Sir Thomas Beecham Vol.2
£33.20
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Label: ICA Classics
Cat No: ICAC5158
Format: CD
Number of Discs: 3
Genre: Orchestral
Release Date: 3rd May 2019
Contents
Works
Symphony no.1 in C majorGwendoline: Overture
North Country Sketches
Le Chasseur maudit (The Accursed Huntsman), M44
Amire et Azore: Suite
Symphony in G minor
Symphony no.2 in D major
Samson et Dalila, op.47
Artists
Royal Philharmonic OrchestraBBC Symphony Orchestra
Conductor
Thomas BeechamWorks
Symphony no.1 in C majorGwendoline: Overture
North Country Sketches
Le Chasseur maudit (The Accursed Huntsman), M44
Amire et Azore: Suite
Symphony in G minor
Symphony no.2 in D major
Samson et Dalila, op.47
Artists
Royal Philharmonic OrchestraBBC Symphony Orchestra
Conductor
Thomas BeechamAbout
French music was a favourite of Beecham and this set is made up of music by Chabrier, Franck, Grétry, Lalo, Méhul and Saint-Saëns, all of which he recorded in the studio but when Beecham was caught ‘live’, it often showed the mercurial side of his character and no performance was ever the same. As David Patmore said in an essay: ‘What Beecham sought at all times was freshness and his unpredictability was one way of achieving this’. The Franck is played for all it’s worth while the Méhul, rather than being performed as a period performance, is treated as a romantic composer in a big-boned approach. The Lalo Symphony with the RPO has a greater intensity than the French studio recording which came a few months later.
Beecham’s intimate relationship with the music of Delius is well-known. Here we have the North Country Sketches in a 1959 studio recording but in a different order for the middle two movements compared to the 1949 recording. 19th-century Russian composers were another favourite, and Balakirev’s Symphony no.1 featured frequently during the 1950s. BBC Legends issued the BBCSO live recording from 20 December 1956 while this RPO version comes from 23 August of the same year, never issued before.
Beecham’s authentic Strauss is caught in this 1952 broadcast of the Suite from Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, his studio version being much earlier in 1947.
This release has been sourced from the Richard Itter Archive of ‘live’ BBC recordings. The collection is very important for collectors because it has never been on the market before. Following the archive’s launch in October 2017 with successive releases featuring Beecham, Böhm, Cantelli, Casadesus, Karajan, Menuhin, Monteux, du Pré, Klemperer, Rostropovich and Walter, it has received universal praise from both the classical media and record collectors for the excellent sound and performances.
Contents:
CD1
Chabrier - Gwendoline Overture
- BBCSO (BBC Studios, Maida Vale, 26/11/53)
Franck - Le Chasseur maudit
- RPO (Royal Festival Hall, London 22/11/54)
Grétry - Amire et Azore Suite
- RPO (Usher Hall, Edinburgh 23/8/56)
Lalo - Symphony
- RPO (Royal Festival Hall, London 25/10/59)
CD2
Méhul - Symphony no.2
- BBCSO (BBC Studios, Maida Vale, 23/12/56)
Saint-Saëns - Samson & Delilah Ballet Music
- RPO (BBC Studios, Maida Vale 4/11/59)
Delius - North Country Sketches
- RPO (BBC Studios, Maida Vale 4/11/59)
CD3
Balakirev - Symphony no.1
- RPO (Usher Hall, Edinburgh 23/8/56)
Strauss - Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme Suite
- RPO (Royal Festival hall, London, 21/12/52)
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