Albert Coates Great Conductor

This splendid double CD allows C21st listeners to hear some of these "adventurous sessions". There is certainly a sense of excitement here, possibly deriving from the realization that the amazing electrical process allowed orchestral sonorities to be heard as something like the real thing. Recent remastering and processing for this "Great Conductors" series makes them seem even more amazing than they sounded originally. Happily, the recordings were made in two of the world's best recording venues: London's Queen's Hall and Kingsway Hall.

Of course, the focus in this series is on the conductor. On the evidence of these recordings, he tended to favor fast speeds. Music from his native Russia is well represented on the first CD, including a robust performance of Borodin's Second Symphony. The "Francesca da Rimini" is slightly cut. From the dozens of Wagner recordings he directed, the famous "Tristan" duet with Leider and Melchior has been selected, partly recorded in Berlin.

Both CDs are filled to capacity.

This particular CD, Volume 17, features Albert Coates, one of the great pre-World War II conductors, and a figure who has been virtually forgotten, not to mention woefully underrepresented on CD. As the track information is not abundantly clear above, allow me to mention that these two discs feature all mono performances from 1926-30 with the London Symphony Orchestra made for HMV. They are among the earliest of electrical recordings, but the sound is remarkable considering their age. The performances of Borodin's Symphony No. 2, Tchaikovsky's "Francesca da Rimini," Ravel's "La Valse," Wagner's "Tannhauser" Overture, and Strauss' "Tod und Verklarung" are nothing short of magical. It is awful that Coates' association with HMV seemingly ended in 1932, and that others didn't ask him to record for them. According to the CD's liner notes, Coates stayed in the USA for most of WWII, then went to South Africa where he taught and made occasional appearances until his death in 1953.

Whether you are a serious collector of classical music or a beginner, the "Great Conductors of the 20th Century" has something for everyone. If the prized, rare performances previously unreleased on CD (or ever!) doesn't excite you, then use this as an opportunity to check out one of the greatest conductors ever recorded. Chances are, since stores are offering increasingly homogenized classical music sections, this conductor isn't even in your collection. And that would truly be a shame.