As a conductor, philosopher, mathematician and composer, Ernest Ansermet occupied an exceptional position in the world of music. At the frontier of modernity, he offered up recordings of music by several composers whom he counted among his friends: Debussy, Ravel, Roussel and Stravinsky but also Honegger, Frank Martin, Bartók and Prokofiev - all of whom are represented in this collection of recordings made for Decca between 1929 and 1955. The collection opens with a recording of six of Handel's Op. 6 Concerti Grossi made with a specially formed band of London musicians, the 'Decca String Orchestra' in 1929, the year in which the label was founded. Ansermet returned to the studio to record for the label from 1946 and from then on became one of it's most frequently recorded conductors. Fortunately, the music of his friend Igor Stravinsky is strongly represented in this collection. Of other composers Ansermet knew personally, several landmark recordings of works by Maurice Ravel are significant. 1952 was a particularly busy year for the conductor and his Orchestre de la Suisse Romande - with recordings of Handel, Prokofiev as well as his famous interpretation of Debussy's "Pelléas et Mélisande". An orchestral version of Mussorgsky's two-minute "Gopak" was recorded as the last work in this collection. The stereo recording from 1955 was only available as a test pressing - this box presents it as a veritable world premiere.

Track List

1. CD 1 Handel Concerti Grossi Op.6 Nos. 2 3 4 6 10 12 Dso
2. CD 2 Vivaldi Bassoon Concerto RV 481 Henri Helaerts
3. Handel Organ Concertos HWV 289 ; 290 Jeanne Demessieux
4. Marcello Oboe Concerto Roger Reversy Osr
5. CD 3 Mozart Symphony No. 38 "Prague"
6. Serenade No. 10 Osr
7. Exsultate Jubilate Janine Micheau; Oscc
8. CD 4 Haydn Symphony No. 101 "Clock"
9. Schumann Symphony No. 1 "Spring" Osr
10. Schumann Genoveva Overture Oscc
11. CD 5 Schumann Piano Concerto Dinu Lipatti · Cello Concerto Maurice Gendron
12. Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations Maurice Gendron Osr
13. CD 6 Mussorgsky Pictures at An Exhibition [1947] Lpo
14. Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade Pierre Nérini Oscc
15. CD 7 Rimsky-Korsakov Capriccio Espagnol
16. The Golden Cockerel - Introduction Bridal Procession ; Suite
17. Mussorgsky Gopak (Sorochintsy Fair - Mono ; Stereo) Osr
18. CD 8 Villa-Lobos Piano Concerto No. 1 Ellen Ballon Osr
19. Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 Ellen Ballon Lso
20. CD 9 Ravel Alborada Del Gracioso [1947]
21. Debussy la Mer [1947] Osr
22. Ravel la Valse [1947] · Shéhérazade Suzanne Danco
23. Debussy Petite Suite Oscc
24. CD 10 Rossini/Respighi la Boutique Fantasque Lso
25. Falla El Sombrero de Tres Picos Suzanne Danco
26. Ravel 3 Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé Suzanne Danco Osr
27. CD 11 Debussy Images
28. Ravel L'heure Espagnole Michel Hamel Suzanne Danco Paul Derenne Heinz Rehfuss André Vessières Osr
29. CDS 12-13 Debussy Pelléas Et Mélisande
30. Pierre Mollet Heinz Rehfuss André Vessières Flore Wend Suzanne Danco Hélène Bouvier Derrick Olsen Osr
31. CD 14 Ravel Piano Concerto in G
32. Piano Concerto in D for the Left Hand
33. (Jacqueline Blancard) [1949 ; 1953] Osr
34. CD 15 Debussy Nocturnes · Ravel Rapsodie Espagnole
35. Valses Nobles Et Sentimentales · Le Tombeau de Couperin Osr
36. CD 16 Ravel Daphnis Et Chloé Geneva Motet Choir Osr
37. CD 17 Debussy la Mer [1951]
38. Prélude À L'après-Midi D'un Faune
39. Ravel Ma Mère L'oye Suite · Alborada Del Gracioso [1951]
40. Prokofiev March from the Love for Three Oranges Suite
41. Stravinsky Circus Polka Osr
42. CD 18 Prokofiev Symphony No. 6
43. Bizet Symphony in C Osr
44. CD 19 Prokofiev Symphony No. 1 "Classical"
45. Glinka Ruslan and Lyudmila Overture
46. Borodin in the Steppes of Central Asia
47. Mussorgsky Night on the Bare Mountain Oscc
48. Debussy Jeux · Six Épigraphes Antiques Osr
49. CD 20 Bartók Piano Concerto No.3 (Julius Katchen)
50. Prokofiev Piano Concerto No.3 (Julius Katchen)
51. Martin Violin Concerto (Wolfgang Schneiderhan) Osr
52. CD 21 Martin Petite Symphonie Concertante
53. (Pierre Jamet Germaine Vaucher-Clerc Doris Rossiaud)
54. Stravinsky Divertimento from Le Baiser de la Fée
55. Saint-Saëns Danse Macabre · Le Rouet D'omphale
56. Chabrier Joyeuse Marche · España
57. Ravel Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte Osr
58. CD 22 Mussorgsky Pictures at An Exhibition [1953] Osr
59. Ravel la Valse [1953] · Boléro · Honegger Pacific 231
60. Dukas L'apprenti Sorcier Oscc
61. CD 23 Bloch Schelomo (Zara Nelsova)
62. Voice in the Wilderness (Zara Nelsova) Lpo
63. Oboussier Antigone (Elsa Cavelti)
64. Geiser Symphony No.1 Osr
65. CDS 24-26 Stravinsky
66. Petrushka (1911) [1946] · Firebird Suite (1910/1919) [1946]
67. Symphony of Psalms (London Philharmonic Choir) Lpo
68. Petrushka (1911) [1949] · the Rite of Spring
69. Firebird Suite (1919) [1950]
70. Oedipus Rex (Ernst Haefliger Hélène Bouvier James Loomis
71. André Vessières Hugues Cuénod Paul Pasquier) Osr