# Georges Prêtre?



## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

Georges Prêtre? Reportedly Maria Callas favorite conductor... and still alive at 90. Herbert von Karajan invited him to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic in Capriccio of Richard Strauss with the late Lisa Della Casa. The French have declared him a "trésor national".

A recent article on Prêtre entitled The World's Greatest Conductor:

http://www.musicalamerica.com/mablogs/?p=20929

I bring him up because his is a name... along with a number of other marvelous French conductors such as Ansermet, Martinon, Michel Plasson (also still living), Pierre Monteux, André Cluytens... rarely seems to come up in conversation here.

Any thoughts?

Favorite recordings?


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

My favorite Lucia recording.


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## D Smith (Sep 13, 2014)

He conducted my favorite Carmen, Samson and Delilah, too many Poulenc works to count... One of my favorite conductors.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Did anyone see his New Years Day concert in Vienna a couple years ago? Watch it... it says loads about him. He was hardly conducting the whole time he was on stage, just smiling and enjoying the experience. Quite striking. :lol:


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> Did anyone see his New Years Day concert in Vienna a couple years ago? Watch it... it says loads about him. He was hardly conducting the whole time he was on stage, just smiling and enjoying the experience. Quite striking. :lol:


The VPO pretty much plays that concert on autopilot....
I think I used to have a Poulenc disc by Pretre...otherwise he doesn't figure on my radar.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

His Tosca recording was supposed to be used as the soundtarck for a Tosca movie but it never went ahead. He was a favourite for some Zeffirelli movies as well.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

He conducted a fairly good Carmen way back when.


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

A rather underwhelming response to Georges Prêtre. I can't believe that the problem is with him or his musical endeavors. Here, for example, are some of his finest recordings:





An unfamiliarity with Prêtre? An unfamiliarity with mid-century French conductors in general?


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I have his recording of Gounoud's _Messe solennelle en l'honneur de Sainte Cécile_, but I can't compare it to any other recordings. I also have his recording with Duruflé of Poulenc's organ & timpani concerto, which I can compare to a couple other recordings (Hurfurd/Dutoit and Tracey/Tortelier), though I have never done that.


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> A rather underwhelming response to Georges Prêtre.


Yes, it is an underwhelming response and I agree it is undeserved.

Perhaps his close association with French music partly explains this? Or his low profile (the wiki page, for example, is very brief)? It is odd how he appears to have a status on a level that is below the mega-stars of the record labels, even with EMI (I suspect most of his recordings on that label were EMI France?)


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Headphone Hermit said:


> Yes, it is an underwhelming response and I agree it is undeserved.
> 
> Perhaps his close association with French music partly explains this? Or his low profile (the wiki page, for example, is very brief)? It is odd how he appears to have a status on a level that is below the mega-stars of the record labels, even with EMI (I suspect most of his recordings on that label were EMI France?)


I guess one word explains it all: opera.

Our community, as currently composed, just isn't very big on opera.


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