The Paris Conservatory Orchestra, lead by the legendary Andrè Cluytens at the 1951 Besancon Festival in a performance of La Peri by Paul Dukas.
Andrè Cluytens belongs to the era when style and musicianship coupled with impeccable phrasing were the key elements to performance. In 1932 he accepted a position as the musical director of orchestral concerts at the Capitole de Toulouse, and he became a French citizen. In 1935 was appointed the opera director in Lyons. He was an assistant of Josef Krips in a summer series in Vichy and, once again, was called on to substitute when that conductor could not perform. He became musical director of the Lyons Opera in 1942, conductor of the Conservatoire Concerts and the French National Radio Orchestra in Paris in 1943, and in 1944 conducted at the Opéra de Paris. From 1947 to 1953 Andrè was music director of the Paris Opéra-Comique, and in 1949 was appointed as principal conductor of the Conservatory Concerts.
In the years since I initially posted this, I found out this recording hasn’t been re-issued and the originals seem to have gone missing, or are sitting in some dark basement somewhere in Paris. (update: according to a reader they are not – and that’s a huge relief!)
All I know is, this is a wonderful performance by a great orchestra lead by an iconic conductor.
In the meantime . . .
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