Alexander Gibson

Jean Sibelius - Symphonies 1 & 4
Royal Scottish National Orchestra / Sir Alexander Gibson
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 262 MB | Full Artwork: 64 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Chandos "Collect" # CHAN 6555 | Country/Year: UK 1991, 1983
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic

…Returning to Glasgow, in 1959 Gibson became the first Scottish principal conductor and artistic director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, a post he held until 1984, to date longer than any other conductor. Under his leadership the orchestra built an international reputation through recordings and foreign tours and appeared regularly in the Edinburgh International Festival and in London at The Proms…

Gibson’s virile, plain-speaking account of Elgar’s glorious Second Symphony refreshes in its directness and honesty. Included also is a sumptuous rendering of the rare Crown of India suite.

Soprano Teresa Cahill leads an excellent quartet of soloists in this recording of the Coronation Ode, and Sir Alexander Gibson draws pleasingly bold and brassy playing from the Scottish National Orchestra. The final movement, with its famous setting of Land of Hope and Glory, is especially satisfying here.

Widely regarded as one of the great RCAs. Alexander Gibson conducts the Royal Opera House Orchestra, Covent Garden, performing ballet music from Charles Gounod's Faust and Georges Bizet's Carmen Suite. Featuring orchestral highlights from Faust and Carmen, the later selections on Side 2 are nothing short of spectacular. Outstanding clarity and stereo stage. Transparency and imaging is superb.

Sans remonter à la glorieuse progéniture de Manuel Garcia (père de Pauline Viardot et Maria Malibran), l’Espagne a souvent offert à notre pays ses plus belles voix. Ainsi, toute planétaire fût-elle, la carrière de Teresa Berganza passa d’abord par la France. C’est à Aix-en-Provence qu’eut lieu la consécration, à l’été 1957, dans un Così fan tutte d’illustre mémoire où une Dorabella de vingt-quatre ans (!) volait la vedette à ses partenaires. Quelques mois plus tard, cette artiste à peine sortie de l’adolescence, mais douée déjà de la technique la plus aguerrie (merci Lola Rodriguez Aragon, son professeur), s’envolait pour Dallas. Dans le tout nouvel Opéra de la cité texane, elle fut non seulement Isabella dans L’Italienne à Alger, mais aussi Néris dans Medea, face à une certaine Maria Callas qui prit aussitôt la petite Espagnole sous son aile, subjuguée par sa maturité musicale et le fini quasi instrumental qu’elle déployait dans sa grande scène avec basson obligé.

Seascapes (1991)
Classical/Instrumental | EAC | FLAC+log+cue | front cover only | CHAN 6538 | 1CD | 289 MB

A collection of classical instrumental works, with a focus on the sea. Featuring traditional British composers such as Vaughan Williams and Britten, lesser known composers such as Arnold Bax and Frank Bridge also make an appearance. No 'sea collection' would be complete without Mendelssohn's Fingal's Cave. Foreign composers like Berlioz and Sibelius make an energetic and light contribution respectively, but the CD has an overtly English feel.