Click on the link here for Audio Player – Debussy: Rhapsodie for Saxophone and Orchestra – Daniel Deffayet, Sax – ORTF Orchestra, Eugenè Bigot, conductor – ORTF – circa 1962.
Something familiar with this week. Perhaps not as familiar as some of the works of Claude Debussy, the Rhapsodie for Saxophone and Orchestra in a (circa) 1962 Paris Radio broadcast featuring the ORTF Orchestra, led by the legendary Eugenè Bigot and featuring the French Saxophone virtuoso Daniel Deffayet as soloist.
Debusssy was reported not to have been particularly fond of the saxophone. But the truth of the matter was, he knew very little about the instrument and, had it not been for a commission to write a piece specifically for Saxophone, he most likely never would have embarked on that particular musical exercise.
But time has proven otherwise, and the Rhapsodie for Saxophone and Orchestra is one of the enduring works in the Debussy canon.
And this historic recording hasn’t been reissued in any form, and most likely hasn’t been heard since it was first recorded.
Enjoy the notes.
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An incredible document, historical, from 2 great artists. THX
I’m so glad you like them. I’ve been slowly getting around to broadcasts from the 1960s and find a lot of interesting performances there. There will be more on the way! – Gordon