukas: Symphonie, La Péri, L’apprenti sorcier & Polyeucte
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 09.11.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Boieldieu / Saint-Saëns / Tailleferre / Ravel: Harp Concertos
Nicanor Zabaleta, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Ernst Märzendorfer, Orchestre National de France, Jean Martinon
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 01.07.1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1. La Mer, Nocturnes, Images, Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune & Jeux
Orchestre National de France, Jean Martinon
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 01.05.1998
Qobuz’ Schallplattensammlung16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1 - Lalo: Cello Concerto in D Minor - Bruch: Kol Nidrei (Stereo Version)
Pierre Fournier, Orchestre Lamoureux, Jean Martinon
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Adam: Giselle, ballet (Mono Version)
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Jean Martinon
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel : Rapsodie espagnole, Daphnis et Chloé (suite n°2), Ma Mère l'Oye (suite)
Klassik - Erschienen bei High Performance am 01.01.1990
Qobuz’ Schallplattensammlung16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Works for Orchestra, Vol. 1
French National Radio Orchestra, Jean Martinon
Klassik - Erschienen bei Vox Box am 01.01.1990
Qobuz’ Schallplattensammlung16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jean Martinon: Complete Decca Recordings 1951-1960
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 01.01.2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jean Martinon - The Complete Chicago Symphony Orchestra Recordings
Klassik - Erschienen bei Sony Classical am 13.03.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy : L'Oeuvre pour orchestre (Vol. 1)
Orchestre National de France, Jean Martinon
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 01.05.1998
Qobuz’ Schallplattensammlung16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Symphonie No. 3 avec orgue, Le rouet d'Omphale & Danse macabre
Jean Martinon, Marie-Claire Alain, Orchestre National de France
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 01.01.1971
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ibert - Saint-Saëns - Bizet - Borodine
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Jean Martinon
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 01.01.1995
Qobuz’ Schallplattensammlung16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Honegger: Une cantate de Noël, Pacific 231, Pastorale d'été & Rugby
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 12.02.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy & Ravel: Orchestral Works (Jean Martinon)
Klassik - Erschienen bei Parlophone Label Group am 26.07.2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo