Pierre Monteux (conductor)
london symphony orchestra
■Release date: March 16, 2024
■Product number: ESSD-90288
■Specifications: Super Audio CD Hybrid
■JAN：4907034225354
■Label: DECCA (formerly Philips)
■Sound source provided by: Universal Music LLC
■Genre: Symphony/Orchestra
■DSD Mastering
■Super Audio CD layer: 2 channel stereo
■Beautiful and luxurious paper digipak packaging used
Brahms full of the richness of the great conductor Pierre Monteux's final years.
To mark the 60th anniversary of his death, Esoteric has created a remaster of this masterpiece.
■One of the master craftsmen of the 20th century
Pierre Monteux (1875-) left a brilliant mark on the history of 20th century music by premiering works such as Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" and "Petrushka", Ravel's "Daphnis et Chloé", and Debussy's "Amusement" with Diaghilev's Russian Ballet Company. 1964). He was a native Parisian, and after graduating from the Paris Conservatory, he started out as a violinist and looked at music from the inside of an orchestra, and in 1911 he had such executive ability and popularity that he formed his own orchestra. He not only studied French music in general, including Ravel and Debussy, whom he knew, but also an international artist with a truly wide-ranging repertoire that enabled him to perform extensively in concerts and operas on both continents throughout his long life. He was also a person. In his final years, in 1963, he visited Japan, and the image of the 19th century-born master remains etched in the minds of Japanese music fans. His recording history is long, starting with SP recordings with the Paris Symphony Orchestra, which was founded in 1928, and in 1941, he became an exclusive member of RCA in the US and began making extensive recordings with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, where he was the music director. By the time he retired from the San Francisco Symphony, he began recording LPs, and during his LP era, he added recordings with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. From the mid-1950s onwards, with the arrival of the stereo era, recordings began in Europe with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic at Decca, which was affiliated with the American RCA at the time, and recordings continued until his death in 1964. I was lucky to be left behind.
He became the principal of the London Symphony Orchestra at the age of 86.
Blessed with good health, Monteux remained active until just before his death.In his later years, Monteux surprised the world by becoming the principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra in 1961 at the age of 86. Moreover, his contract is an unusually long 25 years. Monteux collaborated with the London Symphony Orchestra for the first time in June 1957 on a recording of Tchaikovsky's ``Sleeping Beauty,'' and they hit it off, and the following year, in June 1958, they performed together at a concert. After that, they continued to perform together in regular recording sessions and concerts, and the bond between them deepened, leading to his appointment as principal conductor. At the end of his first season as chief conductor, new recording sessions were arranged with Philips in the Netherlands and Westminster in the United States, marking the peak of Monteux's final years.
■Philips recording that captures the supreme state of his later years
Founded in 1951, the Dutch Philips label rapidly expanded its artists and repertoire as the stereo era began and demand for LP records accelerated. The recording contract with Monteux was part of this effort, starting with Tchaikovsky's ``Swan Lake'' in June 1962 and ending with the Ravel album in February 1964, which included performances on five LPs plus one side in three seasons. it was done. One and a half of these were recorded with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, with whom Monteux had been closely associated since before the war, and the rest were all recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra. Brahms's Symphony No. 2 and others reprinted in this series were his third album under contract with Phillips, and were recorded in a four-day session from November 28 to December 1, 1962. it was done.
■The depth of Monteux's feelings when he played in front of Brahms
Monteux has been active as a viola player in France's Geroso Quartet since he was 17 years old, and when the group performed as a guest in Vienna, he once performed one of the string quartets in front of Brahms himself. For the rest of his life, Monteux would never forget Brahms' words of praise: ``It's the French who can play my music accurately.Germans often play too seriously.'' Although he regrets not being able to speak German and not being able to speak directly with the composer himself, he continues to play Brahms's works over and over, saying, ``I can talk to him through music. He is my love and ideal.'' I continued to do so. All four symphonies were Monteux's favorites, but the 1st and 2nd symphonies in particular were a great example of Franck's symphony, Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, Beethoven's 7th, and Tchaikovsky's 5th and 6th. It was played the second most times, and was Monteux's trademark. However, in terms of recordings, only four versions of the 2nd Symphony remain; no other symphonies were recorded. For this reason, this recording for Philips, recorded in a session one week after Monteux performed this symphony with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, can be considered an important discography in Monteux's discography.
■A record of a lifetime's worth of art
Brahms's Symphony No. 2 is characterized by a spontaneous and flowing musical thought, and Monteux sings it very naturally, with a silver tone. The exquisite slightly slow tempo, the supple intonation of the melody, the intricate motif processing typical of Brahms, and the balance supported by the elegant expression are truly the skills of a master. The small pockets that are inserted in unexpected places are also exquisite, and the first and second violins placed on the left and right bring out the details of the music clearly and enhance the three-dimensional feel of the music. It is also unusual for a conductor born in the 19th century to insist on repeating the first movement presentation, and although it is against classical rules that the second movement is even more emotional, it is one of Monteux's strengths in his work. It's probably because of the love that flows through it. The performance is not dead, but you can feel the passion burning within, and especially in the climax of the final movement, you can feel the deep drama without increasing the tempo or making the orchestra scream. The two coupling overtures are also memorable masterpieces, and should be passed down for a long time as a record of the life-long artistic work of one of the 20th century's greatest masters.
■A famous recording that captures the rich sound as it is as a dense reverberation.
The recording session was held at Wembley Town Hall (also known as Brent Town Hall) in London. Located in the northwest suburbs of London, this building opened in 1940, and began to be used as a recording venue in the late 1950s during the stereo era. As a recording venue near London, many sessions were held at London Orchestra Recording, which was in high demand. Although the reverberation is short, it is possible to clearly capture the perspective of the entire orchestra, and to ensure a sound that does not neglect the clarity of details, it is possible to perform the Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 by Mravinsky / Leningrad Philharmonic, the complete Dvořák symphonies by Rowicki / London Symphony Orchestra, Dorati. It is the venue where famous records from the analog era were produced, such as the Complete Tchaikovsky Symphonies by Markevich/London Symphony Orchestra, and Handel's ``Messiah'' by Carl Richter/London Philharmonic. I use it extensively in a series of recordings of the Hibiki's Berlioz Chiculus and the Marriner/Academy Chamber Orchestra. All four Phillips recordings of Monteux/London Symphony Orchestra were recorded at this venue, and the rich sound created by Monteux is packed in as a dense sound without any frills. The localization of the first and second violins, which are placed on the left and right sides, and the presence of the woodwind group in the center are also very clear, and the balance that Monteux carefully created is beautifully reproduced. It was released on CD in 1994, and just two years later it was reissued as part of a 24-bit digital mastering series planned in Japan, and it has become so popular that it remains a collector's item. In 2018, it was made into a Super Audio CD hybrid, and this is the second DSD remaster in six years and the Super Audio CD hybrid. For this hybridization, as in the past, we worked without compromise, from the selection of the master to be used to the final DSD mastering process. Especially for DSD mastering, "Esoteric Mastering" is used. Introducing ESOTERIC's carefully tuned top-of-the-line equipment Master Sound Discrete DAC and Master Sound Discrete Clock. Also, by generously using MEXCEL cables, we were able to capture the information contained in the original master onto a disc with a smooth sound.
recorded music
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73
[1] 1st movement: Allegro non troppo
[2] Second movement: Adagio non troppo
[3] Third movement: Allegretto grazioso (Quasi andantino) - Presto ma non assai
[4] 4th movement: Allegro con spirito
[5] University Celebration Overture Op. 80
Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
[6] Tragic Overture Op. 81
Tragic Overture, Op. 81
london symphony orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Pierre Monteux
Conducted by Pierre Monteux
[Recording] November 28, 1962 - December 1, 1962, Wembley Town Hall, London
[First appearance] 1-5: Philips 835 167 AY (1963) / 6: Philips 442 547-2 (1994)
[Japanese release first] 1-5: Philips SFL7629 (July 1963) / 6: Philips PHCP24054 (March 6, 1994)
[Original recording]
[Recording producer & balance engineer] Vittorio Negri
[Super Audio CD Producer] Tomoaki Oma (Esoteric Co., Ltd.)
[Super Audio CD Associate Producer] Minoru Yoshida (Esoteric Co., Ltd.)
[Super Audio CD Remastering Engineer] Shinya Higashino (Esoteric Co., Ltd.)
[Super Audio CD Remaster] November 2023 Esoteric Mastering Center, “Esoteric Mastering” System
[Commentary] Kozo Asari Ryuichi Shibata
[Planning/Sales] Esoteric Co., Ltd.
[Planning/Cooperation] Tokyo Denka Co., Ltd.