Ernest Ansermet
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.
© TiVo
Artistas semelhantes
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Ravel Ma Mère l'Oye Suite
Ernest Ansermet, L'Orchestre da la Suisse Romande
Classical - Lançado por Mangora Classical em 05/07/2016
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart Coronation Concerto, Liszt concerto No. 2 and De Falla
Robert Casadeus, Ernest Ansermet
Classical - Lançado por Mangora Classical em 16/02/2016
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy: Petite suite, L. 65 (Mono Version)
Ernest Ansermet, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Miscellaneous - Lançado por BNF Collection em 01/01/1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
LP Pure, Vol. 41: Ansermet Conducts Stravinsky (Historical Recordings)
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Classical - Lançado por Archiphon em 17/08/2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ernest Arsermet Conducts Ballet Music (Recorded 1949-1950)
London Symphony Orchestra, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Classical - Lançado por SOMM Recordings em 18/06/2002
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ernest Ansermet Collection, Vol. 6 : Symphonie fantastique (Berlioz) - Liszt & Wagner
Ernest Ansermet, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Symphonic Music - Lançado por RTS Radio Télévision Suisse - Evasion Music em 12/10/2017
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Britten: Les Illuminations, Op. 18 - Falla: 7 Canciones Populares Españolas
Suzanne Danco, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Lançado por Cascavelle em 30/06/1992
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: Clock Symphony; Bizet: Symphony in C
Ernest Ansermet, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Classical - Lançado por Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. em 08/06/2018
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: Symphonie No. 45 "Les adieux" - Wagner: Siegfried-Idyll (Mono Version)
Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Ensemble de l'Orchestre de la Suisse romande, Ernest Ansermet
Miscellaneous - Lançado por BNF Collection em 01/01/1952
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Works for Piano (Live)
Clara Haskil, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Classical - Lançado por Andromeda em 27/01/2010
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: 3 Symphonies
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Classical - Lançado por Decca Music Group Ltd. em 01/01/2001
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bizet: Carmen & L'Arlésienne suites (Mono Version)
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Miscellaneous - Lançado por BNF Collection em 01/01/1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Isaac Stern, Vol. 10 (Live)
Isaac Stern, Ernest Ansermet, Sir John Pritchard, Myra Hess, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por DOREMI em 05/11/2021
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Offenbach, Gounod, Rossini/Respighi
Royal Opera House Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Classical - Lançado por Decca Music Group Ltd. em 01/01/2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Manuel de Falla: The Three Cornered Hat / Isaac Albéniz: Iberia
Ernest Ansermet, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Classical - Lançado por Music Manager em 04/02/2020
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Manuel De Falla: El Amor Brujo - La Vida Breve
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orquesta De La Opera De Barcelona, Ernest Ansermet, Ernesto Halffter
Classical - Lançado por Cantus Classics em 01/01/2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Maurice Ravel: Ma Mère L'Oye (Mother Goose Suite) / Claude Debussy: Nocturnes
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Maurice Ravel, Ernest Ansermet
Classical - Lançado por Music Manager em 26/03/2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Symphony No. 1 "Spring" (Mono Version)
Ernest Ansermet, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Miscellaneous - Lançado por BNF Collection em 01/01/1952
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Musique d'orchestre (Mono Version)
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Miscellaneous - Lançado por BNF Collection em 01/01/1953
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinski - Françaix
Full Operas - Lançado por INA Mémoire vive em 21/06/2002
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Anatoly Lyadov - Baba Yaga, Kikimora, Eight Russian Folksongs (1954) / Mily Balakirev - Thamar (1954)
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Classical - Lançado por Classical Moments em 26/11/2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo