Constantin Silvestri – The Legendary Conductor (15 CD box set, APE)

Audio CD
Number of Discs: 15 CD box set
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: EMI
Size: 4.84 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

Symphony no 7 in D minor, Op. 70/B 141 by Antonín Dvorák
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Romanian Rhapsody no 1 in A major, Op. 11 no 1 by George Enescu
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Hungarian Rhapsodies (6) for Orchestra, S 359: no 4 in D minor by Franz Liszt
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Symphony no 8 in G major, Op. 88/B 163 by Antonín Dvorák
London Philharmonic Orchestra

Carnival Overture, Op. 92 by Antonín Dvorák
London Philharmonic Orchestra

Slavonic Dances (8) for Orchestra, Op. 46/B 83: no 1 in C major, Furiant by Antonín Dvorák
Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire Paris

Slavonic Dances (8) for Orchestra, Op. 46/B 83: no 2 in E minor, Dumka by Antonín Dvorák
Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire Paris

Symphony no 5 in D minor, Op. 47 by Dmitri Shostakovich
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Love for Three Oranges Suite, Op. 33a by Sergei Prokofiev
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Gayaneh: Excerpt(s) by Aram Khachaturian
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Rapsodie espagnole by Maurice Ravel
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Prince Igor: Overture by Alexander Borodin
Philharmonia Orchestra

El amor brujo: Danza rituel del fuego “Ritual Fire Dance” by Manuel de Falla
Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire Paris

La vida breve: Interlude and Dance by Manuel de Falla
Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire Paris

May Night: Overture by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Philharmonia Orchestra

Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture, in E major Op. 21 by Felix Mendelssohn
Philharmonia Orchestra

Scheherazade, Op. 35 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Russlan and Ludmilla: Overture by Mikhail Glinka
Philharmonia Orchestra

In the steppes of central Asia by Alexander Borodin
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Night on the Bare Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Symphony in D minor, M 48 by César Franck
Philharmonia Orchestra

Pavane pour une infante défunte by Maurice Ravel
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

L’apprenti sorcier by Paul Dukas
Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire Paris

Danse macabre in G minor, Op. 40 by Camille Saint-Saëns
Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire Paris

Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

The wasps: Overture by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Finlandia, Op. 26 by Jean Sibelius
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

1812 Overture, Op. 49 by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Capriccio italien, Op. 45 by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Eugene Onegin, Op. 24: Polonaise by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Symphony in Three Movements by Igor Stravinsky
Philharmonia Orchestra

Chant du rossignol by Igor Stravinsky
Philharmonia Orchestra

Les préludes, S 97 by Franz Liszt
Philharmonia Orchestra

Nocturnes (3) for Orchestra by Claude Debussy
Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire Paris

La mer by Claude Debussy
Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire Paris

Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune by Claude Debussy
Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire Paris

Boléro by Maurice Ravel
Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire Paris

Symphony “Mathis der Maler” by Paul Hindemith
Philharmonia Orchestra

Divertimento for String Orchestra, Sz 113 by Béla Bartók
Philharmonia Orchestra

Tasso – Lamento e trionfo, S 96 by Franz Liszt
Philharmonia Orchestra

Prince Igor: Polovtsian Dances by Alexander Borodin
Philharmonia Orchestra

Hänsel und Gretel: Overture by Engelbert Humperdinck
Philharmonia Orchestra

Symphony no 4 in F minor, Op. 36 by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Philharmonia Orchestra

Symphony no 5 in E minor, Op. 64 by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Philharmonia Orchestra

Symphony no 6 in B minor, Op. 74 “Pathétique” by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Philharmonia Orchestra

Symphony no 9 in E minor, Op. 95/B 178 “From the New World” by Antonín Dvorák
French National Radio Orchestra

In the South, Op. 50 “Alassio” by Sir Edward Elgar
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Der Freischütz, J 277: Overture by Carl Maria von Weber
Philharmonia Orchestra

L’apprenti sorcier by Paul Dukas
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14 by Hector Berlioz
Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire Paris

Hungarian Dances (21) for Orchestra, WoO 1: no 5 in G minor by Johannes Brahms
Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire Paris

Hungarian Dances (21) for Orchestra, WoO 1: no 6 in D major by Johannes Brahms
Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire Paris

Manfred Symphony in B minor, Op. 58 by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
ORTF National Orchestra

Wonderful 15 cd set.

This is truly a great collection of an under rated conductor who died in 1969 at the early age of 55.(just look at the picture at what he is holding to see why) But that aside he was a truly good to excellent music director who led the Bournemouth Symphony from 1961-1969.
Others on this site have pretty much given a complete run down as to the contents and performances. I just have a personal connection with one of the discs on this set. And that is the recording of Tchaikovsky’s 4th symphony, which was recorded in 1957 and was gotten by me in 1960 from the Angel (EMI) record club if I remember correctly. Wow, did I ever love that LP. I used to play it over and over again. It was a rousing and emotional experience and I just loved it. I was 17 at the time and was just starting to collect classical music on LPs. So I just had to get this set to hear that again. To me , it is still one of the great recordings of this work, very emotional with an especially thrilling ending to the last movement. And in restored good sound as are all in this set of recordings from 1957-1969. What a rousing reading of the 1812 overture, very exciting to say the least, done in a little over 15 minutes! Everything on this set I enjoyed. Some other of my favorites were music by Liszt, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Debussy and Elgar( A great reading of his ‘In the South overture’) and many more all in really fine sound.
Very highly recommended.

Jeff Lipscomb was right – Silvestri is a genius!

I came to Silvestri through Jeff Lipscomb (that savant reviewer after whom I shall name a good park bench). Where to begin to describe the wonders of this set? Take Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique…I had not listened to this marvelous score for about a year, so before popping Silvestri in, I started with Davis’s LSO (1965 or something like that) on Philips – by the time the waltz came around, I had to escape that studiously serviceable recording. You have to be able to listen a reference recording through. Not this one. I moved to Cluytens from the Great Conductors series…just the waltz. Much more interesting but not very characterful. To hell with it, let’s go to Silvestri. I did what I rarely do when listening to a piece. I skipped ahead…to the waltz. Massive cobweb clearing moment, this. Such tremendously inspired orchestral characterization! I have not heard such play made with the oboes and the low strings. And the pizzicati shaping the phrases..he makes you hear it! At 5:07 hear how he makes the dancers positively take off…such impeccably controlled abandonment. Like Kleiber (son) in the Freischutz overture reprise. This set is going to be a tremendous source of joy.