Thoughts on Igor Markevitch?
As you can probably guess from my previous posts, Markevitch is one of my favourite “unsung” conductors*.
For those unfamiliar with his work, his aesthetics were decidedly neo-classical. He favoured transparent textures and incisive, muscular phrasing. Although uninfluenced by the authentic performance movement, he often brought the timpani to the fore, which worked wonders in classical-era repertoire. He was also a great orchestra trainer, which let us savour the distinctive sounds of the orchestras he conducted, whether it be the Orchestre Lamoureux, the Czech Philharmonic or the Concertgebouw, without the imprecisions sometimes found on recordings by other conductors.
But his most important legacy is no doubt his promotion of, especially in his day, lesser-known composers. His recordings brought Berwald, Cherubini, Victoria, Mompou and others to the international stage. And many of those recordings remain the definitive versions of the respective works today.
What are your favourite recordings by him?
——————————————————— *N.B. I am aware that Markevitch wrote music, although I have to admit that I do not enjoy his work as a composer nearly as much as his work as a conductor.
As you can probably guess from my previous posts, Markevitch is one of my favourite “unsung” conductors*.
For those unfamiliar with his work, his aesthetics were decidedly neo-classical. He favoured transparent textures and incisive, muscular phrasing. Although uninfluenced by the authentic performance movement, he often brought the timpani to the fore, which worked wonders in classical-era repertoire. He was also a great orchestra trainer, which let us savour the distinctive sounds of the orchestras he conducted, whether it be the Orchestre Lamoureux, the Czech Philharmonic or the Concertgebouw, without the imprecisions sometimes found on recordings by other conductors.
But his most important legacy is no doubt his promotion of, especially in his day, lesser-known composers. His recordings brought Berwald, Cherubini, Victoria, Mompou and others to the international stage. And many of those recordings remain the definitive versions of the respective works today.
What are your favourite recordings by him?
——————————————————— *N.B. I am aware that Markevitch wrote music, although I have to admit that I do not enjoy his work as a composer nearly as much as his work as a conductor.