Antal Doráti (, , ; 9 April 1906 – 13 November 1988) was a Hungarian-born conductor and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

who became a naturalized

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

citizen in 1943.

Biography

Antal Doráti was born in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

, where his father Alexander Doráti was a violinist with the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra and his mother Margit Kunwald was a piano teacher. He studied at the Franz Liszt Academy with

Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (; hu, Kodály Zoltán, ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music edu ...

and

Leó Weiner Leó Weiner (16 April 1885 – 13 September 1960) was one of the leading Hungarian music educators of the first half of the twentieth century, and a composer. Life Education Weiner was born in Budapest to a Jewish family. His brother ...

for composition and

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hu ...

for piano. His links with Bartók continued for many years: he conducted the world premiere of Bartók's Viola Concerto, as completed by

Tibor Serly Tibor Serly (; Losonc, Kingdom of Hungary, 25 November 1901 – London, 8 October 1978) was a Hungarian violist, violinist, and composer. Serly was the son of Lajos Serly, a pupil of Franz Liszt and a composer of songs and operettas in the ...

, with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1949, with William Primrose as the soloist. He made his conducting debut in 1924 with the Budapest Royal Opera. As well as composing original works, he compiled and arranged pieces by

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ove ...

for the

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

Graduation Ball ''Graduation Ball'' is a ballet in one act choreographed by David Lichine to music composed by Johann Strauss II and arranged by Antal Doráti. With a scenario devised by Lichine and with scenery and costumes designed by Alexandre Benois, it wa ...

'' (1940), premiered by the Original Ballet Russe in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

, Australia, with himself on the conductor's podium. For Ballet Theatre (later renamed

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

) he created scores for the ballets '' Bluebeard'' (1941) from music by Jacques Offenbach and '' The Fair at Sorochinsk'' (1943) from music by

Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...

. His autobiography, ''Notes of Seven Decades'', was published in 1979. In 1983, Doráti was appointed an honorary

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(KBE). His wife was Ilse von Alpenheim, an Austrian pianist. Doráti died at the age of 82 in

Gerzensee Gerzensee is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The town is named after its lake: Gerzensee. History Gerzensee is first mentioned in 1228 as ''Gercentse''. The oldest trace ...

, Switzerland.

Career

Doráti held posts as principal conductor of the following orchestras: *

Ballet Russe Ballet russe is French for Russian ballet. Ballet Russe may also refer to: * Ballets Russes, an itinerant ballet company based in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America * Original Ball ...

, Music Director (1937–1941). *

Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

orchestra (1941–1945). *

Dallas Symphony Orchestra The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. History The orchestra traces its origins to ...

(1945–1948) * Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (1949–1960) * BBC Symphony Orchestra (1963–1966), which bid him a fond farewell playing his ''Symphony in Five Movements'' and his ''Madrigal Suite''. * Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (1966–74), with which he recorded his ''Symphony No. 1'' and his ''Symphony No. 2, "Querela Pacis"'' on the BIS label. He took that orchestra on its first international tours. *

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It also performs for the annual National M ...

in Washington, D.C. (1970–1977), which he rescued from bankruptcy and a players' strike. *

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current music ...

(1977–1981) *

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

(1975–1979)

Recordings

He made his first recording with the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symp ...

for the recording label His Master's Voice. This was later transferred to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

with whom HMV were for some time associated. Over the course of his career Doráti made over 600 recordings. With the Philharmonia Hungarica, Doráti was the second conductor to record the complete symphonies of

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have le ...

(the first complete recorded edition was conducted by

Ernst Märzendorfer Ernst Märzendorfer (26 May 192116 September 2009) was an Austrian conductor. Märzendorfer was born in Oberndorf bei Salzburg. He studied with Clemens Krauss at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and was appointed as first conductor of the Graz Opera in ...

and the

Vienna Chamber Orchestra The Vienna Chamber Orchestra (Wiener Kammer Orchester, or WKO) is an Austrian chamber orchestra based at the Vienna Konzerthaus. History The WKO was founded in 1946, and its first artistic directors were Franz Litschauer, Heinrich Hollreiser, ...

, but it had a very limited release). He also recorded an unprecedented cycle of

's operas and

Ottorino Respighi Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. His compositions range over operas, ballets, orchestral su ...

's '' Ancient Airs and Dances'', Suites 1, 2 and 3.Mercury 434 304-2, 6/1958 Doráti became especially well known for his recordings of Tchaikovsky's music. He was the first conductor to record all three of Tchaikovsky's ballets – ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

'', '' The Sleeping Beauty'' and ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaik ...

'' – complete. The albums were recorded in mono in 1954 and 1955, for

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it ...

released on CD by The Doráti Society, with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (later renamed the

Minnesota Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Em ...

), as part of their famous "Living Presence" series. All three ballets were at first issued separately, but were later re-issued in a 6-LP set. Dorati did re-record''Swan Lake'' eleased on CD by Universal Mercury but he made a stereo recording of ''The Sleeping Beauty'' (complete) with the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam for

Philips Classics Records Philips Classics Records was started in the 1980s as the new classics record label for Philips Records. It was successful with artists including Alfred Brendel, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fie ...

, and two complete recordings in stereo of "The Nutcracker", one with the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

(again for Mercury), and the other with the Concertgebouw Orchestra for Philips – all this within a span of about twenty-seven years. He also recorded all four of Tchaikovsky's orchestral suites with the New Philharmonia Orchestra, and he was the first conductor to make a recording of Tchaikovsky's "1812" Overture (featuring the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra) with real cannons, brass band, and church bells, first in mono in 1954 and then in stereo in 1958. Both the mono and stereo "1812" versions sold over one million copies, and awarded a gold disc by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

. He also recorded all six of Tchaikovsky's symphonies with the London Symphony Orchestra. Other prominent composers in Doráti's recording career were

and

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

. His comprehensive series of Bartók's orchestral works for Mercury have been brought together on a 5-CD set. He also made the first stereo recording of

Léo Delibes Clément Philibert Léo Delibes (; 21 February 1836 – 16 January 1891) was a French Romantic composer, best known for his ballets and operas. His works include the ballets ''Coppélia'' (1870) and '' Sylvia'' (1876) and the opera ''Lakm� ...

' ''

Coppélia ''Coppélia'' (sometimes subtitled: ''La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail'' (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes, with libretto by Charles-Louis-Étie ...

'', with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. An album set of Wagner's '' Der fliegende Holländer'' is also among Doráti's popular recordings. In 1969 he made the world premiere recording of Sibelius's tone poem '' Luonnotar'', with Gwyneth Jones as soprano soloist. In 1973 he conducted the world premiere recording of Max Bruch's Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, which was written in 1912 but only rediscovered in 1971. In 1969 with the Stockholm Philharmonic he conducted the first recording of the Symphony No. 7 of Swedish composer

Allan Pettersson Gustaf Allan Pettersson (19 September 1911 – 20 June 1980) was a Swedish composer and violist. He is considered one of the 20th century's most important Swedish composers, he was described as one of the last great symphonists, ...

. He made digital recordings, for English

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

(released in the U.S. on the London label), with the

and the

and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for Philips. One of these, the recording of Stravinsky's ''

The Rite of Spring , image = Roerich Rite of Spring.jpg , image_size = 350px , caption = Concept design for act 1, part of Nicholas Roerich's designs for Diaghilev's 1913 production of ' , composer = Igor Stravinsky , based_on ...

'' with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, received the coveted French award

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References

External links

*Antal Dorát
official website
*
Antal Dorati Centenary Society
3 November 1985 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dorati, Antal 1906 births 1988 deaths Musicians from Budapest Pupils of Zoltán Kodály Franz Liszt Academy of Music alumni Hungarian composers Hungarian male composers 20th-century composers 20th-century British musicians Hungarian conductors (music) 20th-century conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Ballet conductors Hungarian expatriates in the United Kingdom Hungarian expatriates in Switzerland Hungarian emigrants to the United States Naturalized citizens of the United States BBC Symphony Orchestra Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Conductors (music) awarded knighthoods Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Texas classical music People of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra 20th-century Swedish male musicians

Biography

Career

Recordings

See also

References

Further reading

External links