Pierre Monteux
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Johannes Brahms, Maurice Ravel, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Claude Debussy, Franz Schubert, Ludwig van Beethoven
Label: The Early Years
Magazine Review Date: 12/1994
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 311
Mastering:
ADD
Catalogue Number: 442 544-2PM5
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Symphony No. 3, 'Eroica' |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
(Royal) Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Pierre Monteux, Conductor |
Symphony No. 8, 'Unfinished' |
Franz Schubert, Composer
(Royal) Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam Franz Schubert, Composer Pierre Monteux, Conductor |
Swan Lake |
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Composer
London Symphony Orchestra Pierre Monteux, Conductor Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Composer |
Symphony No. 2 |
Johannes Brahms, Composer
Johannes Brahms, Composer London Symphony Orchestra Pierre Monteux, Conductor |
Tragic Overture |
Johannes Brahms, Composer
Johannes Brahms, Composer London Symphony Orchestra Pierre Monteux, Conductor |
Academic Festival Overture |
Johannes Brahms, Composer
Johannes Brahms, Composer London Symphony Orchestra Pierre Monteux, Conductor |
Boléro |
Maurice Ravel, Composer
London Symphony Orchestra Maurice Ravel, Composer Pierre Monteux, Conductor |
(La) Valse |
Maurice Ravel, Composer
London Symphony Orchestra Maurice Ravel, Composer Pierre Monteux, Conductor |
Ma Mère l'oye, 'Mother Goose' |
Maurice Ravel, Composer
London Symphony Orchestra Maurice Ravel, Composer Pierre Monteux, Conductor |
Images |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer London Symphony Orchestra Pierre Monteux, Conductor |
(Le) Martyre de Saint Sébastien |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer London Symphony Orchestra Pierre Monteux, Conductor |
Author: John Steane
Of Monteux's two Eroica recordings (the 1957 VPO Eroica has just been reissued on an all Beethoven/Monteux/VPO bargain-price Double Decca—see page 75), this 1962 Amsterdam account is the one to have: ''textures have a Stravinskyan bite and clarity... the Concertgebouw are producing that fierce, bright, glistening tone which has always been a sure sign that their collective psyche is aflame'', wrote RO in 1988. Concertgebouw recordings tend not to have such physical presence these days (compare the Eroica recordings from Haitink and Kondrashin), or such rousing, ringing trumpets, though the horns in the third movement Trio are rather distant, an effect which probably prompted the note-writer to comment on its ''mysterious, subterranean character''. Monteux's broader than average Amsterdam first movement (without repeat) actually lasts longer than its VPO predecessor, yet it feels faster (the Viennese string playing is inclined to sound etiolated and limp), due, in no small part, to the more resolute accentuation. 'Accommodation' is the key to Monteux's success here. There is no passage that falls casualty to the furrowed brow manner of, say, a Harnoncourt, no empty, forceful barking that makes you wish Beethoven had been a little less liberal with his sforzandos.
The first movement of Monteux's Amsterdam Unfinished (with repeat) is unusually fast (only a few seconds longer than Norrington on EMI 12/90), relaxing beautifully for the second subject (good, focused tone and phrasing here, not the common pianissimo thread). Anxious activity, rather than dark atmosphere, finds solace in a traditionally slow and processional second movement. Monteux's LSO Swan Lake selection (with some numbers pruned, and a couple of concert endings) is well chosen for contrast, and the opening number sets the scene with some rapid string playing of effortless precision and point. I don't think I've ever heard the swan theme (solo oboe) sung with such dignity and melancholy the syncopations in the Act 1 Pas de Deux Waltz handled with such elegance, or the ballet's closing minutes played with such tragic grandeur. On occasions Tchaikovsky sounds like Delibes, but Tchaikovsky would undoubtedly have approved of that.
In the last of Monteux's four recordings of the Brahms Second Symphony, subtleties of nuance and timing, and modifications of pacing, reflect a lifetime's love and experience of the work, and a man who is still keen to explore its textural and structural possibilities. Typically, it is light-toned and gentle in cast, almost symphonic chamber music, and has parallels with his 1959 Dvorak Seventh (on Decca Historic, 4/93) in its clearly articulated accompaniments (for example, the viola figure, from 10'57'' in the first movement development, brought out to set up the vigorous contrapuntal workings) and nature impressions ('raindrop' pizzicatos from 5'33'' in the slow movement). It is generally less bold and high-spirited than his first (1945) San Francisco recording (included in RCA's Edition) with the LSO finale lasting almost a minute longer. Unlike that first recording, Monteux also takes the first movement repeat. You would expect a Monteux Academic Festival Overture to raise the spirits, and you won't be disappointed certainly not at his witty pointing of the ''Great Bassoon Joke'' (Tovey) from 4'31''. The Tragic Overture is articulated more powerfully than the symphony, always on its feet, and with heaven-sent, pianissimo muted violins (from 8'11'') preparing the way for the noble brass transformation of the opening theme.
Monteux's LSO strings come into their own for the Debussy and Ravel items. There is a very good case for suggesting that, in the range of expression he was capable of encouraging from his string desks, Monteux (himself originally an orchestral violinist, and then a violist in a string quartet) had no peers. It would be unwise of me to speculate that Monteux devoted a large proportion of rehearsal time for these recordings to concentrating on string style and expression, but that is how it sounds. All portamentos (where marked) rise or fall beautifully—and together!—under the fingers (La valse and the central movement of ''Iberia'' abound in examples), you will also hear a great range of vibrato, very prominent, for example, in the gorgeous husky tone for the viola and violin gipsy song solos in the first two movements of ''Iberia'', from 2'43'' and 4'25'' respectively (it is worth mentioning that Monteux's ancestors were Spanish), or the more exalted moments from
I could write a great deal more, but words are inadequate to describe this calibre of music-making. Hopefully Philips will release the discs separately as the majority of these recordings would be amongst the top recommendations in today's field, despite their age (perhaps, because of it). '
Explore the world’s largest classical music catalogue on Apple Music Classical.
Included with an Apple Music subscription. Download now.
Gramophone Digital Club
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Events & Offers
From £8.75 / month
SubscribeGramophone Full Club
- Print Edition
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Events & Offers
From £11.00 / month
Subscribe
If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information.