But Ansermet knew and loved Russian music quite apart from the Ballets Russes. The Europe that was pre-World War I had a strong attachment to this music. Glinka's overture to "Ruslan and Lyudmila", Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade", "Golden Cockerel" and "Antar", Mussorgsky's "A Night on the Bare Mountain", and Borodin's "In the Steppes of Central Asia", "Polovtsian Dances" and Second Symphony were some of the regulars at the Sunday concerts of the great European orchestral associations. It was Ravel, a devotee of recent Russian music who proposed the first movement of Borodin's Second Symphony as the rallying cry of the "Société des Apaches", a French artistic group formed in 1900, principally of musicians and writers. Ravel dedicated each of the pieces in his "Miroirs" for piano to a member of the Apaches.
It should not be forgotten, too, how much of Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov" rubbed off on Debussy's "Pelléas et Mélisande" or that the composer had, as a young man, been the piano-teacher of the children of Tchaikovsky's patroness, Nadezhda von Meck. Russian music consequently held no mysteries for Ansermet, and with his long black beard, he was even taken for a Russian on occasion.
The conductor loved to tell the tale of how, after a performance by the Ballets Russes in Madrid in the presence of Alfonso XIII, the King had said to him, So obviously, with your beard, you are a complete Muscovite! " and Ansermet replied, "No, Your majesty, I'm Swiss! The King was highly amused that a Swiss was conducting the Russian ballet.
Russian repertoire accounts for a large part of Ansermet's discography, starting in New York in 1916 with extracts from works by Rimsky-Korsakov (Scheherazade and The Snow Maiden), Nikolai Tcherepnin (Le Pavillon d'Armide) and ending in 1968 with the sumptuous recording with the New Philharmonia Orchestra of the complete "Firebird" ballet by Stravinsky, in the original 1910 version. In between, Ansermet made many recordings of Russian repertoire, including Tchaikovsky's three great ballets, the "Pathétique" Symphony and other works. Russian composers included in this 33 disc set are Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Balakirev, Glazunov, Liadov, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev and, in first place of course, Stravinsky; Ansermet remains one of the major interpreters of his music. It is a source of joy but also, at times, confusion that the same works were recorded several times, as recording technology developed.What is striking is that Ansermet's interpretations vary little from one version to another - which is not to say that he did not develop as an artist but rather that he was a conductor with a matured and considered concept of the work he was performing. This collection brings together Russian repertoire recorded at the very beginning of the 1950s, just before the invention of stereo. In 1918 Ansermet founded his own orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. He toured widely in Europe and America and became famous for accurate performances of difficult modern music, making first recordings of works such as Stravinsky's Capriccio with the composer as soloist.
After World War II, Ansermet and his orchestra rose to international prominence through a long-term contract with Decca Records. From that time until his death, he recorded most of his repertoire, often two or three times. His interpretations were widely regarded as admirably clear and authoritative.Ansermet's double good fortune was to be at the peak of his powers in the mid-1950's at the dawn of stereo recording and this 33. CD set shows him in his prime, conducting Russian masterworks by Tchaikovsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninov, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and many more. The 33-unit quantity box set includes a compilation of orchestral music with piano and orchestra accompaniment, showcasing the timeless beauty of French classical music. This beautiful box set is an out-of-print edition, making it a rare find for any collector or music enthusiast.
Please see photos for track listings. Formed in 1907 by Serge Diaghilev, the Ballets Russes brought a breath of fresh air to artistic c. L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Near Mint (NM or M-).