Igor Markevitch - Un véritable artiste (9CD) (2003)

Now that Deutsche Grammophon is part of Universal, we have seen some interesting things happen, and not all of them bad. What I'm referring to in this case is the new "Original Masters" Limited Edition Box Set series. Finally, the classical music world has taken a page out of the jazz reissue handbook -- put out a quality product featuring rare recordings but make its availability limited, and people will snatch it up.

Now in its second round of the "Original Masters" box sets, DG has chosen to follow-up on the success of the "Great Conductors of the Century" series. They have just released two glorious 9-disc collections of the performances of conductors Igor Markevitch and Ferenc Fricsay, the vast majority of which have been previously unavailable on CD.

This particular set, "Un Veritable Artiste," showcases some of the numerous recordings made by the great conductor Igor Markevitch for Deutsche Grammophon and Philips, many of which have been rare (and expensive) collector's items for years. As the track information is non-existent above, I will try to be of assistance.

The first disc contains Mozart's 34th and 38th Symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic (BP) from 1954, and Mozart's 35th Symphony (1957) and Gluck's Sinfonia in G Major (1958) with the Orchestre Lamoureux, Paris (OLP).

Disc two features Haydn's Sinfonia Concertante (OLP, 1957), Cimarosa's Concerto for Two Flutes with flutists Aurele Nicolet and Fritz Demmler (BP, 1954) and Schubert's 3rd Symphony (BP, 1954).

Discs three and four are all Beethoven, with the exception of an insightful 15-minute, 1957 interview with Markveitch. Here we get Leonore III Overture (OLP, 1958), 3rd Symphony (Symphony of the Air, 1956-57), 6th Symphony (OLP, 1957), and the Coriolan, Fidelio, Name Day and Consecration of the House Overtures (all OLP, 1958).

Disc five is all Brahms -- the 1st Symphony with Symphony of the Air (1956), and the Alto Rhapsody (with the Russian State Academy Choir) and Tragic Overture with the USSR State Symphony Orchestra (both 1963).

Disc six continues with Brahms, his 4th Symphony (OLP, 1958), and ends with Kodaly's Psalmus Hungaricus with tenor Robert Ilosfalvy (RSA Choir & USSR SSO, 1963).

Disc seven focuses on orchestral music from the operas of Wagner. Here we have the Preludes to Acts I and III of Lohengrin and the Tannhauser Overture (all OLP, 1958), and Venusberg Music from Tannhauser, Siegfired-Idyll and The Ride of the Valkyries (all BP, 1954).

Disc eight features all French fare with Gounod's 2nd Symphony and Bizet's Jeux d'enfants (both OLP, 1957), and Debussy's La Mer and Deux Danses (both OLP, 1959).

The final disc, number nine, wraps things up with Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony (BP, 1953) and Francesca da Rimini (OLP, 1959).

Despite the fact that many of these recordings are in mono (mostly the pre-1957 ones), the first rate performances more than compensate for any audio shortcomings. The stereo performances are the warm, glowing and brilliant accounts that vintage collectors have appreciated for years.