As far as I am aware,
the format for this book is unique.
For the main body, the author has compiled
a complete concert register for the
conductor, Antal Dorati – no mean feat
when you consider that he was one of
the most widely travelled as well as
one of the most frequently recorded
of musicians. The book is the result
of years of painstaking research, which
included a visit by the author to Switzerland
in 2003 to meet Dorati’s widow - the
pianist Ilse von Alpenheim - accompanied
by the record producer Bill Newman,
himself another Dorati fanatic.
Richard Chlupaty’s
devotion to this conductor is total.
In addition to producing the book, he
has created an "archive" of
materials – recordings, dvds, reviews
and concert programmes. He has also
been responsible for setting up the
Antal Dorati Centenary Society. (www
dorati-society.org.uk).
The concert register
occupies the central core of the book,
about 360 out of 445 pages. To avoid
monotony the register is divided into
chapters, each with a short introduction
by the author, which correspond broadly
with the periods of time spent with
each of the many orchestras directed
by the conductor. Are there any revelations?
As you might expect, there is a fair
smattering of contemporary music with
Bartók featuring prominently.
Loads of Brahms symphonies too. However
it came as quite a surprise to me to
learn that Dorati performed Mahler’s
symphonies and song cycles so frequently
throughout his career, in particular
during the early part, when Mahler really
was a concert rarity: No. 4 in Dallas
in 1949, Nos. 1, 2 and 3 plus Kindertotenlieder
and Das Lied von der Erde in
Minneapolis (1950-54). He did Mahler
7 with the Israel PO in 1961 and No.
10 in Tel Aviv and Stockholm. His only
commercial Mahler recording was of No.
5, also in Stockholm.
An even greater shock
for me at least was to see performances
of so many of Bruckner’s symphonies,
including several of the Ninth, an experience
so weird I cannot even begin to imagine
it! He was clearly a man of great energy.
I note that during one ten week period
in the spring of 1962 he conducted no
fewer than ten orchestras from six different
countries. Definitely a chapter to dip
into rather than attempt to digest in
one go.
There is much to enjoy
elsewhere. Some may well quibble about
the choice of outstanding recordings,
including the Brahms symphonies (LSO/Min
SO), Prokofiev 5 (Min SO) and the Tchaikovsky
6 (LSO). I certainly would. It is always
a pleasure to read Bill Newman’s first-hand
observations – often humorous, occasionally
hair-raising(!) - of this colourful
conductor, both in the concert hall
and the recording studio.
I found the section
on Dorati’s compositions of particular
interest, illuminated by comments from
Heinz Holliger, Janos Starker, Calum
MacDonald and other admirers. Several
of Dorati’s scores continue to be available
in print as do some CDs, including the
two symphonies, promoted mostly by the
Swedish BIS label. The book is also
tastefully illustrated with many photographs
of Dorati as well as reproductions of
some of his LP sleeves and concert programmes.
So to the key question:
is the book likely to be of interest
to anyone other than Dorati fanatics?
While paying tribute to Richard Chlupaty’s
dedication and thoroughness, I fear
the answer is "unlikely".
A project such as this inevitably offers
a one-sided view of this fascinating,
yet complex musician. All of the selected
reviews which accompany the register
are positive ones, despite the fact
that Dorati’s conducting skills have
not been universally admired. His high
voltage style, coupled with what some
view as rhythmic rigidity, led one critic
to refer to his conducting as "metronomic"
and another as "businesslike".
Dorati’s own comments on this particular
point are refreshingly candid in his
very entertaining and well-written autobiography,
"Notes of Seven Decades":
currently out of print, but copies widely
available via the internet/public libraries.
Dorati was clearly
a significant musical figure who made
his mark in several ways: as composer,
arranger, orchestral trainer and a principal
conductor who always encouraged performances
of contemporary music. While undertaking
this review I came to the conclusion
that there is yet another book waiting
to be written to provide a more balanced
appraisal of the contribution made by
this remarkable man to the 20th
Century musical scene. I suppose the
same case could be made for other high
ranked conductors from Dorati’s native
Hungary: Reiner, Szell, Solti, Ormandy
and others. Now that would be quite
a book. Is there anyone out there who
might be interested?
Tony Flynn
Contents list
Foreword (XI – XII)
Bill Newman: Life’s Fulfilment (15 –
26)
Concert register 1925-1988 (29 – 388)
Antal Dorati in context (389 – 391)
Antal Dorati’s creative work (393 –
407)
Outstanding recordings (409 – 418)
An anatomy of conducting (419 – 426)
List of illustrations (427 - 429)
Index (431 – 445)
Further sources of information:
www
dorati-society.org.uk Antal Dorati
Centenary Society.
http://www.mvdaily.com/articles/2003/08/ilse01.htm
Details of visit by author and Bill
Newman to Switzerland:
http://www.dorati.com
Website set up by Dorati’s widow, the
pianist Ilse von Alpenheim
Notes of Seven Decades (Antal
Dorati) Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Ltd (1 Nov 1979) ISBN-10: 0340159227;
ISBN-13: 978-0340159224
Notes of Seven Decades (Antal
Dorati) Revised edition - Wayne State
University Press (Jun 1981) ISBN-10:
0814316859; ISBN-13: 978-0814316856
