Roussel and Bizet reissues at Pragadigitals
Roussel :
Suite en fa op.33 (1926) – Detroit symphony – Paul Paray (1957)
Symphony n° 3 op.42 (1930) – New York Philharmonic – Leonard Bernstein (1961)
Bacchus & Ariane, orchestral suite N°2 op.43b (1931) – Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire de Paris – André Cluytens (1963)
Symphony n°4 op.53 (1934) – Philharmonia orchestra – Herbert von Karajan (1949)

The Roussel album includes three ‘hits’ by Roussel and the less known Symphony n°4. Superb Suite by Paul Paray, with nerve and tones as ever. Roussel travelled a lot by boat: he surely accosted the Hudson River in this Bernstein recording… An elegant account of Bacchus by Cluytens and a remastering of an old Karajan recording (who had a very diverse repertoire under Walter Legge after the War). A very good anthology (we miss Munch anyway) for a now neglected composer (Boulez conducted n°3 though). Roussel seemed to write always the same kind of symphonic music (rhythm patterns, crescendos…) but, well rendered, you can’t resist to it…

Bizet : 
Symphonie en ut majeur (1855) 
Roma, Fantaisie symphonique (suite n°3 (1860-8) – Cezch Philharmonic Orchestra, Zdeněk Košler (1986)
jeux d’enfants, petite suie d’orchestre op.2 (1886) Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, Fuat Mansurov (1967)
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A continuation of Pragadigitals’ first release of music conducted by Zdeněk Košler. In an aerial recording, he gave an elegant and vivid account of Bizet’s symphony (written at the age of 17, thus in 1855…). The Czech Philharmonic in all its splendor (same string refine playing as 4 years later with Kubelík’s famous return in Prague). The symphony Roma is much less known; written much later and reworked many times, it is more Weber/ Mendelssohn than Haydn / Schubert for the later. It has a less obvious inspiration than the Symphony’s. Finally An account of Jeux d’enfants conducted by Fuat Masurov (1928-2010), again a great conductor in these childishness. Superb sound all along.