Georges Prêtre
Georges Prêtre was one of the leading conductors of the last half of the 20th century, especially known for operatic conducting and performances of French music. He studied trumpet as a boy, graduating from the Douai Conservatory. Nazi occupation of Paris did not substantially interfere with the teaching activities of the famous Paris Conservatory, where Prêtre continued his musical studies. He took first prize in trumpet in 1944 and studied harmony with Henri Challan and Maurice Duruflé. He began studying conducting with André Cluytens, Pierre Dervaux, and Richard Blareau. His conducting debut was in operetta, a fact that eluded biographers since he used the assumed name of Georges Dherain.
His official conducting debut was at the Marseilles Opera in 1946, in Lalo's Le Roi d'Ys. He spent a decade primarily in provincial French opera houses: Marseilles (1946-1948), Lille (1948), Casablanca (1949-1951), and Toulouse (1951-1955). He was appointed music director of the Opéra-Comique in Paris in 1956, debuting with Richard Strauss' Capriccio and conducting a wide variety of repertory there. He made his American conducting debut at the Chicago Lyric Opera in 1958. By 1960, he had become well-known and was selected by composer Francis Poulenc, who selected Prêtre to conduct the premiere of Le voix humaine (1959) and was highly esteemed for his performances of Poulenc's full-length opera Dialogues de Carmelites. He also led the premiere of the Sept répons des ténèbres (1963).
In 1959, he joined the staff of the Paris Opéra, becoming music director in 1966. He debuted at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (1961), the Metropolitan Opera in New York (1965), and La Scala (1965). During this period he became a conductor often requested by opera superstar Maria Callas. He frequently returned to the Met and La Scala, especially known for his French repertory.
His concert conducting career also advanced during this period. Over the years he conducted most of the important orchestras of Europe and America, and in 1962 was appointed deputy director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1971, the Paris Opéra's periodic political problems erupted into a huge backstage dispute that closed the Opéra for several months, during which Prêtre left the company.
Since that painful experience, Prêtre most frequently worked outside of France. He became principal guest conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in 1986, holding that post through 1991, when he was named one of its honorary conductors for life. In 1995, he became artistic director and principal conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra. Among his world premieres were Symphony No. 4 by Marcel Landowski (1988) and Concerto for 15 Soloists and Orchestra by Françaix (1990).
In 1999, he conducted a major series of concerts in Paris in honor of the 100th anniversary of Poulenc's birth.
© TiVo
-
Callas à Paris - More Arias from French Opera - Callas Remastered
Maria Callas, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Georges Prêtre
Opera Extracts - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1997
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rivier - Hummel - Beethoven (10 Mars 1960)
Orchestre National de la RTF - Georges Prètre - Jean Doyen
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on Jan 20, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Leoncavallo: I Pagliacci
Teresa Stratas, Plácido Domingo, Juan Pons, Coro Del Teatro Alla Scala Di Milano, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Georges Prêtre
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Charpentier: Louise - The Sony Opera House
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Jan 1, 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Castillon: Concerto pour piano, Op. 12 & Esquisses symphoniques, Op. 15
Aldo Ciccolini, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monté-Carlo, Georges Prêtre
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Oct 23, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gluck: Iphigénie en Tauride, Wq. 46
Rita Gorr, Nicolai Gedda, Ernest Blanc, Louis Quilico, Georges Prêtre, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 12, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
R. Strauss: Tone Poems
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Andreas Rohn, Georges Prêtre, Otto Armin, Diethelm Jonas
Classical - Released by SWR Classic on Jan 1, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: La traviata & Rigoletto. Airs et duos chantés en français
Janine Micheau, Ernest Blanc, Orchestre du Theatre National De L'Opera De Paris, Georges Prêtre
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Dec 15, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gounod: Faust (Highlights)
Classical - Released by Parlophone (France) on Jan 1, 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
RAVEL: Daphnis et Chloe, Valse (La) / BIZET: Symphony in C major
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Georges Prêtre
Classical - Released by SWR Classic on Jan 1, 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roussel : Symphonies n° 2-4 & Ballets
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Oct 2, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tosca: Best Of
Georges Prêtre, Maria Callas, Carlo Bergonzi, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire
Classical - Released by Warner Music Group - X5 Music Group on Jul 22, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz La damnation de Faust; La mort de Cléopatre
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Nov 25, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Le Carnaval des animaux
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Mar 15, 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Leoncavallo: Pagliacci; Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana
Plácido Domingo, Teresa Stratas, Elena Obraztsova, Juan Pons, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Georges Prêtre
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Carnival of the animals (International Version)
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jun 28, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Claude Debussy - Florent Schmitt - Jean Françaix - Antonin Dvorak (1er décembre 1960)
Orchestre National de la RTF - Georges Prêtre - Jean Françaix
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on Dec 16, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Georges Prêtre - The Last Concert At La Scala (Live in Milan, La Scala / Feb. 22, 2016)
Georges Prêtre, Filarmonica della Scala
Classical - Released by Universal Music Division Decca Records France on Feb 21, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The 1963 Recital at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris: Works by Berlioz, Bizet, Gluck, Gounod & Massenet (The Original Sound of Maria Callas)
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Georges Prêtre, Maria Callas
Opera - Released by Unbeldi on Dec 13, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Wesendonk Lieder & Orchesterstücke
Wiener Symphoniker, Marjana Lipovšek, Georges Prêtre
Classical - Released by Orfeo on Jan 1, 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Poulenc - Prokofiev - Bartok (concert du 13 mai 1960)
Orchestre National de la RTF - Georges Prêtre
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on Oct 28, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo