Doráti: Respighi, Enescu & Liszt — The Birds, Brazilian Impressions & Rhapsodies

Antal Doráti and the London Symphony Orchestra are at the centre of this orchestral anthology devoted to Ottorino Respighi, George Enescu and Franz Liszt. Respighi’s works were recorded at Watford Town Hall in July 1957, while Enescu and Liszt belong to June 1960 sessions at Wembley Town Hall.

Doráti, the London Symphony Orchestra and orchestral colour

In The Birds, P. 154 and Brazilian Impressions, P. 153, Doráti highlights the rhythmic precision and timbral richness of Respighi’s writing. The second part moves to Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, Op. 11 and Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, S. 244/2, here in the orchestration by Karl Müller-Berghaus.

Recordings

Brazilian Impressions was recorded at Watford on 5 July 1957; sessions for The Birds took place from 7 to 10 July 1957. Enescu and Liszt were recorded in London in June 1960.

Original label and first release

The Respighi recordings were made for Mercury Living Presence. The first US stereo edition of The Birds / Brazilian Impressions was released in 1959 as Mercury SR 90153, with the corresponding mono edition MG 50153.

The original tape: Mercury Living Presence technique

From 1955 Mercury developed stereo recording with three omnidirectional microphones onto half-inch three-track analogue tape, using Ampex 300-3 machines at 15 ips. Stereo masters were worked from the original three tracks and the 3→2 mix was made during mastering. Mercury introduced 35 mm magnetic film in 1961; the 1957 Respighi sessions belong to the earlier three-track tape era.

Tracklist

01 — Respighi: The Birds, P. 154: I. Prelude
02 — II. The Dove
03 — III. The Hen
04 — IV. The Nightingale
05 — V. The Cuckoo
06 — Respighi: Brazilian Impressions, P. 153: I. Tropical Night
07 — II. Butantan
08 — III. Song and Dance
09 — Enescu: Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A major, Op. 11
10 — Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, S. 244/2

Credits

Composers: Ottorino Respighi; George Enescu; Franz Liszt
Conductor: Antal Doráti
Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra
Orchestration of Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2: Karl Müller-Berghaus
Edition: Capsa Symphōnĭa
Code: CS626

Available formats

File PCM 44.1kHz • 16bit — CD Resolution

What are DSD and DXD?

DSD (Direct Stream Digital) is a 1-bit digital encoding system based on pulse-density modulation. DSD64 operates at approximately 2.8 MHz, DSD128 at approximately 5.6 MHz and DSD256 at approximately 11.2 MHz. Playback requires a compatible DAC or player.

DXD (Digital eXtreme Definition) is a very high-resolution PCM format; in the version presented here it operates at 352.8kHz. Developed also as a professional editing and post-production environment for very high-resolution workflows, it requires a compatible DAC or player.

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