In celebration of MTT’s 80th birthday, DG Eloquence has released the first complete collection of MTT’s recordings for Deutsche Grammophon and Argo.
The 14-disc box set comprises recordings spanning from 1970 to 2003, featuring Tilson Thomas as both conductor and pianist. MTT recorded his first albums for Deutsche Grammophon at the start of his tenure as Assistant Conductor at the Boston Symphony Orchestra; the offerings include Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du printemps, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1, Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, and works by American composers Charles Ives, Walter Piston, Carl Ruggles, and William Schuman. This period also showcases MTT as a pianist, joining members of the BSO in chamber works by Debussy.
When he became Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra in 1995, MTT rekindled his Deutsche Grammophon relationship with two albums of music by Leonard Bernstein; those recordings feature vocal soloists Frederica von Stade and Thomas Hampson, both longtime friends and collaborators of MTT. This period also resulted in albums of Shostakovich Cello Concertos with Mischa Maisky and Elvis Costello’s Il sogno, a ballet score for A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The set’s final three discs are devoted to MTT’s Argo recordings with the New World Symphony, which he co-founded in 1987 as a training orchestra but which rapidly established itself as a top-caliber ensemble in its own right. The repertoire on these recordings includes Latin American dances, a survey of works by Morton Feldman, and a tribute to MTT’s college composition teacher Ingolf Dahl.
The collection includes all original jackets with archival photography, new remasterings, and authoritative notes by music journalist Peter Quantrill. Taken as a whole, the box set demonstrates Michael Tilson Thomas’s affinity for a wide range of repertoire, his ear for complex rhythms and textures, and his skills as an orchestra builder.
Track Listing
CD 1
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 1
Boston Symphony Orchestra / Michael Tilson Thomas
CD 2
GRIEG · SCHUMANN Piano Concertos
Jean-Marc Luisada; London Symphony Orchestra / Michael Tilson Thomas
CD 3
DEBUSSY Images; Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
Boston Symphony Orchestra / Michael Tilson Thomas
CD 4
DEBUSSY Violin Sonata; Cello Sonata; Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp; Syrinx
Boston Symphony Chamber Players; Michael Tilson Thomas, piano
CD 5
IVES Three Places in New England
RUGGLES Sun-treader
Boston Symphony Orchestra / Michael Tilson Thomas
CD 6
STRAVINSKY Le Roi des étoiles; Le Sacre du printemps
Boston Symphony Orchestra / Michael Tilson Thomas
CD 7
PISTON Symphony No. 2
WILLIAM SCHUMAN Violin Concerto
Paul Zukofsky, violin; Boston Symphony Orchestra / Michael Tilson Thomas
CD 8
SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Mischa Maisky, cello; London Symphony Orchestra / Michael Tilson Thomas
CD 9
BERNSTEIN On the Town
Frederica von Stade; Tyne Daly; Marie Mclaughlin; Thomas Hampson & supporting cast
London Symphony Orchestra / Michael Tilson Thomas
CD 10
BERNSTEIN Arias and Barcarolles; A Quiet Place; Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Frederica von Stade; Thomas Hampson
London Symphony Orchestra / Michael Tilson Thomas
CD 11
ELVIS COSTELLO Il sogno
London Symphony Orchestra / Michael Tilson Thomas
CD 12
TANGAZO – MUSIC OF LATIN AMERICA
Chávez; Copland; Roldán; Revueltas; Caturla; Piazzolla; Ginastera
New World Symphony / Michael Tilson Thomas
CD 13
INGOLF DAHL Concerto for Alto Saxophone; Hymn; Music for Brass Instruments; The Tower of Saint Barbara
John Harle; New World Brass; Ertan Torgul; Gregory Miller; Tisha Murvihill
New World Symphony / Michael Tilson Thomas
CD 14
MORTON FELDMAN Piano and Orchestra; Cello and Orchestra; Coptic Light
Alan Feinberg; Robert Cohen
New World Symphony / Michael Tilson Thomas