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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Nigg: Concerto pour piano No. 1 - Jolivet: Concerto pour flûte & Concerto pour trompette No. 2
Pierre Barbizet, André Cluytens, André Jolivet, Roger Delmotte
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Feb 19, 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Russian Orchestral Music
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jul 1, 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven, Symphonie n°7 (Miroir)
André Cluytens, Joseph Keilberth, Berliner Philharmoniker
Symphonic Music - Released by Miroir on Jul 31, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn, Schumann & Bizet: Orchestral Works (Live)
Henryk Szeryng, Maurice Gendron, Orchestre National de France, André Cluytens
Classical - Released by Archipel on May 25, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Bolero - Rapsodie Espagnole - La Valse [2011 - Remaster] (2011 Remastered Version)
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jun 8, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
WAGNER: DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG (REMASTER)
Classical - Released by Nar Classical on Jan 29, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphony No. 8, Op. 93
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Mar 27, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Andrè Cluytens in Munich live Deutsches Museum 1958
Maurice Ravel, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Kölner Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchester, Monique Haas, André Cluytens
Classical - Released by Archipel on Oct 28, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Concerto, No. 2
Classical - Released by Nar Classical on Jul 10, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphony No. 2, Op. 36 & Prometheus Overture
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Mar 6, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Historical Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 "Choral"
André Cluytens, Berliner Philharmoniker
Classical - Released by Urania Records on Apr 1, 1958
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven, Symphonie n°1 (Miroir)
André Cluytens, Joseph Keilberth, Berliner Philharmoniker, Bamberger Symphoniker
Symphonic Music - Released by Miroir on Jul 31, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14, H. 48
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, André Cluytens, Léopold Stokowski
Classical - Released by Archipel on Jul 25, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Boléro (2023 Remaster)
André Cluytens, Orchestré de la Societé des Concertos du Conservatorie
Classical - Released by Artemisia on Apr 17, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Friedrich Gulda, piano : Beethoven ● Franck
Friedrich Gulda, André Cluytens, Orchestra RTSI
Classical - Released by Ermitage Records on Jan 1, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Zino Francescatti, Vol. 2: Beethoven, Mozart & Ravel (Live)
Zino Francescatti, Artur Balsam, André Cluytens, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire
Chamber Music - Released by DOREMI on May 7, 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Einem, Roussel & Stravinsky: Orchestral Works (Live at Wiener Musikverein, Vienna, 6/18/1955)
Wiener Symphoniker, André Cluytens
Classical - Released by Archipel on Nov 27, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mussorgsky & Ravel: Orchestral Works (Live)
Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra, Coro Di Torino Della Rai, André Cluytens, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI di Torino
Classical - Released by Archipel on Nov 27, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven, Symphonie n°2 (Miroir)
André Cluytens, Joseph Keilberth, Berliner Philharmoniker, Bamberger Symphoniker
Symphonic Music - Released by Miroir on Jul 31, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Georges Bizet : Carmen
André Cluytens, Paris Opera-Comique Orchestra
Classical - Released by ArnebAudio on Jan 9, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Weber, Brahms, Berlioz (Live 11. 11. 1954)
Orchestre national de la RTF and André Cluytens
Symphonic Music - Released by Ina, musique(s) on Aug 3, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo