Ernest Chausson - Symphony; La tempête; Viviane; Soir de fête (Yan Pascal Tortelier)

Information

Composer: Ernest Chausson

• Symphony in B flat major, Op. 20
• Viviane, symphonic poem, Op. 5
• Soir de fête, symphonic poem, Op. 32
• La tempête, incidental music for Shakespeare's The Tempest, Op. 18

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra

Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor

Date: 1997

Label: Chandos

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Review

Ernest Chausson’s death in 1899 in a bicycle accident robbed French music of a major talent. Almost his entire orchestral output fits on this extremely fine CD. Yan Pascal Tortelier’s performance of the richly romantic Symphony is the best since Munch’s Boston Symphony recording. Like Munch, Tortelier knows how to keep the music moving along–he’s only an insignificant two minutes slower than Munch for the whole work–without overindulging the more luscious moments, which in Chausson’s opulent setting really do take care of themselves. Even better, rather than some overplayed encore piece by another composer, the symphony is coupled with two very attractive, rarely heard tone poems and two charming orchestral excerpts from the composer’s incidental music to Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The orchestra plays with conviction, Chandos’ sonics are gorgeous, and if you don’t buy this disc, you’re missing out on some marvelous stuff.

— David Hurwitz

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Ernest Chausson (20 January 1855 – 10 June 1899) was a prominent late-19th-century French composer. After completing a law degree, he studied composition at the Paris Conservatory under Jules Massenet and César Franck. Influenced by the operas of Richard Wagner, Chausson developed a richly chromatic yet characteristically French musical style. He also supported younger composers such as Claude Debussy while serving the Société Nationale de Musique. His notable works include Poème, Symphony in B-flat Major, and the opera Le Roi Arthus, which incorporated Wagnerian leitmotifs and his own libretto.

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Yan Pascal Tortelier (born 19 April 1947 in Paris) is a French conductor and violinist. He is the son of the cellist Paul Tortelier. Yan Pascal Tortelier has worked and recorded extensively in the United Kingdom. He was principal conductor of the Ulster Orchestra from 1989 to 1992, the BBC Philharmonic in Manchester from 1992 to 2003, the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo from 2009 to 2011, and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra from 2016 to 2019. Tortelier's recordings include his own orchestration of Ravel's Trio. He is a regular recording artist for Chandos Records with multiple orchestras.

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