Brusilow, a student of Efrem Zimbalist and once a protege of Pierre Monteux, was the associate concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell, and then concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy. He had conducting ambitions, however, leading a chamber group of Philadelphia Orchestra musicians for a few years, and then striking out to form his own professional ensemble, the Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia, in 1966.
| Anshel Brusilow |
This LP of 20th century French works is the final product of that association, and it is a very good one. Ravel's familiar suite "Le Tombeau de Couperin" is complemented by the less often heard music of Jean Françaix and Jacques Ibert. Francaix's delightful Sérénade has been featured on this blog before, in a vintage performance led by Eugen Jochum, but this is the first appearance for Ibert's pictorialist Suite Symphonique and Capriccio. The Ravel has previously appeared here in a Dimitri Mitropoulos recording from Minneapolis.
After his Philadelphia days, Brusilow moved to Texas, first as music director of the Dallas Symphony, and then in university posts. In addition to his RCA recordings, he also made a few discs in Bournemouth and Dallas.
Late in life, Brusilow produced an amusing memoir, Shoot the Conductor: Too Close to Monteux, Szell and Ormandy, which I have been reading of late. The photos in this post come from that book.
The cover art may strike the contemporary eye as garish, but that was the style 50 years ago. The colorful illustration is by Mozelle Thompson, a favorite of my friend and fellow blogger Ernie. RCA's sound is vivid and immediate.
| The Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia |