Charles Dutoit & Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal - The Montreal Yea [35CD Remastered Limited Edition] (2016)

What a fabulous treasure this is! Audiophiles have long treasures these recordings made from 1980 to 1996. The Montreal project was the idea of Ray Minshull, a quiet, gentle figure in the recording industry. He had worked with John Culshall (who produced Decca's legendary Ring recording). Beginning in 1967 Minshull was head of the label's classical division, and head of Decca from 1981until he retired in 1994. He was the mastermind behind the Dutoit/Montreal recordings. Decca had been looking for an appropriate conductor to record French repertory and they found him in Charles Dutoit, who already had achieved remarkable acclaim in a wide variety of repertory. He was appointed Music Director of the Montreal Symphony in 1977 and resigned in 2002 because of a tiff with several musicians. Jacques Lacombe was principal guest conductor until 2006 when Kernt Nagano was named Music Director.

It was found that acoustics of Montreal's Église de Saint-Eustache were perfect for recording, and when the first recordings were released they were universally praised not only for their audio quality, but the high level of performances.

The list above surely is impressive, but it does seem a bit odd that Decca selected only these recordings. So many are missing including the Berlioz Requiem, Liszt concertos with Thibaudet, Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky concertos with Bolet, orchestral works of Kodaly, Shostakovich, and many other composers. It does seem strange that more Tchaikovsky isn't here including 1812, the violin concerto (with Kyung Wha Chung) and the last three symphonies. However, this is a first-class production, and a limited edition.