Charles Munch

Charles Munch

Charles Munch (born Charles Münch; 26 September 1891 – 6 November 1968) was an Alsacian symphonic conductor and violinist. Noted for his mastery of the French orchestral repertoire, he was best known as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Munch's discography is extensive, both in Boston on RCA Victor and at his various European posts and guest conducting assignments on various labels, including English Decca, EMI, Nonesuch, Erato and Auvidis-Valois.

He began making records in Paris before the war, for EMI. Munch then made a renowned series of Decca Full Frequency Range Recordings (FFRR) in the late 1940s. After several recordings with the New York Philharmonic for Columbia, Munch began making recordings for RCA Victor soon after his arrival in Boston as Music Director. These included memorable Berlioz, Honegger, Roussel, and Saint-Saëns tapings.

His first stereophonic recording with the Boston Symphony, in Boston's Symphony Hall in February 1954, was devoted to a complete version of The Damnation of Faust by Hector Berlioz and was made simultaneously in monaural and experimental stereophonic sound, although only the mono recording was released commercially. The stereo tape survives only fragmentarily. The monaural version of this recording was added to the Library of Congress's national registry of sound. Among his final recordings in Boston was a 1962 performance of César Franck's symphonic poem Le chasseur maudit.

Upon Munch's return to Paris, he made Erato disks with the Orchestre Lamoureux, and with the Orchestre de Paris he again recorded for EMI. He also made recordings for a number of other companies including Decca/London.

A number of Munch's recordings have been available continuously since their original releases, among them Saint-Saëns's Organ Symphony and Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe. RCA reissued Munch Conducts Berlioz in a multi-disc set, including all of their Munch recordings. BMG/Japan has issued two different editions of Munch's recordings on CD, 1998 and 2006. The latter was made up of 41 CDs and encompassed all but a handful of Munch recordings with the Boston Symphony. in 2016, SONY released all of Munch's Columbia and RCA recordings including performances by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and Philadelphia Orchestra. Many of these had never been officially released on compact disc.

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Charles Munch

Charles Munch

Charles Munch (born Charles Münch; 26 September 1891 – 6 November 1968) was an Alsacian symphonic conductor and violinist. Noted for his mastery of the French orchestral repertoire, he was best known as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Munch's discography is extensive, both in Boston on RCA Victor and at his various European posts and guest conducting assignments on various labels, including English Decca, EMI, Nones...

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15 albums
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AUBER La Muette di Portici - Overture
BRITTEN Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge
NIELSEN Symphony No. 5

Live recordings, 1953/56
Total duration: 67:50

Boston Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Charles Munch

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SIBELIUS Violin Concerto
R STRAUSS Symphonia Domestica

Live stereo recordings, 1959/60
Total duration: 77:19

Ruggiero Ricci, violin
Boston Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Charles Munch

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VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Symphony No. 8
RAVEL Piano Concerto in G minor
D'INDY Symphony on a French Mountain Air

Recorded in stereo in 1958
Total duration: 76:25

Boston Symphony Orchestra
conductor Charles Munch
Nicole Henriot-Schweitzer
piano

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TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6

Recorded in 1948.
Duration 45:44

L'Orchestre de la Societé des Concerts du Conservatoire de Paris
Conducted by Charles Münch

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    SAINT-SAËNS: Symphony No. 3, “Organ”
    D’INDY: Symphony on a French Mountain Air
    MOZART
    : Piano Concerto No. 21
    MOZART
    : Symphony No. 35, “Haffner”
    LISZT: Piano Concerto No. 2
    CHABRIER
    : Bourée Fantasque

    Studio and Live recordings, 1947/48
    Total duration: 2hr 12:55

    Charles Munch, conductor
    Robert Casadesus,
    piano
    Édouard Nies-Berger,
    organ
    Walter Hendl
    and Arthur Schuller, piano
    Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York

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    WALTON Cello Concerto

    DVORAK Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104

    Recorded in stereo, 1957 & 1960
    Total duration: 72:08

    Gregor Piatigorsky, cello
    Boston Symphony Orchestra
    Charles Munch,
    conductor