About this Artist

• Biography

Editorial Reviews

Ernest Ansermet enthusiasts will be thrilled by the items chosen for inclusion in this six-disc set dedicated to the Swiss conductor with L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the orchestra he founded and led. Many of them are first international CD releases -- Haydn's "Symphony No. 22," Beethoven's "Symphony No. 4," and Sibelius' "Symphony No. 4," along with nine others -- while some of them are well-known and well-loved recordings from the conductor's huge catalog -- Stravinsky's "Pulcinella Suite," Ravel's "Le tombeau de Couperin," and Honegger's "Le roi David," along with 14 others. Some enthusiasts may be disappointed by the inclusion of only two works by Stravinsky, one work by Ravel, and none at all by Debussy, composers with whom Ansermet was closely associated during his lifetime, but most will already have heard his recordings of those composers and feel more than compensated by the inclusion of so many works from outside Ansermet's standard repertoire. Indeed, for some, the inclusion of Ansermet's bone-chilling Sibelius "Fourth," with its doleful melancholy and its ringing tubular bells in the finale, will be enough to make this set mandatory. Listeners not already familiar with Ansermet's art may want to try a single disc first -- his combination of textural lucidity and interpretive intensity with the not-always-world-class playing of the Swiss orchestra may be tough going for those used to warmer conducting and cleaner playing -- but then, this six-disc set wasn't aimed at the unconverted but rather at the dedicated enthusiast. London's sound, whether monaural from the '50s or stereo from the '60s, is consistently deep, rich, and round. James Leonard, All Music Guide

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