Albert Roussel Spider's Banquet

Started by sdtom, Saturday 28 January 2012, 17:14

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sdtom

Working on a review of this ballet/pantomine written in 1912. The recording I have is the Naxos 8.572243 with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Stephane Deneve. Are there any other recordings of note? The beginning is certainly influenced by Debussy.
Tom

alberto

There are few recordings of the complete ballet/pantomime.
I treasure Ansermet and SRO from 1954. I have since  decades a LP reissue in Decca Ace of Clubs Series.I don't know if it was ever transferred to Cd (I have never seen it).
I treasure also a second version (complete) by Jean Martinon and ORTF Orch. (1971, reissued on Warner "Ultima" series).
The "Symphonic fragments" have been recorded much more frequently.
I own:
-A 1928 Roussel himself conducting (Philips CD, obviously primitive sound).
-A Toscanini-NBC live from 1946 (bad sound).
-Cluytens and Paris Conservatoire (reissued on Cd EMI, early '60s).
-Pretre on Emi from the '80s (reissued on Cd).
-Markevich and Lamoureux Orch. (Dg, Lp, '60).
-Smetacek and Prague Sym. (Supraphon Lp, '60s)
-Serge Baudo and a French Paris Orchestra recorded under the anonymous name "Cento Soli" (Musidisc Lp label, very easy to find in French mega-stores in'60-'70).
-Pascal Verrot - Quebec Orchestra, Cd Analekta - 1993.
I would rate important the two complete versions and the first five of the fragments (but also Smetacek and Baudo are good).
I would say that Roussel has been rather underrated in the near past and that the Deneve-Naxos series has been very useful (and of very good quality).
BTW, Maestro Deneve came to Torino once (last year) and luckily conducted the complete Bacchus and Ariane.

alberto

By mistake I have listed the Markevich. That is indeed a 1960 recording of the second suite from Bacchus et Ariane. (My memory sometimes falters, as I have it both as Lp and as Cd).

Latvian

Many excellent performances, Alberto, especially Martinon.

I also highly recommend Michael Swierczeski and the Gulbenkian Orchestra, on a French Ades CD.