I'm very pleased to have discovered this excellent record of 18th century music led by the highly talented and tragically short lived Thomas Schippers. Here, we have a program of 18th century compositions by Italian born composers. Vivaldi was a well known entity by the 1950's though Durante and Salieri were seldom heard when Schippers set down this record. The release of this lp must have been quite a novelty. I'm not sure if this was the first record made by Maestro Schippers but what I can say is that it is an impressive outing for a conductor not yet out of his 20's.
It's sad that Thomas Schippers did not have the opportunity to have the long and successful career that he was destined for. Certainly one of the most gifted of his generation, he possessed a wide repertoire and moved with ease between the concert hall and the opera house. I'd say he was probably the American version of a Carlo Maria Giulini and had he lived far longer, he would probably have become one of the best known and most respected of podium leaders.
