Stéphane Denève (conductor)
James McCarthy
Monday, June 25, 2012
Britain’s orchestras have long proved major springboards for big careers. Stéphane Denève, in his seven-year tenure at the helm of the RSNO, developed a great rapport with his ensemble and the Scottish audience.
An impressive Roussel series for Naxos gave us a glimpse into the dynamics of this partnership:
Denève's new Chandos Debussy set (reviewed in the August 2012 issue) impressed us hugely and you can hear a track from this recording in the Gramophone Player. Gramophone's deputy editor, Sarah Kirkup, was present at the recording sessions and you can read her full Session Report in the August 2012 issue. Here's an extract from that article: 'As Denève himself says, he’s at his most inspired when he’s in front of an audience – "I like the adrenalin," he admits – so it’s important for him that any recording session feels as charged, as "live", as possible. And this one did, he says – except, of course, that engineer Couzens, his assistant Jonathan Cooper and producer Brian Pidgeon were in the control room, ready to intervene where necessary...'
Is Stéphane Denève your favourite artist of 2012? Register your vote now at the Gramophone Artist of the Year 2012 voting page.
