Dimitri Mitropoulos - Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Dimitri Mitropoulos

Title: Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Dimitri Mitropoulos Artist: Dimitri Mitropoulos Release Date: 2003 Label: EMI Music Distributio Duration: 152:52 Album Type(s): performer(s) biography, Special essay (music history, styles, etc.), composition (work) description UPC: 724357547123 Genre: Symphony Total Copies: 0 Members Wishing: 0 Number of Discs/SwapaCD Credits: 2

1. Symphony No. 6 in A minor ("Tragic")
   - I. Allegro energico, ma non troppo. Heftig, aber markig
2. Symphony No. 6 in A minor ("Tragic")
   - II. Scherzo. Wuchtig - (Trio) Altväterisch. Grazioso
3. Symphony No. 6 in A minor ("Tragic")
   - III. Andante moderato
4. Symphony No. 6 in A minor ("Tragic")
   - IV. Finale. Sostenuto - Allegro moderato - Allegro energico

1. Roméo et Juliette, for alto, tenor, bass, chorus & orchestra ("symphonie dramatique"), H.79 (Op. 17)
   - I. Introduction. Combats - Tumulte - Intervention du prince
2. Roméo et Juliette, for alto, tenor, bass, chorus & orchestra ("symphonie dramatique"), H.79 (Op. 17)
   - II. Roméo seul - Tristesse - Concert et bal - Grande fête chez Capulet
3. Roméo et Juliette, for alto, tenor, bass, chorus & orchestra ("symphonie dramatique"), H.79 (Op. 17)
   - III. Scène d'amour
4. Roméo et Juliette, for alto, tenor, bass, chorus & orchestra ("symphonie dramatique"), H.79 (Op. 17)
   - IV. La reine Mab, ou la fée des songes
5. Roméo et Juliette, for alto, tenor, bass, chorus & orchestra ("symphonie dramatique"), H.79 (Op. 17)
   - VI. Roméo au tombeau des Capulets - Invocation - Réveil de Juliette
6. La Mer, symphonic sketches (3) for orchestra, L. 109
   - I. De l'aube à midi sur la mer
7. La Mer, symphonic sketches (3) for orchestra, L. 109
   - II. Jeux de vagues
8. La Mer, symphonic sketches (3) for orchestra, L. 109
   - III. Dialogue du vent et de la mer
9. Salome's Dance, for orchestra (from the opera; aka "Dance of the Seven Veils") (TrV 215a)

One of the great conductors of the twentieth century? Dimitri Mitropoulos? Really? Certainly. He didn't conduct Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, or Brahms. He favored late nineteenth and early twentieth century composers like Mahler, Berg, and Schoenberg. He was also a dictator, a saint, a martyr, and from all reports one of the most charismatic conductors of his time. But while there's not much of Mitropoulos left in print, if there was only this two-disc set, there would still be enough to support the notion that Mitropoulos was one of the great conductors of the twentieth century. To start with, there's the magnificent 1959 WDR Orchestra recording of Mahler's Sixth: the most excruciatingly intense performance of the piece ever recorded. Then there are the stupendous 1952 New York Philharmonic excerpts from Berlioz's Romeo et Juliette: the most inexorably compelling performances of the piece ever recorded. Then there's the astounding 1950 New York Philharmonic recording of Debussy's La Mer: the most intellectually ecstatic peformance of the piece ever recorded. And finally, there's the lubricious 1956 New York Philharmonic Strauss' "Dance of the Seven Veils" from Salome: the most sexually orgasmic performance of the piece ever recorded. EMI's digital remasterings of Columbia and the West German Radio's originals are superb. ~ James Leonard, All Music Guide

Name Credits Dennis Collins Liner Note Translation Dimitri Mitropoulos Conductor John Patrick Executive Producer Lucy Blakeson Production Assistant Lys Appleby Production Coordination Michael P. Tanner Liner Notes Paul Baily Remastering Peter Sloper Design, Art Direction Reinhard Luthje Liner Note Translation Stephen Wright Executive Producer WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln Orchestra