The great Russian conductor Igor Markevitch (1912–1983) was born in Kiev and spent his formative years in
Switzerland. He studied piano with Cortot and composition with Boulanger, and from the late 1920s until 1939 he enjoyed a successful career as a composer. However, after this period he concentrated on
conducting, making a sensational debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1955. He recorded with all the major orchestras, notably the Berlin Philharmonic, Philharmonia, London Symphony Orchestra and Lamoureux, and guest conducted in all the main international centres until the mid-1970s. Markevitch left a very large discography on EMI, DG and Philips.

The recording features a young Galina Vishnevskaya, in her prime as an outstanding dramatic soprano. The
bass, Ivan Petrov (of German origin), was born in Irkutsk in 1920, becoming a stalwart of the Bolshoi
company – he was considered to be one of their finest basses. The mezzo-soprano and tenor of Markevitch’s quartet, Nina Isakova and Vladimir Ivanovsky, did not achieve international fame, but their contributions on this occasion were certainly whole-hearted. Markevitch’s rapport with both chorus and orchestra was clearly close, with strong attack matched by great sensitivity from both. The Rossini Overtures, all brilliantly played, have been sourced from a mint LP to give extra bloom to the sound. The recording features the Ambient Mastering process to widen the sound stage and create more depth.