M. LONG plays Ravel, Milhaud, Debussy (1929-52) - PASC285

"Long made two recordings of the G major Concerto. The first one was recorded by Columbia on three 78 rpm records shortly after the January 1932 premiere. René Dumesnil reviewed it in Eve:

The recording of the Concerto pour piano by Maurice Ravel ... is quite worthy of the new work, whose success this winter in Paris, and later in all of Europe's capitals, was resounding. It is Mme. Marguerite Long, dedicatee of the Concerto, whom we hear again at the piano with the same delight as we did at the work's premiere. Her interpretation can be regarded as a model of intelligence, of finesse and of technical perfection. . . . And one must praise equally the orchestra under the direction of the composer.
[August 28, 1932.]

The recording was advertised as being conducted by Ravel, but that was not quite the truth. It was actually under the baton of Pedro de Freitas-Branco, who had conducted most of the program on January 14, 1932. But, Long insisted, Ravel was present in the recording booth during the whole session, which lasted well into the night. He attentively followed every minute, voicing his opinion over the smallest details, and demanding that the performers start over until he was completely satisfied. And in the early morning hours he finally was.

Twenty years later, in 1954 [sic], with the advent of long-playing records, Long recorded the G major Concerto again, with the Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire under Georges Tzipine. On the flip-side was a new performance of Fauré's Ballade, conducted by André Cluytens. The 1954 Ravel recording was criticized by many for its stylistic looseness, particularly in the slow movement. At 80, Long chose a more sentimental rendition, as opposed to the classical sobriety of her earlier version. Whether a matter of taste or not, the later performance contradicted Ravel's intentions, as Long herself described them."

Cecilia Dunoyer, "Marguerite Long: a life in French music, 1874-1966

 

"In 1933, Milhaud set out to write his First Piano Concerto and asked Long to give its first performance and to be its dedicatee. His inscription on her score is typical of his tongue-in-cheek-wit: "Je dépose à vos pieds chère et sublime amie cette oeuvre que vous ferez vivre par vos mains admirables" (I leave at your feet, dear and sublime friend, this work, which you will bring alive with your admirable hands). Still in the heat of the success of Ravel's G major Concerto, Long accepted wholeheartedly. The première took place on November 25, 1934, with the Orchestre Pasdeloup under the direction of Albert Wolff. The November issue of Le Monde musicalacknowledged the event with some reserve:

The concert of Sunday, [November] 25, was a beautiful festival of French contemporary music. It opened with the Saudades do Brasil by Darius Milhaud, strongly perfumed with smells of the Brazilian forest, and continued with the first audition of a new Concerto for piano by the same author, dedicated in 1933 to Marguerite Long. Of rather small dimension, it gives the piano a place of honor. It is the piano which leads, plays with the themes, discreetly emphasized by the orchestra soloists. ... It pales, of course, next to the prodigious Concerto by Ravel, which, under Long's magic fingers met another triumph, but it is a valuable asset to the modern pianist's repertoire.

A second performance took place on January 19, 1935 at the Salle Rameau with Long as soloist. The program consisted of music by French composers, each conducting his own work: Milhaud, Ibert, Gaubert, Siohan, and Honegger. In 1938 [sic] the Milhaud Concerto was recorded by Columbia, this time under the direction of the composer. Two pieces for piano, "Paysandu" (from Saudades do Brasil) and "Alfama" (from l'Automne), complete the record. "

Cecilia Dunoyer, "Marguerite Long: a life in French music, 1874-1966