Tchaikovsky - Scenes from Swan Lake - Anatole Fistoulari - Concertgebouw Orchestra - Tower Records Proc 2206 - Vintage SACD Collection Vol. 17 (2019)
SACD rip via PS3 to iso (2.52GB) | Originally Decca SXL2285 (1962) | Only 2ch Hybrid | DR12 | Classical

There is a version of this Swan Lake recording on Esoteric ESSD-90019.

Anatole Fistoulari (August 20, 1907 - August 21, 1995) was born in Kiev, & today is known as 1 of the greatest ballet conductors of the 20th century. His baton wielded a sound imbued with a rich sense of colour, characterized by a lively, driving pulse. Most of all, his performances generated an atmosphere full of beauty & elegance. Particularly through the recordings of these performances, Fistoulari's genius is highly regarded by music fans all over the world.

In 1952 Fisoulari recorded a full Swan Lake (91minutes) with the LSO for Decca in mono. Then in 1961 Fistoulari returned to the studio with Decca, this time to lead a 45-minute set of exerpts with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw (#s 0, 1, 2, 8, 10, 11, 13d, 13e, 20, 5b, 24, 27 & 29). Widely acclaimed & often reissued, it boasts a sense of gracefulness, rhythmic heft & drama beyond the complete LSO set. The recording is rich & detailed, with overly-prominent high winds as the only peculiar aspect. The ensemble playing is superb & boiling tympani add a special dash of excitement to climaxes. In 1973 Fistoulari cut yet a 3rd Swan Lake for Decca, this time for its Phase 4 imprint with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic & Ruggerio Ricci as the violin soloist. Perhaps as a measure of its relative lack of esteem, nearly alone among stereo Swan Lakes it remained stranded on vinyl for most of the CD era & only appeared as part of a massive 41-disc "Phase 4 Stereo Concert Series" box in 2014. A Gramophone review by Ivan Marsh (of the 1991 Dutoit/Montreal set) credited its "passionately Russian impulse" while chiding the "artificially balanced Phase 4 recording." It sought to be absolutely complete by including the 2 numbers the composer added for the 1st Moscow performances along with the Drigo pieces

Reviews of this recording:
1) This fully deserves the Penguin Rosette it achieved, & is my personal favourite Swan Lake. I own Monteux, Ansermat, Dorati, Rostropovich, Pletnev, & undoubtedly a few others I have forgotten. Great as the others are, this is the most alive, inspired & magical -- for me. Is it the best? Who can answer that. My point is that if you love this ballet, this is a recording that you simply must have. Though brief at 46 minutes, every moment is magical.

2) This performance beats all other performances available. True emotions, true character. The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra plays with a true heart, inspired throughout by it's conducter. A performance which should lead to feelings of delight with each lover of this music.

3) Musically, one finds neither the lushness nor sparkle of Ansermet nor the infectious rhythm of Dorati. The presentation is more majestic than sentimental, with Fistoulari sounding conservative & calculated. This approach combines well with the sound, which packs as dense & taut a low end as one can expect for a ballet work with instrumental attacks sounding surprisingly articulate & determined. The focus here, it seems, is on the drama rather than lyrical beauty.
Sonically it is the Decca Tree sound at its best, & then some. The soundstage is vast & layered. The timpani & lower strings are rendered with a fortress-like weight, which is to say very deep, taut & resolute. There is a slight metallic quality to mass strings & the brass, but not in a way that is unnatural or distracting. The sonic impact & dynamics are comparable to the best Living Presence recordings & become truly astounding in the finale. It is a very enjoyable disc & 1 that I would not want to be without in my collection.  

    Tracks:

1. Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Suite, Op. 20a - highlights
2. Léo Delibes: Sylvia Suite

Anatole Fistoulari conducts Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam (1)
Ernest Ansermet conducts Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (2)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spo3ik_3U38

Available here:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Anatole-Fistoulari-Tchaikovsky-Swan-Lake-SACD-Hybrid-TOWER-RECORDS-JAPAN/283670857373

    Recorded:

Recorded by Decca 22 - 23 February 1961 Concertgebouw, Amsterdam (1)
Engineer  – Kenneth Wilkinson
Producer  – Ray Minshull

April 1959, Victoria Hall, Genève (2)



Checksum for iso:
72c7ad2459b3011e2ba60a20a959a5e8 *Tchaikovsky Swan Lake (excerpt), Delibes Sylvia Suite.iso