Albert Roussel - A Sadly Neglected French Composer.

[cilgwyn]

I'm tempted to pick up the two Ultima 2-disc sets, one containing the 4 symphonies, the other containing other orchestral works including three complete ballets.

I found Dutoit's recordings of the Roussel a tad on the bland side,myself. I've only kept the set for his interpretation of the First Symphony,which seems the best of the set. Also,there aren't so many alternatives!! I believe that Mirror Image felt the same way about these recordings;although I may be wrong? Dutoit is not one of my favourite conductors,I should add! (His Honegger got taken to a charity shop!!) I would save the money,personally,and get some alternative recordings,even if it costs a bit more!! Ultimately,the decision is yours,though!!

[Mirror Image]

I found Dutoit's recordings of the Roussel a tad on the bland side,myself. I've only kept the set for his interpretation of the First Symphony,which seems the best of the set. Also,there aren't so many alternatives!! I believe that Mirror Image felt the same way about these recordings;although I may be wrong? Dutoit is not one of my favourite conductors,I should add! (His Honegger got taken to a charity shop!!) I would save the money,personally,and get some alternative recordings,even if it costs a bit more!! Ultimately,the decision is yours,though!!

Yes, that's correct. Dutoit is fine in the 1st, but is rather mediocre in the other three. Deneve is probably the best bet for a good, consistent cycle. Eschenbach and Janowski are also pretty good, but I think Eschenbach was the weakest in the 3rd while Janowski's 2nd seemed to be gasping for air the entire time. But, in all fairness, no cycle is not without its' flaws.

[cilgwyn]

Thanks! Dutoit's Honegger and Roussel just seemed a bit dull,on the whole. His Roussel No 1,excepted! I hadn't heard Honegger for a few years. I listened to the Dutoit about twice when I got it. Baudo,by comparison,was a revelation! Not being familiar with his entire cycle I remembered the Karajan from my library borrowing days. When I bought the Honegger set,I thought Honegger definitely sounded more interesting than this?!!! I must say,I have yet to hear a recording by Dutoit which I haven't found bland. There is always a more interesting alternative.
Not knocking him,though. I'm just a listener. But there's just something missing!!

[Mirror Image]

Thanks! Dutoit's Honegger and Roussel just seemed a bit dull,on the whole. His Roussel No 1,excepted! I hadn't heard Honegger for a few years. I listened to the Dutoit about twice when I got it. Baudo,by comparison,was a revelation! Not being familiar with his entire cycle I remembered the Karajan from my library borrowing days. When I bought the Honegger set,I thought Honegger definitely sounded more interesting than this?!!! I must say,I have yet to hear a recording by Dutoit which I haven't found bland. There is always a more interesting alternative.
Not knocking him,though. I'm just a listener. But there's just something missing!!

Dutoit's strengths, IMHO, are in Impressionistic music. Other than this, I haven't really been wowed by anything he's done either.

[relm1]

Dutoit's strengths, IMHO, are in Impressionistic music. Other than this, I haven't really been wowed by anything he's done either.

Dutoit is excellent with the bombastic music too!  His Prokofiev and Holst Planets are fantastic.  So his range is wide.  A very fine conductor.  I expect your experience with his conducting is limited.

[Mirror Image]

Dutoit is excellent with the bombastic music too!  His Prokofiev and Holst Planets are fantastic.  So his range is wide.  A very fine conductor.  I expect your experience with his conducting is limited.

No, not limited at all, relm1. I've heard his Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Holst, Shostakovich, Honegger, Tchaikovsky, Janacek, Berlioz, Rachmaninov, and a few others. I still stand by my original opinion that I'm not impressed with much he's done. He doesn't wow me or make me say "I've got to hear that performance again!"

[Monsieur Croche]

Dutoit is excellent with the bombastic music too!  His Prokofiev and Holst Planets are fantastic.  So his range is wide.  A very fine conductor.  I expect your experience with his conducting is limited.

I have yet to hear a Dutoit conducted recording that to me did not sound too fast -- somewhere between more than just a little or more;  those I've heard have all seemed rushed, ergo, they bypass allowing the music to speak... to the point where I simply now pass over any of his recordings I have not yet heard and instead look for another performance. (chacun à son goût)

[Daverz]

There seem to be 3 recordings of the fascinating String Quartet available for streaming

Schoenberg Quartet: https://open.spotify.com/album/7ni2mYLd7AnfU9hUjjmrCn
Quatuor Rosamonde: https://open.spotify.com/album/1Rek0LfWxydsTaxvr2UGyT
Loewenguth Quartet: https://open.spotify.com/album/1JF1Ad25A6XAIQw3wmjmf1 (Vox, not the earlier Decca)

And then there's the arrangement by the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet:

https://open.spotify.com/album/6QrFxJI3mPjSFVPqZJFLau

I've also ordered the Via Nova Quartet on CD:

[asin] B00021SUIG[/asin]

[cilgwyn]

Dutoit is excellent with the bombastic music too!  His Prokofiev and Holst Planets are fantastic.  So his range is wide.  A very fine conductor.  I expect your experience with his conducting is limited.

Not with Mi's collection! I must admit Dutoit's conducting never does anything for me,either! Rattle's another one. But each to his own. If it excites you,go for it!!

[Ghost of Baron Scarpia]

Not with Mi's collection! I must admit Dutoit's conducting never does anything for me,either! Rattle's another one. But each to his own. If it excites you,go for it!!

At one point I was universally down on Dutoit, but I've come to appreciate some of his stuff. He did a Bartok disc including the CfO and Music for strings, celesta and percussion which was really outstanding. And a Ravel La Valse which ended with a truly stunning tour de force of orchestral playing - getting the complex rhythm just right at a thrilling tempo. Maestro Guess Your Weight did some things right.

But, back to the subject, I find myself dependent on him for Roussel symphonies, although there are some worthwhile alternatives from Cluytens and Ansermet. Then there's Janowski and Deneve, which I've been meaning to listen to.

[ritter]

There seem to be 3 recordings of the fascinating String Quartet available for streaming

Schoenberg Quartet: https://open.spotify.com/album/7ni2mYLd7AnfU9hUjjmrCn
Quatuor Rosamonde: https://open.spotify.com/album/1Rek0LfWxydsTaxvr2UGyT
Loewenguth Quartet: https://open.spotify.com/album/1JF1Ad25A6XAIQw3wmjmf1 (Vox, not the earlier Decca)

And then there's the arrangement by the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet:

https://open.spotify.com/album/6QrFxJI3mPjSFVPqZJFLau

I've also ordered the Via Nova Quartet on CD:

[asin] B00021SUIG[/asin]

I was listening to the Schönberg Quartet's recording of the Roussel SQ just some days ago, and was very favourably impressed (even more so as some of the other chamber music contained in the 3 CD set on Brilliant seemed rather inconsequential). Roussel is at the top of his game in the SQ IMHO, as the medium makes him find—as is the case with many composers—a felicitous balance between rigour and inventiveness.

[Daverz]

I was listening to the Schönberg Quartet's recording of the Roussel SQ just some days ago, and was very favourably impressed (even more so as some of the other chamber music contained in the 3 CD set on Brilliant seemed rather inconsequential). Roussel is at the top of his game in the SQ IMHO, as the medium makes him find—as is the case with many composers—a felicitous balance between rigour and inventiveness.

Got the Quatuor Via Nova set today.  The recording is disappointingly dry, but the Via Nova have good tone and their playing is alert.

New recordings would certainly be welcome.

...Listening to the Quatuor Rosamunde again, I think this is the best: excellent recording, and their playing is more dynamic.

[asin] B00005QSTP[/asin]

[Biffo]

Does anyone know the Plasson recording of Padmavati? If so what do you think of it - I only have the Martinon live recording and the sound is rather ropey.

[ritter]

Does anyone know the Plasson recording of Padmavati? If so what do you think of it - I only have the Martinon live recording and the sound is rather ropey.

I've owned it since it was first released—in its original incarnation pictured above—, and find it a first-rate affair all-round. Marlyn Horne is outstanding in a role one wouldn't immediately identify with her, and Nicolai Gedda and José van Dam are excellent as well. Also, the awkward CD break of the Martinon (just before the lead's ravishing "Oh mes soeurs fidèles" airoso IIRC) is better placed in the Plasson, thus not destroying the great arch of the whole scene. It's good to have the Martinon, of course (it's one of the very few opera recordings by that conductor available, and its roster of soloists is very strong as well), but the Plasson IMHO is preferable (not only because of its far superior sound).

I'm surprised there's so few versions of this beautiful and noble work available in the market, and that is almost never performed.

[Biffo]

I've owned it since it was first released—in its original incarnation pictured above—, and find it a first-rate affair all-round. Marlyn Horne is outstanding in a role one wouldn't immediately identify with her, and Nicolai Gedda and José van Dam are excellent as well. Also, the awkward CD break of the Martinon (just before the lead's ravishing "Oh mes soeurs fidèles" airoso IIRC) is better placed in the Plasson, thus not destroying the great arch of the whole scene. It's good to have the Martinon, of course (it's one of the very few opera recordings by that conductor available, and its roster of soloists is very strong as well), but the Plasson IMHO is preferable (not only because of its far superior sound).

I'm surprised there's so few versions of this beautiful and noble work available in the market, and that is almost never performed.

Many thanks for your comments - I will have to give the Plasson recording a try as it seems unlikely a new version will appear anytime soon.

Edit: Does the version shown have a libretto? The later reissue only has a link to a website that no longer exists. I have the choice of buying a secondhand version of the first release, a new CD of the reissue with no libretto or a lossless download with no libretto (by far the cheapest option).

[ritter]

The original release includes a 48 page booklet with an essay (in French and English) and the full libretto (also with an English translation).

Regards,

[Biffo]

The original release includes a 48 page booklet with an essay (in French and English) and the full libretto (also with an English translation).

Regards,

Thanks again. Will now have to ponder the options but I am reluctant to buy an expensive secondhand copy of the original issue just for the libretto. I have a brief synopsis with the Martinon recording.

[SymphonicAddict]

I'm curious about the rather negative commentaries about Dutoit on these symphonies. I've heard his cycle and I don't have important complaints. Why do some of you claim that?

[PerfectWagnerite]

I'm curious about the rather negative commentaries about Dutoit on these symphonies. I've heard his cycle and I don't have important complaints. Why do some of you claim that?

They are fine. People are just picky, and Dutoit is not popular on this forum. My only reservation is not the most up to date sound compared to Deneve.

[SymphonicAddict]

They are fine. People are just picky, and Dutoit is not popular on this forum. My only reservation is not the most up to date sound compared to Deneve.

I agree with you, and I've had the same feeling about Dutoit on this forum. Anyway, the Deneve set seems to be slightly better. I compared both versions, the Deneve sounds more vivid and definite overall, but I wouldn't be without the Dutoit one either.