Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, eminent Spanish conductor, was born to a Spanish mother and a German father. He was educated at the Music Academy of Bilbao and the Munich Conservatory, and completed his studies at the University of Madrid. His first post as conductor was with the Municipal Orchestra of Bilbao. In 1962, Frühbeck de Burgos began a lifelong association with the National Orchestra of Spain, and was its chief conductor from that time until 1978. His international reputation began with the success of his first appearance with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He served as music director for the Montreal Symphony (1974-1976), the Dusseldorf Symphoniker (1966-1971), and the Deutsche Oper in Berlin (1992-1997). Frühbeck de Burgos was also named chief conductor of the Vienna Symphony and held guest conductorships with the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, D.C., and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony in Japan.
Frühbeck de Burgos recorded extensively with English Decca, EMI/Angel, IMP Classics, Chandos and Collins Classics. First and foremost, he was regarded for his interpretations of Spanish music, and recorded the major works of Falla in addition to Rodrigo, Montsalvatge, Ravel, and Granados. His recording of Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain with pianist Alicia de Larrocha is judged the best on disc by many critics. Frühbeck de Burgos made several recordings backing vocalist Victoria de Los Angeles in Spanish songs and zarzuela arias for EMI. He made his own arrangement for orchestra of Albeniz's Suite española, and it became a concert staple. Outside of Spanish music, Frühbeck de Burgos also contributed fine recordings of Bizet's Carmen with Grace Bumbry and Jon Vickers in the cast, and justly celebrated discs of Orff's Carmina Burana, Mozart's Requiem, and Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. He was regarded as a sensitive and sympathetic accompanist in concerto literature, and partnered with such luminaries as violinists Yehudi Menhuin and Nathan Milstein, pianists Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Louis Lortie, and clarinetist Karl Leister. Frühbeck de Burgos was also a renowned interpreter of the music of Mendelssohn and made recordings of Elijah and the complete incidental music to A Midsummer Night's Dream, which have been critically praised.
Frühbeck de Burgos never recorded in the work of Mahler, but his broadcasts of Mahler's symphonies were highly respected, and in 1996 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the International Gustav Mahler Society in Vienna. From the late 1990s, he toured the world with the National Orchestra of Spain as its conductor emeritus, and had also been principal conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra until he announced his full retirement due to health reasons in June 2014, passing away shortly thereafter.
© TiVo
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Elgar: Symphonies Nos 1-3, Enigma Variations, Cello Concerto, Marches
London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis, Barry Tuckwell, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Sir Antonio Pappano, Felix Schmidt
Symphonies - Released by LSO Live on Nov 24, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Falla: La Vida Breve - El amor brujo - El sombrero de tres picos
Victoria de los Angeles, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Carlo Maria Giulini
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1966
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Falla: Nights in the Gardens of Spain / Albéniz: Rapsodia Española / Turina: Rapsodia sinfonica
Alicia de Larrocha, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1984
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Khachaturian: Piano Concerto/Violin Concerto, etc.
Aram Ilyitch Khatchaturian, Anatole Fistoulari, Stanley Black, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Feb 5, 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Falla: El sombrero de tres picos
Victoria de los Angeles, Philharmonia Orchestra, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Nov 6, 1964
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Orff: Carmina Burana - Stravinsky: Fireworks & Circus Polka
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jul 27, 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Major, Piano Concerto for the Left Hand - Faure: Ballade
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, London Symphony Orchestra, Louis Lortie
Concertos - Released by Chandos on Sep 1, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms & Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos
Ulf Hoelscher, Klaus Tennstedt, Yehudi Menuhin, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Feb 28, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 "Eroica" & "Fidelio" Overture
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, London Symphony Orchestra
Lounge - Released by Collins Classics on Jan 1, 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphonies No.7 & No.8
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, London Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Collins Classics on Jan 4, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: The Rite Of Spring & Petrouchka
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, London Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Collins Classics on Jul 28, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphony No.5 - Wellington's Victory, Battle Symphony
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, London Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Collins Classics on Feb 19, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Requiem & Masonic Funeral Music
Otto Klemperer, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, New Philharmonia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1968
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Piano Concertos / Fauré: Fantasie
Alicia de Larrocha, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Lawrence Foster, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Oct 21, 1974
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Piano Concertos; Falla: Nights In The Gardens Of Spain
Alicia de Larrocha, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Lawrence Foster, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Khachaturian: Piano Concerto / Franck: Symphonic Variations
Alicia de Larrocha, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jun 14, 1973
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Elijah
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Gwyneth Jones, (Dame) Janet Baker, Nicolai Gedda, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, New Philharmonia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Sep 4, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Spohr: Clarinet Concertos Nos. 1-3
Karl Leister, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Chamber Music - Released by Orfeo on Jun 14, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Paulus, Op. 36
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1977
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Die schönsten Opernchöre
Chor Der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Opera - Released by World of Classic on Jan 1, 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov & Khachaturian: Piano Concertos
Alicia de Larrocha, London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on Jan 1, 1973
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo