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A conductor of incandescent energy and exquisite refinement, Guido Cantelli was born in Novara in 1920. His rise to international prominence began in 1948, when he captured Arturo Toscanini’s attention at La Scala. Just eight years later, en route to New York, he was killed in a plane crash near Paris. Covering the intense period between 1949 and 1956, this 10-disc set includes recordings made in London, New York and Rome, with all LP-era items newly remastered from the original tapes in 192kHz/24-bit. Complementing the music, and bearing further testimony to Cantelli’s electrifying influence in the concert hall and recording studio, is a biographical disc featuring interviews with orchestral musicians who performed under his baton.
Arturo Toscanini discovered him during a 1948 rehearsal at La Scala and invited him to conduct the NBC Symphony in New York in January 1949. Widely considered as Toscanini’s heir, the very demanding Cantelli was invited by most prestigious orchestras in the world including New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, La Scala, Philharmonia Orchestra... He tragically died in a plane crash on 24 November 1956 at the age of 36, just after having been named artistic director of La Scala. The complete recordings he did for EMI now Warner - which represent a large part of his recorded legacy - are here complemented by a documentary by Jon Tolansky and by a Beethoven 5th Symphony rehearsal session released for the first time. All the recordings have been remastered in HD from original tapes.
Disc ONE:
PYOTR IL'YICH TCHAIKOVSKY
(1840–1893)
Symphony No.5 in E minor Op.64
Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Milano
Recorded : 23 & 26.IX.1950, No.1 Studio, Abbey Road, London
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
(1792–1868)
L'assedio di Corinto: Overture
ALFREDO CASELLA
(1883–1947)
Paganiniana Op.65
Orchestra e Coro dell' Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Roma
Recorded : 9, 13 & 14.V.1949, Teatro Argentina, Rome
Disc TWO:
PYOTR IL'YICH TCHAIKOVSKY
(1840–1893)
Romeo and Juliet – Fantasy Overture
RICHARD WAGNER
(1813–1883)
Siegfried Idyll
Dennis Brain horn
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
(1809–1847)
Symphony No.4 in A major Op.90 ‘Italian'
Recorded : 12, 13, 16.X.1951, No.1 Studio, Abbey Road, London
Disc THREE:
PYOTR IL'YICH TCHAIKOVSKY
(1840–1893)
Symphony No.6 in B minor Op.74 'Pathétique'
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
(1792–1868)
La gazza ladra: Overture
Philharmonia Orchestra
Recorded : 22-25 & 28.X.1952, Royal Festival Hall, London
Disc FOUR:
ROBERT SCHUMANN
(1810–1856)
Symphony No.4 in D minor Op.120
JOHANNES BRAHMS
(1833–1897)
Symphony No.1 in C minor Op.68
Philharmonia Orchestra
Recorded : 15 & 21-22.V.1953, Kingsway Hall, London
Disc FIVE:
MAURICE RAVEL
(1875–1937)
Pavane pour une infante défunte
Philharmonia Orchestra
Recorded : 24-25.X.1952, Royal Festival Hall, London
MANUEL DE FALLA
(1876–1946)
El sombrero de tres picos
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
(1862–1918)
Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
PAUL DUKAS
(1865–1935)
L'Apprenti sorcier
Philharmonia Orchestra
Recorded : 1 & 8-9.VI.1954, Kingsway Hall, London
CÉSAR FRANCK
(1822–1890)
Symphony in D minor
NBC Symphony Orchestra
Recorded : 6.IV.1954, Carnegie Hall, New York
Disc SIX:
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
(1862–1918)
La mer
Recorded : 13-14.IX.1954, Kingsway Hall, London
Le martyre de Saint Sébastian
Recorded : 4 & 8.VI, Kingsway Hall, London
Nocturnes
Recorded : 4 & 6.VIII.1955, Kingsway Hall, London
MAURICE RAVEL
(1875–1937)
Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No.2
Philharmonia Orchestra
Recorded : 28.V.1956, Kingsway Hall, London
Disc SEVEN:
FRANZ SCHUBERT
(1797–1828)
Symphony No. 8 in B minor D759 'Unfinished'
Philharmonia Orchestra
Recorded : 18.VIII.1955, Kingsway Hall, London
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
(1809–1847)
Symphony No.4 in A major Op.90 ‘Italian'
Philharmonia Orchestra
Recorded : 12, 13 & 16.VIII.1955, Kingsway Hall, London
Disc EIGHT:
JOHANNES BRAHMS
(1833–1897)
Symphony No.3 in F major, Op.90
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
(1756–1791)
A Musical Joke K522
Philharmonia Orchestra
Recorded : 8, 9, 12, 16 & 18.VIII.1955, Kingsway Hall, London
Symphony No.29 in A major K201
Philharmonia Orchestra
Recorded : 28-31.V.1956, Kingsway Hall, London
Disc NINE:
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
(1770–1827)
Symphony No.7 in A major Op.92
Philharmonia Orchestra
Recorded : 28-31.V.1956, Kingsway Hall, London
Symphony No.5 in C minor Op.67
Recording Sessions of Symphony No.5 in C minor Op.67
[extracts]
Philharmonia Orchestra
Recorded : 31.V & 1, 4 & 5.VI.1956, Kingsway Hall, London
Disc TEN:
Remembering Guido Cantelli
Written, narrated and produced by Jon Tolansky
Introduction
Beethoven Symphony No.5: Finale • Narration
Introduction • first recordings
Casella Paganiniana • Narration
Cantelli's impact
Narration - Hugh Bean • Hugh Maguire
Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet
Cantelli's perfectionism
Narration
Mendelssohn Symphony No.4 'Italian': Finale
Recording sessions
Narration - Hugh Bean • Gareth Morris • John Cave
Ravel Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No.2 in rehearsal
The Philharmonia and Cantelli
Narration - Hugh Bean
Debussy La mer: Jeux de vagues)
Recording sessions
Narration - Hugh Bean
Brahms Symphony No.3: Finale
Cantelli's impact on the audience
Narration - Bernard Dennis-Browne
Beethoven Symphony No.5: Scherzo in rehearsal – in performance
Cantelli's final recording and death
Narration - Bernard Dennis-Browne
Beethoven Symphony No.5: Finale
