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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Lalo: Cello Concerto / Saint-Saëns:Cello Concerto
Pierre Fournier, Orchestre Lamoureux, Jean Martinon, Berliner Philharmoniker, Alfred Wallenstein
Classical - Lançado por Deutsche Grammophon (DG) em 01/01/1999
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Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, TH 59 (Live Recording, Lausanne 1973)
Igor Oïstrakh, Orchestre National de France, Jean Martinon
Concertos - Lançado por Claves Records em 01/05/2020
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy/Ravel: The Ballets
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 09/11/2009
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Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 14/06/2019
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Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin (Suite); Hindemith: Nobilissima visione; Varèse: Arcana
Symphonic Music - Lançado por High Performance em 01/01/1990
A discografia ideal da QobuzQualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy: Orchestral Works II
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 01/05/1998
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Schmitt: Psaume XLVII, Op. 38 & La tragédie de Salomé, Op. 50
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 01/01/1973
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Schumann & Dvořák: Cello Concertos (Live)
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jacqueline du Pré, Jean Martinon
Classical - Lançado por Ica Classics em 06/04/2018
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J.S. Bach, La passion selon Saint Jean, Concert du 30/05/61, Orchestre Philarmonique de la RTF, Jean Martinon (dir)
Orchestre Philarmonique de la RTF, Jean Martinon
Classical - Lançado por Ina, musique(s) em 23/12/2016
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Nielsen: Symphony No. 2 "The Four Temperaments" & Symphony No. 4 "Inextinguishable"
Classical - Lançado por bmg music em 27/03/2006
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Honegger: Pacific 231, Rugby, Pastorale d'été & Une cantate de Noël
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 01/01/1996
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Debussy : Ouvres orchestrales (II)
Orchestre National de France, Jean Martinon
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 01/05/1998
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Prokofiev: Orchestral Works, Vol. 2
Jean Martinon, French National Radio Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Vox Box em 01/01/1991
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Édouard Lalo Symphonie Espagnole Op.21
David Oïstrakh, Jean Martinon, Philharmonia Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por In Vinyl We Trust em 30/09/2022
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The Great Conductors: Jean Martinon - Giselle & Le Cid - Ballet Music
Jean Martinon, L'orchestre des Concerts de la Conservatoire de Paris, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Jube Classic em 13/11/2020
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Symphony in F Major, R. 163 "Urbs Roma" & Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95, B. 178 "From the New World" (Remastered 2022)
Jean Martinon, Orchestre National De L' O.R.T.F., Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO)
Classical - Lançado por Urania Records em 23/09/2022
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Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique (Gemini Series)
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 06/09/2019
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Erich Kleiber, Jean Martinon - The Decca 78s
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Erich Kleiber, Eugenia Zareska, Jean Martinon
Classical - Lançado por Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. em 12/07/2019
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Jean Martinon – The Philips Legacy
Classical - Lançado por Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. em 01/01/1953
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Prokofiev – The Decca Masters
Sir Adrian Boult, Jean Martinon, Eric Tuxen, Nikolai Malko
Symphonic Music - Lançado por Decca em 06/03/2020
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Michelangeli Plays Beethoven
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Orchestre National de France, Jean Martinon
Classical - Lançado por Music and Arts Programs of America em 29/03/2005
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo