Ernest Ansermet -- A Portrait (VIDEO, 1963)

Historic footage of the great Swiss conductor Ernest Ansermet (1883-1969) rehearsing Haydn and De Falla with (members of) the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and sharing some of his views on conducting and music (in French). Filmed in 1963.

[@santiagodeloscaballeros3743]

Ernest Ansermet peut sans aucun doute être considéré comme l'un des meilleurs chefs d'orchestre. Un parfait honnête homme et un musicien exceptionnel que sa modestie honoré.Merci de tout cœur pour la diffusion de cet excellent reportage!

[@lionelthiebaud7081]

Excellente analyse

[@carlosfranciscoperez-velay4362]

I always admired Mr. Ansermet & the OSR. This video is superb. Thank you for sharing it.

[@Phalces]

How I wish there were subtitles. Ansermet is my absolute favorite for Beethoven's symphonies

[@antoniboleslawowicz8095]

Ansermet’s recording of Albéric Magnard’s third symphony, which if I remember rightly was one of his last recordings, was utterly marvelous. Ansermet was good at a lot of repertory, despite his just renown as an interpreter of French music. Does anyone know if his book “Foundations of Music in Human Consciousness” -- maybe that is not an accurate rendering of the title in English -- exists in an English translation? Years ago I came across a German translation. This is the book in which he dismissed the twelve-tone technique as “dead theory”, and his friend Stravinsky did not speak to him for years because of this.

[@4cyran]

TAK !

[@jimstokes6742]

Thanks for posting! Marvelous! Am reading about recording London Decca classical music called PUTTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT.

[@diegoruvalcabapena5240]

Es grandioso que haya algunas grabaciones del maestro Ansermet, son muy pocos videos de este gran director de orquesta Suiza

[@JamesVaughan]

Thanks for this footage. I collected so many of Ansermet's Decca LPs in the '60s, '70s and early '80s. I especially loved his recordings of the French repertoire - I adored his Franck Symphony, for example. For me the great Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, which Ansermet founded and was one of Europe's premier orchestras for many years - probably ranking with the LSO, Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, and the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonics, was never the same after his death, and, tell me so if you don't agree, seemed to decline after that. I couldn't even tell you who the present leader of the orchestra is.

[@JamesVaughan]

The OSR has had some fine conductors since Ansermet (just did a bit of digging) - Wolfgang Sawallisch, for example. I see that the orchestra's present conductor, finishing his tenure this year, is Neeme Järvi (an outstanding Sibelius exponent).

[@norahdealmeida5847]

I totally agree that the great Orchestre de la Suisse Romande was one of Europe's premier orchestras really ranking with Concertgebouwm, Vienna and Berlin!

[@TheVaughan5]

I'm not convinced that the O.S.R. was ever in the same league as the Concertgebouw or a few of the other top European orchestras but Ansermet was certainly a master interpreter of many great works. I am very grateful to him for introducing me to wonderful music (via his marvellous Decca/London recordings from the Victoria Hall Geneva) outside the usual "core repertoire". E.g. 3rd symphonies by Magnard and Honneger, "Faust" symphony by Liszt to name a few.

[@baronofbeef]

I discovered Ansermet and the OSR through buying an original Rites of Spring on London Decca at the Salvation Army next my old job. So in one buy I was introduced to Stravinsky and the OSR. The dynamics of those recordings are excellant. So whenever I so his name I'd buy it. I've heard that the OSR weren't the best but I like thm. I really don't know much of classical music like I do other genres but anyone who can keep an orchestra together for over 50 years is pretty special.

[@delvallelattanzio]

Thanks for uploading. Subtitles would be great

[@antoniboleslawowicz8095]

Is that a Pleyel harpsichord that Ms. Marlowe is playing? It has a wonderfully incisive sound.

[@marccikes3429]

History proved him right about atonal music.

[@pianopera]

Indeed!

[@charlescoleman5509]

Except that he openly said that atonal/serial music was "a jewish idea". CRINGE!!!!

[@michaelstearnes1526]

​@@charlescoleman5509Sadly, his anti-Semitism marred an otherwise excellent reputation. I enjoyed his recordings tremendously. The sound engineering still is impressive even by today's digital standards. Try his Sibelius 4th.

[@diegoruvalcabapena5240]

Quise decir Suizo