Maazel: Firebird, Villa-Lobos Choros VI, etc. ("live" 1986) - Auvidis AV 4844

Jacket VG+ / LP NM

This handsome and gatefold album from Auvidis (AV 4844, French pressing, silver label, DDD stereo) preserves a “live” concert given by conductor Lorin Maazel and “The World Philharmonic Orchestra” at the Teatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 16 December 1986 for the benefit of the Red Cross.

109 leading musicians from 57 countries participated in the momentous event and there is a palpable frisson in the air, the performances imbued with a tremendous sense of occasion, all brought off brilliantly and captured in vivid sound of great amplitude.

The exact program was as follows:

Hector Berlioz: La Carnaval Romain Overture 

Igor Stravinsky: l’Oiseau de Feu (vers. 1919)

Heitor Villa-Lobos: Choros VI

For the interested, this is the only recording of Villa-Lobos’ richly atmospheric Choros VI by Maazel – indeed, by any great conductor.

The interior panels of the gatefold jacket carry a full listing (with their respective orchestras) of all the musicans who played in this remarkable concert. There are also two photos and tributes from various distinguished VIPs to mark the occasion.

This album was produced by Michel Bernstein and engineered by Otto Drechsler. The striking cover art, entitled “Brazil 1986 · Lorin Maazel”, was executed by Arrigoni Neri.