Here's an early Urania stereo release of Rossini Overtures performed by the Pasdeloup Orchestra under the estimable Rene Leibowitz. The usual suspects are here, La Gazza Ladra, William Tell, Semiramide and The Italian Girl in Algiers. All are splendidly rendered by this most French of orchestras under its cosmopolitan maestro.
Rene Leibowitz was one of the last century's best kept secrets. Polish born, he spent most of his adult life in France concentrating on composing, teaching, advocating 20th century music and keeping alive the great French opera/operetta tradition of the 19th century. This man had an enormous repetoire from early Baroque to cutting edge modern masters in fact, one may be able to say that only Hermann Scherchen conducted more styles, traditions and periods the Leibowitz.
Perhaps though, Leibowitz's greatest recorded legacy were series of Reader's Digest recordings that he collaborated on with the great producer Charles Gerhardt while in London during the 1960's. Having at his disposal such great orchestras as the LPO and RPO, Leibowitz set down magnificent accounts of the great musical masters, the highlight being a superlative Beethoven cycle that many critics have placed at the very top in their rankings....some say it is THE set for all time. That set is available on Chesky and I would encourage everyone to seek it out; the playing, the fidelity to the score and the conductorial vision is what sets it apart from all others. It is a treasure.
I hope you like these Rossini overtures. I will shortly be posting Leibowitz's take on the Respighi-Rossini Le Boutique Fantastique.
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