Mmmm, nice! That "Petrushka" ties with Monteux's 1959 RCA recording for my favorite. The sound is simply amazing; listening in a dark room the whole orchestral seating is obvious and has such a great sense of depth...one of those remarkable recordings one plays for others whether they want to listen or not!

One of the best sounding orchestral recordings I have is Ansermet's Prokofiev Cinderella Ballet suites. The sound quality is extraordinary. The entire orchestra sounds beautiful and the way the brass fills the soundstage after the the stroke of midnight is astonishing.

I have the Classic Records Reissue of The Royal Ballet too...and you're right: Best recording of "The Nutcracker" etc....a masterpiece!

Superb video, another great chapter in this terrific series. I have the Esoteric but not the Speakers Corner Falla, so I’m particularly anxious for your review & comparison. Thanks for another thoughtful, insight-filled video.

Ansermet's stereo Three Cornered Hat is easily among the greatest recordings ever made of anything by anyone at any time. It is truly perfect in just about every way. There just isn't a weak spot anywhere.

I have many of these on open reel tape, and BOY do they sound amazing.

Some of my favorites! Great video. I had my London version of Debussy Images on my turntable last night and accidentally let it slip out of the sleeve. I think it's undamaged but I'll find out later tonight!

Stravinsky's Symphony in C was written for the 50th anniversary of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1940. Stravinsky conducted the CSO in the premiere.

I believe the magic achieved by the Decca engineers in Geneva is due to several factors. 1. The transparent string textures with clear wind/brass attacks cultivated by Ansermet 2. The perfect sweet spot in a beautiful acoustic space. 3. A Decca team who developed "The Decca Tree" that worked perfectly in that hall. 4. And a conductor who didn't over interpret the music. His approach was clean, clear textures and natural, unforced phrasing. The strings played with minimal vibrato, emphasizing the clear texture more so. In his wonderful Haydn symphonies, one might even posit that Ansermet was ahead of the game when it came to period string technique. The main issue many critics have with this orchestra is the general sound and intonation of the WW section, and...once you get past the marvelous first trumpet, Paolo Longinotti, and a very fine first horn, Leloir....the brass tend to be a bit weak in tone overall. The WWs are quite bright and piquant in color, but often aren't very well in tune. This will not bother many a listener....obvious, as Ansermet's recording are still prized by collectors to this day.....including myself.

Ansermet was a mathematician before he became a conductor.

Great Vid Antony, the covers came across very well, liked the scores and the release date and reissue much thx

Thanks for this video. You just don't have Ansermet's name pop up as often these days...and it should. When I was in undergrad school our conductor (Peter Perret) who was also Music Director of our local pro orchestra had been a student of Ansermet in Geneva, so that's how I was exposed to the Maestro. Perret did tell me many years after graduation that DECCA would & insisted on the biggest/expensive recording projects with OSR bring in principal's, featured instrumental soloist from London, Amsterdam, and Germany. Interesting info, but no big deal to me... In fact the thing I like about the stereo OSR recordings is the rawness, struggle, challenge. I feel it brings an edge to the performances that actually adds to the final product.

I read an interesting bio on the famous Decca engineer Roy Wallace and he used three Telefunken Neumann M-49 cardioid microphones in the Decca tree with baffles to record the SRO with Ansermet in Victoria Hall Geneva.