Ataulfo Argenta
Ataulfo Argenta was a leading Spanish conductor who appeared to be developing an important career that was cut short by his early death at the age of forty-four.
He was a musically talented child who attracted considerable attention as a pianist, then entered the Royal Conservatory in Madrid at the age of thirteen in 1927. He won a Premio Extraordinario in piano at the Conservatory in 1930, and the Kristina Nilsson Prize in 1931.
The latter prize enabled him to study piano and conducting in Belgium and Germany. These studies saw him safely outside of Spain when the Civil War broke out in that country. After the end of that conflict, when general war broke out in Europe in 1939, he returned to neutral Spain where he worked in a variety of musical jobs, including staff keyboard player (mostly piano and celesta) with the National Orchestra in Madrid.
He returned to Germany for more studies from 1941 to 1943, studying conducting with Carl Schuricht and teaching piano at the Kassel Conservatory, then returned to Spain and made his conducting debut on a broadcast concert with the national radio orchestra.
His first performance with Spain's National Orchestra was on October 10, 1945. It is remembered as a brilliant debut and it led to his being appointed the orchestra's music director in 1947, a post he retained until his death.
He first conducted outside of Spain when pianist José Iturbi hired him to be his conductor in a performance the pianist organized at Harringay Arena in London; the orchestra was the London Symphony. This began a demand for his services as guest conductor with various European orchestras and on South American tours. He also founded a major music festival in Grenada.
He signed a contract with England's Decca record company and specialized in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century music, especially Spanish music. Among his most notable recordings was the opera Goyescas by Enrique Granados and the symphonic work Danzas fantasticas by Turina, which remained in the LP catalogue for over twenty years. His conducting style was lean, muscular, and precise. He was considered to be on the verge of a major international career when he died.
© TiVo
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España
London Symphony Orchestra, Ataulfo Argenta
Classique - Paru chez Decca Music Group Ltd. le 5 oct. 1958
24-Bit 176.4 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt: Piano Concertos Nos.1 & 2
Julius Katchen, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ataulfo Argenta
Classique - Paru chez Decca Music Group Ltd. le 1 janv. 2002
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique by Ataúlfo Argenta (2024 Remastered, Paris 1957)
Ataulfo Argenta, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire
Classique - Paru chez Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording le 14 févr. 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
España
Alfredo Campoli, London Symphony Orchestra, Ataulfo Argenta
Classique - Paru chez Decca Music Group Ltd. le 1 janv. 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ataúlfo Argenta: Complete Decca Recordings 1953-1957
Classique - Paru chez Decca Music Group Ltd. le 1 janv. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Symphony Lounge, Vol. 15: The Magic of Zarzuela
Orquesta Nacional De España, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Ataulfo Argenta
Classique - Paru chez Jube Classic le 11 sept. 2020
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Torroba: Luisa Fernanda (Mono Version)
María de los Angeles, Fuensanta Solá, Manuel Ausensi, Ataulfo Argenta
Divers - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1950
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ohana: Llanto por Ignacio Sanchez Mejías & Sarabande pour clavecin et orchestre (Mono Version)
Bernard Cottret, Orchestre Des Cento Soli, Ataulfo Argenta
Divers - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1956
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Antología: La Colección Definitiva (Remastered)
Pop - Paru chez Master Tape Records le 18 juin 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Falla: L'amour sorcier (Mono Version)
Ana María Iriarte, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Ataulfo Argenta
Divers - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1952
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rodrigo: Concerto d'Aranjuez - de Falla: Nuits dans les jardins d'Espagne (Mono Version)
Narciso Yepes, Gonzalo Soriano, Ataulfo Argenta
Divers - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Espana
Ataulfo Argenta, London Symphony Orchestra
Classique - Paru chez Universal Music Ltd. le 27 juil. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
World’s Finest Conductor
Classique - Paru chez Classique Perfecto le 28 août 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lo Mejor De La Música Española Dirigida Por Ataulfo Argenta
Opérette - Paru chez Legacy Recordings le 15 mai 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt : The Piano Concertos & other works
Julius Katchen, London Symphony Orchestra, Ataulfo Argenta, Jorge Bolet, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti
Classique - Paru chez Decca Music Group Ltd. le 1 janv. 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Campoli: The Bel Canto Violin, IV (Lalo, St-Saëns, Sarasate...)
Alfredo Campoli, Eduard van Beinum, Piero Gamba, Anatole Fistoulari, Ataulfo Argenta
Concertos pour violon - Paru chez Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. le 1 janv. 1953
5 étoiles de Classica5 de Diapason16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Symphonies 8 et 9
Orchestre Du Gurzenich De Cologne, Günter Wand, Orchestre Des Cento Soli, Ataulfo Argenta
Classique - Paru chez Universal Music Division Decca Records France le 1 janv. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Albeniz: Iberia - Turina: Danzas Fantásticas
Classique - Paru chez Sony Classical le 11 mai 1973
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gerónimo Giménez: La Boda de Luis Alonso, El Baile de Luis Alonso (1957)
Gran Orquesta Sinfónica, Ataulfo Argenta, Ines Rivadeneira
Opérette - Paru chez Classical Moments le 17 mai 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Manuel de Falla: El Retablo de Maese Pedro (1957)
Orquesta Nacional De España, Ataulfo Argenta, Julita Bermejo
Classique - Paru chez Classical Moments le 16 mai 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4, Capriccio italien, Slavonic March & 1812 Overture (HD Remastered 2016)
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, London Symphony Orchestra, Ataulfo Argenta, Kenneth Alwyn
Classique - Paru chez Jube Classic le 18 nov. 2016
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo