Guido Cantelli A profile
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Ludwig van Beethoven, César Franck, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert
Label: Profile
Magazine Review Date: 11/1994
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 135
Mastering:
ADD
Catalogue Number: 568217-2
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (Ein) Musikalischer Spass, "(A) Musical Joke" |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Guido Cantelli, Conductor Philharmonia Orchestra Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
| Symphony No. 29 |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Guido Cantelli, Conductor Philharmonia Orchestra Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
| Symphony No. 7 |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Guido Cantelli, Conductor Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Philharmonia Orchestra |
| Symphony No. 8, 'Unfinished' |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Franz Schubert, Composer Guido Cantelli, Conductor Philharmonia Orchestra |
| Symphony |
César Franck, Composer
César Franck, Composer Guido Cantelli, Conductor NBC Symphony Orchestra |
Composer or Director: Béla Bartók, Bohuslav (Jan) Martinu, Leoš Janáček, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Alexander Borodin, Johannes Brahms
Label: Profile
Magazine Review Date: 11/1994
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 157
Mastering:
ADD
Catalogue Number: 568223-2
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (21) Hungarian Dances, Movement: F sharp minor (orch Dvorák) |
Johannes Brahms, Composer
Johannes Brahms, Composer Rafael Kubelík, Conductor Royal Philharmonic Orchestra |
| (21) Hungarian Dances, Movement: D (orch Dvorák) |
Johannes Brahms, Composer
Johannes Brahms, Composer Rafael Kubelík, Conductor Royal Philharmonic Orchestra |
| (21) Hungarian Dances, Movement: B minor (orch Dvorák) |
Johannes Brahms, Composer
Johannes Brahms, Composer Rafael Kubelík, Conductor Royal Philharmonic Orchestra |
| (21) Hungarian Dances, Movement: E minor (orch Dvorák) |
Johannes Brahms, Composer
Johannes Brahms, Composer Rafael Kubelík, Conductor Royal Philharmonic Orchestra |
| Symphony No. 2 |
Alexander Borodin, Composer
Alexander Borodin, Composer Rafael Kubelík, Conductor Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra |
| Symphony No. 4 |
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Composer
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Composer Rafael Kubelík, Conductor Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra |
| (3) Fresques de Piero della Francesca |
Bohuslav (Jan) Martinu, Composer
Bohuslav (Jan) Martinu, Composer Rafael Kubelík, Conductor Royal Philharmonic Orchestra |
| Taras Bulba |
Leoš Janáček, Composer
Leoš Janáček, Composer Rafael Kubelík, Conductor Royal Philharmonic Orchestra |
| Concerto for Orchestra |
Béla Bartók, Composer
Béla Bartók, Composer Rafael Kubelík, Conductor Royal Philharmonic Orchestra |
Composer or Director: César Franck, (Henri Constant) Gabriel Pierné, Albert (Charles Paul Marie) Roussel, Ludwig van Beethoven, Hector Berlioz, Claude Debussy
Label: Profile
Magazine Review Date: 11/1994
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 146
Mastering:
ADD
Catalogue Number: 568220-2
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (Le) Chasseur maudit, '(The) Accursed Huntsman' |
César Franck, Composer
André Cluytens, Conductor Belgian National Orchestra César Franck, Composer |
| Konzertstück for harp and orchestra |
(Henri Constant) Gabriel Pierné, Composer
(Henri Constant) Gabriel Pierné, Composer André Cluytens, Conductor Annie Challan, Harp Paris Conservatoire Orchestra |
| Symphony No. 6, 'Pastoral' |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
André Cluytens, Conductor Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer |
| (L') Enfance du Christ, Movement: Overture |
Hector Berlioz, Composer
(René) Duclos Choir André Cluytens, Conductor Hector Berlioz, Composer Paris Conservatoire Orchestra |
| (L') Enfance du Christ, Movement: Il s'en va loin de la terre (Shepherds' farewell) |
Hector Berlioz, Composer
(René) Duclos Choir André Cluytens, Conductor Hector Berlioz, Composer Paris Conservatoire Orchestra |
| Jeux |
Claude Debussy, Composer
André Cluytens, Conductor Claude Debussy, Composer Paris Conservatoire Orchestra |
| (Le) Festin de l'araignée, 'Spider's Feast' |
Albert (Charles Paul Marie) Roussel, Composer
Albert (Charles Paul Marie) Roussel, Composer André Cluytens, Conductor Paris Conservatoire Orchestra |
| Sinfonietta |
Albert (Charles Paul Marie) Roussel, Composer
Albert (Charles Paul Marie) Roussel, Composer André Cluytens, Conductor Paris Conservatoire Orchestra |
| Bacchus et Ariane, Movement: Suite No 2 |
Albert (Charles Paul Marie) Roussel, Composer
Albert (Charles Paul Marie) Roussel, Composer André Cluytens, Conductor Paris Conservatoire Orchestra |
Composer or Director: Fryderyk Chopin
Label: Profile
Magazine Review Date: 11/1994
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 152
Mastering:
ADD
Catalogue Number: 568226-2
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Waltzes, Movement: No. 1 in E flat, Op. 18 |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Waltzes, Movement: No. 2 in A flat, Op. 34/1 |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Waltzes, Movement: No. 3 in A minor, Op. 34/2 |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Waltzes, Movement: No. 4 in F, Op. 34/3 |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Waltzes, Movement: No. 5 in A flat, Op. 42 |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Waltzes, Movement: No. 6 in D flat, Op. 64/1 (Minute) |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Waltzes, Movement: No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 64/2 |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Waltzes, Movement: No. 8 in A flat, Op. 64/3 |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Waltzes, Movement: No. 9 in A flat, Op. 69/1 |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Waltzes, Movement: No. 10 in B minor, Op. 69/2 |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Waltzes, Movement: No. 11 in G flat, Op. 70/1 |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Waltzes, Movement: No. 12 in F minor, Op. 70/2 |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Waltzes, Movement: No. 13 in D flat, Op. 70/3 |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Waltzes, Movement: No. 14 in E minor, Op. posth. |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Sonata for Piano No. 3 |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Mazurkas (Complete), Movement: No. 5 in B flat, Op. 7/1 (1831) |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Mazurkas (Complete), Movement: No. 7 in F minor, Op. 7/3 (1831) |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Mazurkas (Complete), Movement: No. 15 in C, Op. 24/2 (1834-35) |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Mazurkas (Complete), Movement: No. 17 in B flat minor, Op. 24/4 (1834-35) |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Mazurkas (Complete), Movement: No. 20 in D flat, Op. 30/3 (1836-37) |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Mazurkas (Complete), Movement: No. 21 in C sharp minor, Op. 30/4 (1836-37) |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Mazurkas (Complete), Movement: No. 22 in G sharp minor, Op. 33/1 (1837-38) |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Mazurkas (Complete), Movement: No. 23 in D, Op. 33/2 (1837-38) |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Mazurkas (Complete), Movement: No. 25 in B minor, Op. 33/4 (1837-38) |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Mazurkas (Complete), Movement: No. 27 in E minor, Op. 41/2 (1838-40) |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Mazurkas (Complete), Movement: No. 32 in C sharp minor, Op. 50/3 (1842) |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Mazurkas (Complete), Movement: No. 41 in C sharp minor, Op. 63/3 (1846) |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Mazurkas (Complete), Movement: No. 45 in A minor, Op. 67/4 (1846) |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Mazurkas (Complete), Movement: No. 47 in A minor, Op. 68/2 (1827) |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Mazurkas (Complete), Movement: No. 49 in F minor, Op. 68/4 (1849) |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
| Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer London Symphony Orchestra Walter Susskind, Conductor Witold Malcuzynski, Piano |
Composer or Director: Constantin Silvestri, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, Alexander Borodin, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Maurice Ravel, Edward Elgar, Antonín Dvořák, Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov
Label: Profile
Magazine Review Date: 11/1994
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 155
Mastering:
ADD
Catalogue Number: 568229-2
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| May Night, Movement: Overture |
Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, Composer
Constantin Silvestri, Composer Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, Composer Philharmonia Orchestra |
| Rapsodie espagnole |
Maurice Ravel, Composer
Constantin Silvestri, Composer Maurice Ravel, Composer Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra |
| In the South, 'Alassio' |
Edward Elgar, Composer
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Constantin Silvestri, Composer Edward Elgar, Composer |
| Symphony No. 8 |
Antonín Dvořák, Composer
Antonín Dvořák, Composer Constantin Silvestri, Composer London Philharmonic Orchestra |
| Ruslan and Lyudmila, Movement: Overture |
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, Composer
Constantin Silvestri, Composer Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, Composer Philharmonia Orchestra |
| Prince Igor, Movement: Overture |
Alexander Borodin, Composer
Alexander Borodin, Composer Constantin Silvestri, Composer Philharmonia Orchestra |
| Prince Igor, Movement: Polovtsian Dances |
Alexander Borodin, Composer
Alexander Borodin, Composer Constantin Silvestri, Composer Paris Conservatoire Orchestra |
| Symphony No. 5 |
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Composer
Constantin Silvestri, Composer Philharmonia Orchestra Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Composer |
Author:
There must be many Gramophone readers who cut their musical teeth on these recordings, and whose abilities to re-assess first loves will be challenged afresh by EMI's skilful transfers. Personally speaking, I never much cared for Guido Cantelli's 1956 Philharmonia Beethoven Seventh, a performance which, although boasting a whole roster of significant Toscaninian virtues (clarity, rhythmic stability, structural sense and so on), somehow lacks the inspirational fervour that made Toscanini's Beethoven so indelibly memorable. However, the Mozart items are excellent, with a trim, nicely buoyed A Musical Joke (the multiple raspberry at the end of the Presto has genuine comic-strip impact) and a finely proportioned Symphony No. 29. Schubert's Unfinished is forward-moving and beautifully drawn, while Franck's D minor (recorded, believe it or not, within a week of Toscanini's final broadcast) has an imperious gait that trades Franco-Belgian exuberance for Teutonic weight. It is imposing but also rather earthbound. The recordings themselves are admirable, while well-balanced stereophony confirms Cantelli's Toscanini-style orchestral positioning, with antiphonally placed violins.
Strange to relate that Rafael Kubelik's orchestral layout (at least as reproduced on his EMI recordings) reverts to the 'bass on the right, treble on the left' principle favoured by so many stereo-era conductors, although his post-EMI Munich sessions again reveal divided violins. Best here are the Martinu and Janacek items, Les fresques de Piero della Francesca in particular benefiting from warmly traced detail and homogeneous recording quality, even if the RPO strings do sound rather brittle when pressured into anything beyond mf. The Bartok Concerto for Orchestra is characterful but occasionally a mite untidy (the strings aren't entirely unanimous), the Hungarian Dances, precisely pointed and brightly lit, while the two VPO symphony recordings share flexible phrasing and a certain low-key sense of drama. Still, this is by no means the best of Kubelik: a few years later he was on the crest of a wave, giving his all to an orchestra that reciprocated to a man. For me, Rafael Kubelik's Bavarian Radio legacy is one of the glories of the stereo era, and one that still awaits its critical due.
Likewise, the Belgian Andre Cluytens's most impressive studio work was with the orchestra that probably knew him best: the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra. Cluytens's readings of Debussy's Jeux, Pierne's Konzertstuck (a real delight), the second part ofL'enfance du Christ and a satisfying Roussel sequence bespeak a level of commitment that prompts us to listen with fresh ears. It's refreshing, too, to revisit those authentically Gallic sonorities, replete with sax-style horns, reedy oboes and keen but wiry strings, qualities that facilitate boldly differentiated internal textures. The BPO Pastoral is quite another matter, as smoothly mellifluous as any since—and more a paradise garden through French windows than a bracing encounter with Nature, and in total contrast to the proudly muscular account of Franck's Le chasseur maudit.
Constantin Silvestri is best known in this country for his sterling work with the Bournemouth Symphony, and it is indeed that orchestra's white-hot playing of Elgar's In the South that provides the centre-piece for this particular Profile reissue. Silvestri was a genuine 'original' who, like Kubelik, recorded the last three Tchaikovsky symphonies for EMI during the early days of stereo. However, while Kubelik's Tchaikovsky was temperate and considered, Silvestri's raised a storm, breaking all the rules and liberally applying Tchaikovsky's con licenza (a freedom sanctioned for the Fifth Symphony's Andante cantabile) to all three works. The results were both stimulating and exasperating, with the Fifth gaining most in terms of interpretative nutrition. Few conductors since have bared the first movement's troubled soul so comprehensively, or propelled the finale's allegro vivace with such unflagging energy. And if you can take the odd affected ritardando and rhetorical exaggeration, then Silvestri's insights will likely change your view of the piece for ever—a claim that doesn't quite extend to Dvorak's Eighth, although that too is remarkably individual. The Russian operatic items are given with considerable panache, but the Rapsodie espagnole is rather too mannered for my liking.
Lastly, Witold Malcuzynski, one of many Chopin pianists active during the 1950s and 1960s whose reputations failed to survive their retirement from the active musical scene (think also of Iturbi, Askenase, Uninsky, Harasiewicz, von Karolyi and—most sadly of all—Geza Anda). Listening again to these recordings, I was happy to recall the odd spell of pianistic fluidity (mostly in the Sonata's Largo, the Concerto's Larghetto and the odd Mazurka), but ultimately, the very monotony of this playing, its unvarying tone and predictable, off-the-peg rubato, left me quite unmoved—a reaction that readers weaned on Malcuzynski's Chopin are unlikely to countenance. Which brings me back full circle to the idea of old experiences revisited, and in this case, experiences that didn't quite scale the heights. None of these recordings is truly great, and yet they usefully serve a double purpose: as worthy musical souvenirs, and as confirmation that the gramophone's past is about as varied, and variable, as its present. Documentation and presentation throughout are first-rate, although I do wish that EMI would print recording dates beneath the relevant track listing, and not as tiny, rather complicated footnotes. These are, after all, semi-historical reissues.'
Strange to relate that Rafael Kubelik's orchestral layout (at least as reproduced on his EMI recordings) reverts to the 'bass on the right, treble on the left' principle favoured by so many stereo-era conductors, although his post-EMI Munich sessions again reveal divided violins. Best here are the Martinu and Janacek items, Les fresques de Piero della Francesca in particular benefiting from warmly traced detail and homogeneous recording quality, even if the RPO strings do sound rather brittle when pressured into anything beyond mf. The Bartok Concerto for Orchestra is characterful but occasionally a mite untidy (the strings aren't entirely unanimous), the Hungarian Dances, precisely pointed and brightly lit, while the two VPO symphony recordings share flexible phrasing and a certain low-key sense of drama. Still, this is by no means the best of Kubelik: a few years later he was on the crest of a wave, giving his all to an orchestra that reciprocated to a man. For me, Rafael Kubelik's Bavarian Radio legacy is one of the glories of the stereo era, and one that still awaits its critical due.
Likewise, the Belgian Andre Cluytens's most impressive studio work was with the orchestra that probably knew him best: the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra. Cluytens's readings of Debussy's Jeux, Pierne's Konzertstuck (a real delight), the second part of
Constantin Silvestri is best known in this country for his sterling work with the Bournemouth Symphony, and it is indeed that orchestra's white-hot playing of Elgar's In the South that provides the centre-piece for this particular Profile reissue. Silvestri was a genuine 'original' who, like Kubelik, recorded the last three Tchaikovsky symphonies for EMI during the early days of stereo. However, while Kubelik's Tchaikovsky was temperate and considered, Silvestri's raised a storm, breaking all the rules and liberally applying Tchaikovsky's con licenza (a freedom sanctioned for the Fifth Symphony's Andante cantabile) to all three works. The results were both stimulating and exasperating, with the Fifth gaining most in terms of interpretative nutrition. Few conductors since have bared the first movement's troubled soul so comprehensively, or propelled the finale's allegro vivace with such unflagging energy. And if you can take the odd affected ritardando and rhetorical exaggeration, then Silvestri's insights will likely change your view of the piece for ever—a claim that doesn't quite extend to Dvorak's Eighth, although that too is remarkably individual. The Russian operatic items are given with considerable panache, but the Rapsodie espagnole is rather too mannered for my liking.
Lastly, Witold Malcuzynski, one of many Chopin pianists active during the 1950s and 1960s whose reputations failed to survive their retirement from the active musical scene (think also of Iturbi, Askenase, Uninsky, Harasiewicz, von Karolyi and—most sadly of all—Geza Anda). Listening again to these recordings, I was happy to recall the odd spell of pianistic fluidity (mostly in the Sonata's Largo, the Concerto's Larghetto and the odd Mazurka), but ultimately, the very monotony of this playing, its unvarying tone and predictable, off-the-peg rubato, left me quite unmoved—a reaction that readers weaned on Malcuzynski's Chopin are unlikely to countenance. Which brings me back full circle to the idea of old experiences revisited, and in this case, experiences that didn't quite scale the heights. None of these recordings is truly great, and yet they usefully serve a double purpose: as worthy musical souvenirs, and as confirmation that the gramophone's past is about as varied, and variable, as its present. Documentation and presentation throughout are first-rate, although I do wish that EMI would print recording dates beneath the relevant track listing, and not as tiny, rather complicated footnotes. These are, after all, semi-historical reissues.'
Guido Cantelli A profile
Rafael Kubelík A profile
André Cluytens A profile
Witold Malcuzynski A profile
Constantin Silvestri A profile
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