Constantin Silvestri - Silvestri in Philadelphia (1961) [2016]

Constantin Silvestri's sole broadcast with the Philadelphia Orchestra - previously unissued

"Once again, Pristine Classical has come up with a superb live Philadelphia Orchestra recording" - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Constantin Silvestri was best remembered for his work in England, most specifically the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, a fine ensemble with which he made a number of recordings. Here we find him with what was at the time one of the greatest orchestras in the world: The Philadelphia Orchestra. This superb stereo recording captures his only broadcast with the orchestra and may therefore be the only recording of him in Philadelphia. Culled from perfectly preserved master tapes, it follows previous Pristine releases featuring the orchestra in this era under the batons of Stokowski and Klemperer in offering the outstanding playing of the Philadelphia in stunning performances - most particularly of the Manfred Symphony - recorded in superb high quality stereo sound and requiring minimal intervention from the restorer to present the present programme with superlative sonics.

The programme on 25 November 1961, 55 years to the day prior to this issue, also included a short work by Silvestri himself: Prelude and Fugue Toccata, Op. 17a, No. 2. Alas this makes for a recording just a couple of minutes too long for a single CD - you can instead find it as a free download from our website.


Andrew Rose


Tracks:

TCHAIKOVSKY Manfred Symphony
BRITTEN The Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra
Bonus:
SILVESTRI Prelude and Fugue Toccata, Op. 17a, No. 2


Personnel:

The Philadelphia Orchestra
Constantin Silvestri, conductor