Vincent d'Indy

[dhibbard]

I just acquired the 5CD set on Chandos of orchestral works of d'Indy... what wonderful works... enjoying the CD#5 in the series... Symphonies sur un Chant montagnard francais... which is really a piano concerto in some regard. 

[adriano]

There are some wonderful (and more French-touched) recordings from the 1970-90s on EMI, conducted by Pierre Dervaux, Georges Prêtre, Serge Baudo and Michel Plasson. They have all been reissued on CD. In my opinion D'Indy's "Symphonie Cévénole" (the one with piano) is not an unsung piece anymore. I also recommend his opera "L'Etranger" (on the label Accord) and the 3 volumes of his piano works on the German label Genuin.

[Revilod]

I suppose the "Symphonie Cevenole" is as close to a "sung" piece by D'Indy that there is but it's still rarely performed in the U.K. It hasn't been heard at the London Proms since 1951 when Kathleen long played it. There's a fantastically exciting if rather brash recording/performance by Nicole Henriot-Schweitzer, Charles Munch and the Boston Symphony on RCA.  It  will knock your socks off!

[Alan Howe]

From a British perspective I'd say anything by d'Indy (who he?) is unsung.

[Rainolf]

Very interesting are the recordings Pierre Monteux made for RCA of d'Indy's Symphonie cevenole and Symphony No. 2 during the 1940s, because Monteux was a close friend of the composer. There is a recording of Istar by Monteux, too, but I do not know this.

[dhibbard]

this Chandos series features the Iceland Symphony Orchestra... which records as a  top-class orchestra,  however, young they appear in the market.

[dhibbard]

The conductor on these recordings is British conductor Rumon Gamba  studied at the Royal Academy of Music

[Joachim Raff]

Im finding i like early d'Indy rather than later d'Indy. 

[Alan Howe]

What about the great 2nd Symphony (1902-3)?
Here's the second movement under Gamba:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWgn4QLL3Mc

[adriano]

The Second Symphony is just great. The old EMI CD has it coupled (under Plasson) with the Symphonie Cévenole (under Baudo).
I consider "Istar". "Dyptique méditerranéen" and "Poème des rivages" among his most notable works.
These three works have also been excellently recorded by Emmanuel Krivine on Timpani - in my opinion much better than by Gamba.
Of course, Naxos has also produced various D'Indy CDs in the past...
I also like D'Indy's opera "Fervaal" (which was broadcast last year from Montpellier and has still not been issued on CD). See "Downloads".
His "Third Symphony" and "La Légende de Saint-Christophe" are testimonials of D'Indy's strong chauvinism and anti-semitism.
Here an interesting study:
https://repertoire-explorer.musikmph.de/wp-content/uploads/vorworte_prefaces/4120.html

[Joachim Raff]

I have listened to Symphony No2 and i thought it was so more advanced compared to his 1st. I think it needs more than one airing to appreciate the piece, so i want to reserve any opinion on my liking or disliking. Its was the Gamba recording that i listened to.   

[Ilja]

Gamba's not bad at all, nor is Tingaud, but Plasson's old recording for EMI is still my go-to in spite of the somewhat muffled sound. I'm curious as to the Timpani recording with Krivine, but it's not listed on Timpani's D'Indy page.


As for the first symphony, I was mightily impressed with Bringuier with the Orchestre de Bretagne on Timpani. The coupling with the rarely-heard Concert for piano, flute and cello with string orchestra, Op. 89 is attractive too.

[eschiss1]

I became a fan of d'Indy through his chamber music, myself.

[adriano]

Here the infos, Ilja

https://www.allmusic.com/album/vincent-dindy-orchestral-works-po%C3%A8me-des-rivages-istar-diptyque-m%C3%A9diterran%C3%A9en-mw0001847761?1586275412317

[Ilja]

Sorry Adriano, I interpreted your post to mean that Krivine had also recorded the 2nd Symphony - my mistake. This recording I know quite well and as you say, it's excellent.


A work that hasn't been mentioned sofar and may be my favorite d'Indy opus is La Foret enchantée, a "légende-symphonie" after a ballad by Ludwig Uhland, Op. 8. It's among his first works (1878) but already very accomplished. There are wagnerianisms here and there, but mostly it is already recognizably d'Indy. There are recordings by Dervaux and Gamba. To me, the Dervaux (with the Orchestre Philharmonique des Pays de Loire) is the vastly superior of the two.