Antal Drati

Collected here in one edition are the complete Decca recordings of Antal Doráti and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. 18 CDs with spined wallets, original jackets. Highlights include: Performances of Bartok’s Suite No.1, 2 Pictures, Miraculous Mandarin and Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta – “Bartok was in his [Doráti’s] blood-stream”, wrote critic Robert Layton. And recordings of works by a trio of composers Doráti knew well and worked with: Strauss, Stravinsky and Copland.

The Hungarian conductor Antal Doráti had already made several recordings in the US with various orchestras for the Mercury label when Philips engaged him to begin working in the studio with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. There had been thrilling accounts of Tchaikovsky from both Minneapolis and Chicago and so it was to be expected that Doráti’s Dutch recordings would begin by concentrating on Slavic repertoire – indeed just as Philips itself had done: the label was launched in 1950 with a recording of the Fourth Symphony conducted by Willem van Otterloo.

‘I think that every art is an art of authority, but between “authoritarian” and “dictatorial” there is a vast difference.’ So remarked the Hungarian conductor Antal Doráti towards the end of a long career which included, near its beginning, almost a decade spent working closely with orchestras in The Hague and Amsterdam. That work, very little known now, is revived on the present set which includes many recordings new to CD or in their first international release.

Curated by Amila & Aurelien for Altered Soul Experiment.
Selected and Compiled by Antal Heitlager in Amsterdam, 2016.
Artwork and Layout by Maison CC. Photography by Sophie Le Roux. Words by Paul Moulden
Duplicated in Berlin at Analogcut on high fidelity Chrome tape.

Founded in 1904 and therefore the oldest of the city's symphony orchestras, the London Symphony Orchestra became world-renowned for recordings that date back to early gramophone records in 1912. Amid decades of diverse classical programming that followed, including performances for radio and TV, the orchestra also became known for its appearances in numerous film scores, including the Star Wars series. The LSO also tours and first visited North America in 1912 (narrowly avoiding passage on the Titanic).

Limited Edition. Covering recordings from July 1956 to July 1961, here are early stereo spectaculars on Mercury, under the inspired baton of Antal Doráti: classic albums of Haydn, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky and many more in a new 'Original Jackets'. Eloquence has been making a systematic and critically acclaimed survey of the Mercury legacy of recordings made by the Hungarian conductor Antal Doráti. Boxes of his complete recordings with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonia Hungarica have revived albums from the 1950s and 60s which set new standards for lifelike sound and intensely engaged performances in the recording studio. Volume 1 of Doráti's London recordings covers sessions from July 1956 to July 1961. Conductor and orchestra met for an intensive fortnight each year after the end of the concert season. Both the conductor and the Mercury engineers were demanding in their pursuit of perfection, in terms of orchestral attack, ensemble, balance, colour and all the disparate elements which contribute towards the kind of repeatability that made these albums such artistic and commercial successes.

Volume 2 of Antal Doráti's London recordings for Mercury covers sessions between June 1960 (Tchaikovsky's Pathétique Symphony) and August 1966 (Tchaikovsky's Orchestral Suites). By way of a bonus, the set concludes with a rarity issued on Philips and scarcely seen since, an album of neoclassical works by Julian Orbón (Cantigas del Rey, sung by Heather Harper) and Manuel de Falla (the Harpsichord Concerto, with Rafael Puyana). Dorati's ear for color, his rhythmic discipline and knife-edged attack were complemented by the high-definition, pin-point detail of Mercury's 35mm stereo engineering. Works by Doráti's countryman Bartók came to life on record as never before. The versions of the Concerto for Orchestra, Divertimento for Strings and Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta have scarcely been equalled since for atmosphere and accuracy. No less valuably, the box brings together the Mercury/Doráti versions of Bartók's principal works for the stage, Bluebeard's Castle (now with the spoken introduction included on CD for the first time) and The Miraculous Mandarin, as well as a definitive recording of The Wooden Prince.

Documenting all of Antal Dorati's stereo recordings with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra for Mercury, this edition showcases a golden era in American classical recording. The recordings were heralded with superlatives from contemporary journals. "Breathtaking, this Dorati…", "as technically flawless as it is sonically and melodically intoxicating" (High Fidelity) - and reveals a musical personality centred on dynamism, intensity, and an exceptional ability to persuasively articulate rhythms.

Il reste le champion toutes catégories de l’enregistrement par le nombre et la variété stupéfiantes de ses disques. On se demande comment ce diable d’homme a pu avoir ce don d’ubiquité pour être omniprésent dans les studios comme dans les salles de concerts du monde entier. Cette pléthore d’enregistrements avait de quoi dérouter et provoquer le doute quant à la constance de sa qualité. A la mesure du temps qui passe on constate aujourd’hui que ce doute était sans fondement, tant les disques d’Antal Dorati sont au contraire des réussites absolues dans tous les répertoires abordés, avec une conviction, un sens du style, du rythme et de la couleur proprement exceptionnels.