The fourth CD in the third BBC Legends release is devoted entirely to the conductor Pierre Monteux. However, as was the case with the vocal album discussed yesterday, it involves a variety of ensembles (three different orchestras) in recordings made between January of 1960 and December of 1961. Monteux was a major figure in two of the cities that have figured significantly in my lifetime, but most of his activities in those cities took place before I was born. He led the Boston Symphony Orchestra between 1919 and 1924, and his tenure with the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) took place between 1936 and 1952.
When we were living in Palo Alto, my wife and I would sometimes book a hotel room if we were devoting the weekend to concert-going. I remember our staying in a hotel that had Monteux’ name on the door next to our room; but I never established the details of the time he spent there, even though one of my neighbors in Opera Plaza (my current residence) loaned me her copy of a Monteux biography. I also learned that the box in the War Memorial Opera House that was closest to the stage on “violin side” was recalled by many as “Mrs. Monteux’ Box!”
Pierre Monteux on the cover of the box set of his complete Decca recordings (from the Amazon.com Web page)
Over the course of my listening and writing experiences, I have acquired two major recorded anthologies of Monteux performances. The one produced by RCA included both Boston and San Francisco performances. The second consisted of Decca recordings made in Europe with both the Vienna Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra.
The major work on the BBC Legends CD is Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 55 (“Eroica”) symphony in E-flat major, recorded at the BBC studios in London on November 12, 1960. My previous “Monteux experience” with this symphony involved his recording with the Vienna Philharmonic over the course of two sessions at the Sofiensaal in December of 1957. The final BBC track is a brief excerpt from Hector Berlioz’ Opus 24 “La damnation de Faust,” known as the “Hungarian March” (or “Rákóczy March”), which RCA recorded in San Francisco on April 4, 1951. I also have a Music & Arts anthology of SFS broadcasts that includes the other major BBC offering, Richard Strauss’ Opus 20 tone poem entitled “Don Juan.” The SFS broadcast took place on January 29, 1950.
As a result, where repertoire is concerned, the opening track is the only selection does not show up on any of my Monteux anthologies. This was a recording of the overture for Luigi Cherubini’s Anacréon opera-ballet. This required only a single session, which took place at the BBC studios in London on January 25, 1960.
Given the breadth of Monteux’ repertoire, I would say that no single CD can do justice to his legacy. The good news is that Monteux was also represented by a CD in both the first and second BBC Legends releases. The first presents his approaches to Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner, Claude Debussy, and Cherubini (another recording of the Anacréon overture). The CD in the second collection offers Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Johannes Brahms, and Manuel de Falla. In other words the BBC clearly appreciates the breadth of that repertoire, but they have been serving it to their listeners one CD at a time!
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