Ernest Ansermet - The Mono Years (26CD Box Set)

2023 marks the 140th anniversary of the birth of the influential Swiss conductor Ernest Ansermet. Issued as a companion box to The Stereo Years, this set encompasses recordings from the year of Decca’s birth, in 1929, to 1955. With newly refurbished digital mastering (Chris Bernauer, Mark Obert-Thorn), the set includes Ansermet’s landmark 1952 recording of Daphnis et Chloé, published on CD for the first time in genuine mono (without stereo reverb). Also included in this collection is Lyadov’s orchestration of Mussorgsky’s "Gopak" from Sorochintsy Fair. The stereo recording was intended for inclusion on a London (US Decca) stereo LP, but this album was never released and only a test pressing survives, making the bonus stereo publication in this edition a world-premiere release. Ranging from Baroque music to several important Stravinsky recordings, this is a must-have for anyone interested in the history of orchestral recording.

Limited Edition, Original Jackets.

TRACK LIST

CD 1 

HANDEL Concerti Grossi Op.6 Nos. 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 12 DSO 

CD 2 

VIVALDI Bassoon Concerto RV 481 Henri Helaerts 

HANDEL Organ Concertos HWV 289 & 290 Jeanne Demessieux 

MARCELLO Oboe Concerto Roger Reversy, OSR 

CD 3 

MOZART Symphony No. 38 “Prague” 

Serenade No. 10 OSR 

Exsultate, jubilate Janine Micheau; OSCC 

CD 4 

HAYDN Symphony No. 101 “Clock” 

SCHUMANN Symphony No. 1 “Spring” OSR 

SCHUMANN Genoveva Overture OSCC 

CD 5 

SCHUMANN Piano Concerto Dinu Lipatti ∙ Cello Concerto Maurice Gendron 

TCHAIKOVSKY Rococo Variations Maurice Gendron, OSR 

CD 6 

MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition [1947] LPO 

RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Scheherazade Pierre Nérini, OSCC 

CD 7 

RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Capriccio espagnol 

The Golden Cockerel – Introduction, Bridal procession & Suite 

MUSSORGSKY Gopak (Sorochintsy Fair – mono & stereo) OSR 

CD 8 

VILLA-LOBOS Piano Concerto No. 1 Ellen Ballon, OSR 

CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 2 Ellen Ballon, LSO 

CD 9 

RAVEL Alborada del gracioso [1947] 

DEBUSSY La Mer [1947] OSR 

RAVEL La Valse [1947] · Shéhérazade Suzanne Danco 

DEBUSSY Petite suite OSCC 

CD 10 

ROSSINI/RESPIGHI La Boutique fantasque LSO 

FALLA El sombrero de tres picos Suzanne Danco 

RAVEL 3 Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé Suzanne Danco, OSR 

CD 11 

DEBUSSY Images 

RAVEL L’Heure espagnole Michel Hamel, Suzanne Danco, Paul Derenne, Heinz Rehfuss, André Vessières, OSR 

CDs 12–13 

DEBUSSY Pelléas et Mélisande 

Pierre Mollet, Heinz Rehfuss, André Vessières, Flore Wend, Suzanne Danco, Hélène Bouvier, Derrick Olsen, OSR 

CD 14 

RAVEL Piano Concerto in G 

Piano Concerto in D for the Left Hand 

(Jacqueline Blancard) [1949 & 1953] OSR 

CD 15 

DEBUSSY Nocturnes · RAVEL Rapsodie espagnole 

Valses nobles et sentimentales · Le Tombeau de Couperin OSR 

CD 16 

RAVEL Daphnis et Chloé Geneva Motet Choir, OSR 

CD 17 

DEBUSSY La Mer [1951] 

Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune 

RAVEL Ma mèr