Catalogue | Orchestra

Igor Markevitch personified the modern conductor during the post-war years. For him, the most important aspects of performance were rhythmic precision, a transparent orchestral sound and a formal balance. He thus frequently managed to present works in a new perspective.
In the present recordings with the RIAS Symphony Orchestra made in the 1950s, Schubert’s Third Symphony is presented in a vibrant and elegant interpretation whilst the Ballet Suites by Roussel and de Falla are depicted with radiant colours and fascinating verve. Markevitch, born in Kiev, demonstrates his special affinity with Russian repertoire in his own orchestration of Mussorgsky songs which he performed with the Latvian soprano Mascia Predit in Berlin.

The production is part of our series „Legendary Recordings“ and bears the quality feature „1st Master Release“. This term stands for the excellent quality of archival productions at audite. For all historical publications at audite are based, without exception, on the original tapes from broadcasting archives. In general these are the original analogue tapes, which attain an astonishingly high quality, even measured by today‘s standards, with their tape speed of up to 76 cm/sec. The remastering – professionally competent and sensitively applied – also uncovers previously hidden details of the interpretations. Thus, a sound of superior quality results. CD publications based on private recordings from broadcasts cannot be compared with these.

• Audiophile Audition | Gary Lemco | August 30, 2009

  Attached to the Markevitch intellectual scalpel was a driving, often explosively exciting sense of rhythm. - Igor Markevitch (1912-1983), sometimes...

• CD Compact | Benjamín Fontvella | January 12, 2009

  Markevitch fue uno de los directores más personales de la segunda mitad del siglo xx, un intelectual riguroso, compositor notable y vanguardista sin...

• Diapason | François Laurent | January 11, 2009

  S'affirmant après 1945 comme un chef d'orchestre d'envergure internationale, Igor Markevitch n'oublie pas qu'il a été lancé dans le monde par...

• Die Welt | Manuel Brug | September 9, 2009

  [...] Weich fließende Farben werden hier gleichsam aus den Tasten...

• Diverdi Magazin | Arturo Reverter | January 11, 2009

  Tensión e impulso rítmico
  Don nuevas recuperaciones del arte directorial de Igor Markevitch en Audite
  Igor Markevitch dejó un gran recuerdo en España tras su años como titular de la Orquesta de la RTVE, que nació, en 1965, bajo su autoritaria...

• Fanfare | James Miller | January 1, 2010

  Born in 1911 in the Ukraine, Igor Markevitch was truly a citizen of the world, having held conducting positions in France, Spain, Monte Carlo, Italy,...

• Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung | Jan Brachmann | August 25, 2009

  Alles ging ihm leicht von der Hand
  Die Dirigentenkarriere von Igor Markewitsch begann erst nach Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs, als sein Spezialgebiet galt die Musik seines Landsmanns Strawinsky. Das „Sacre“ ist ein Glanzstück in dieser Serie von Wiederveröffentlichungen aus dem Berliner RIAS-Archiv
  Mal angenommen, wir stellen uns Franz Schubert mit einer Eistüte in der...

• International Record Review | January 10, 2009

  Markevitch, Rabin, De Vito, Fricsay and Gulda on Audite
  Igor Markevitch was at the height of his powers in the early 1950s and two discs of broadcast recording' with the RIAS SO, Berlin, have appeared on...

• Karlsruher Kurier | Alexander Werner | September 25, 2009

  Selbst in Kennerkreisen wird Igor Markevitch heute in seiner ganzen Bedeutung oft unterschätzt. Als glänzender Dirigent der Moderne und des...

• Rondo | Guido Fischer | August 26, 2009

  Der gebürtige Russe Igor Markevitch zählt bis heute zu den unbestritten scharfsinnigsten Dirigenten und versiertesten Sachverwaltern der klassischen...

• Scherzo | Enrique Pérez Adrián | January 12, 2008

  Gulda y otras joyas
  El sello alemán Audite (distribuidor: Diverdi) nos trae un nuevo lanzamiento en el que destaca un álbum de 4 CDs dedicado a los primeros años del...

• Schwäbische Zeitung | Reinhold Mann | September 15, 2009

  Erinnerung an Igor Markevitch
  Präzision, Sachlichkeit und Klangfarben sind Stichworte, die man mit den Interpretationen des russischen Dirigenten und Komponisten Igor Markevitch...

• Stereoplay | Michael Stegemann | January 10, 2009

  „Bis ins letzte ausgeschliffen, jedoch etwas zu sehr mit unpersönlicher,...

• www.ClassicsToday.com | David Hurwitz | November 30, 1999

  Recorded in 1952/53, these performances show Igor Markevitch at his incisive best, even if the somewhat grotty-sounding RIAS Symphony Orchestra isn't...