Walter Weller; Various Orchestras - Walter Weller - The Decca Legacy [20CD]

Cat. no: ELQ4843410
Format: 20 x CD
Barcode: 0028948434107
Release Date: 02 May 2025
Genre: Classical

A violinist-conductor who understood orchestras from the inside out: commanding power and Viennese warmth in the complete Decca symphonic recordings of Walter Weller.As the youngest ever leader of the Vienna Philharmonic, Walter Weller quickly established a natural rapport with orchestras at home and abroad when he swapped bow for baton in the late 1960s

Engaged as a regular conductor by the Vienna State Opera, he made his debut as a conductor in the studio with a 1970 recital of arias with the Spanish soprano Pilar  Lorengar.

As leader of the Weller Quartet, he was no stranger to Decca's studios, but he disbanded the quartet to focus on conducting. In Geneva with the Suisse Romande orchestra, then in London with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra, he brought his insider's knowledge of orchestral technique to bear on mostly Russian symphonies through the course of the 1970s. Critics identifed Weller's total grasp of complex scores and his ability to get a rich yet transparent sound from his orchestras.

Near the close of his relationship with Decca (1979-82), Weller then returned to the repertoire he had grown up with as the son of a Vienna Philharmonic violinist, recording the Hungarian Dances of Brahms and the violin concertos of Mozart with the Japanese soloist Mayumi Fujikawa. Accompanying this Original Jackets collection, Peter Quantrill contributes a new essay on Walter Weller's life and career, paying tribute to a true son of Vienna.

"An exceptionally fne version ... Weller, Austrian as he may be, never takes his Brucknerian approach to the point where Rachmaninoff's Slavonic passion is underplayed or an element of stodginess introduced. Far from it." Gramophone, November 1973 (Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2)

"Weller has the LSO playing brilliantly for him, and the recording is superb, especially in its clarity of detail ... Weller's orchestral imagination and perception of detail [are] always a delight." Gramophone, May 1975 (Prokofev: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 7)"[Weller] makes The Sorcerer's Apprentice sound as dangerous a liability to the sorcerer as ever, in fresh and glowing colours - the LPO at their best." Gramophone, June 1976 (Dukas)

"Deeply felt performances in the European symphonic tradition. But they have considerable subtlety too and a special delicacy of feeling ... The recording is superlative even by Decca's high standards." Gramophone, September 1976 (Rachmaninoff: Symphonies, The Rock)

Tracks: BARTOK Rhapsody Sz.27; Piano Concerto No. 1 / BARTOK Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3 / BRAHMS 21 Hungarian Dances / DUKAS L'Apprenti sorcier / Symphony in C major / GRIEG Peer Gynt / SMETANA Haakon Jarl / CDs 6-8 MOZART Violin Concertos Nos. 1-5 / Rondo K.269 / Adagio K.261 / Rondo K.373 / Violin Concerto K. 271a (attrib. Mozart) / ECK Violin Concerto / PROKOFIEV Symphonies Nos. 1 & 7 / PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 2 / The Love for Three Oranges Suite / PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 3 / Scythian Suite / PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 4 / Russian Overture / PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5 / PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 6 / RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 1 / RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 2 / RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 3 / The Rock / SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 1 / SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 9 / SMETANA Ma vlast / Prima Donna in Vienna