Antal Doráti
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Biography
Conductor Antal Doráti is renowned for his precision, nuanced timbre and energy on the podium, and has won international acclaim conducting prestigious ensembles including the London Symphony Orchestra and the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. Born in Budapest on April 9, 1906 into a musical family with a violinist father and pianist mother, he studied composition at the Franz Liszt Academy with Zoltan Kodály and Leó Weiner, and piano with Béla Bartók, before making his conducting debut at the Royal Opera of Budapest in 1924. At the same time, he began composing chamber and orchestral music, an activity he continued discreetly throughout his life. After Budapest, he conducted the orchestras of the Dresden Opera, the Munster Opera and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, with whom he toured extensively. In 1937, he began working in the United States, as guest conductor of the Washington National Orchestra, before going into permanent exile in the United States during the Second World War because of his Jewish origins, and adopting American nationality in 1943. In 1945, he took charge of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for four years. Appointed conductor of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra from 1949 to 1960, before it became the Minnesota Orchestra in 1968, Antal Doráti gave it international stature through the power of his vivid, colorful recordings, particularly of the Slavonic music of Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky and Bartók. A frequent guest of the London Symphony Orchestra, he put his skills to full use, returning to Europe to conduct the BBC Symphony Orchestra (1962-1966), then the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (1966-1974). During this period, Antal Doráti returned to his roots with the Philharmonia Hungarica, an ensemble of Hungarian refugees based in what was then West Germany. With this orchestra, he recorded his famous complete Haydn: The Complete Symphonies, released in 1975, which reached number 14 on the Billboard Classical chart when reissued in 2009, and number 50 when reissued in 2026. After a return to the U.S. to conduct Washington's National Symphony Orchestra (1970-1976), the conductor was recalled to England to succeed Rudolf Kempe at the helm of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (1975-1978), becoming its Conductor Laureate three years later. His career ended with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, from 1977 to 1981. In 1979, he published his autobiography, Notes on Seven Decades, and was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1983. Based in Gerzensee, Switzerland, Antal Doráti died on November 13, 1988, aged 82.
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Albums
Antal Doráti, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92: II. Allegretto
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Antal Doráti, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra
Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin; Sonata for 2 Pianos and Percussion; Divertimento
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Antal Doráti
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture; Capriccio italien; Romeo and Juliet; Marche slave
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Antal Doráti, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Rossini-Respighi: La Boutique Fantasque; Suite Rossiniana
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Top Tracks
- Track Popularity
- Schumann: Violin Concerto in D Minor, WoO 23 - 2. Langsam featuring Antal Doráti
- Symphony in G, H.I No.94 - "Surprise": 2. Andante featuring Joseph Haydn
- Symphonie No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36: III. Scherzo (Pizzicato ostinato - Allegro) by Antal Doráti
- Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73 - III. Allegretto grazioso, quasi andantino - Presto ma non assai by Antal Doráti
- Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage by Antal Doráti
- Overture in the Italian Style in C Major, D. 591 by Antal Doráti
- Symphony in C minor, H.I No.95: 1. Allegro moderato featuring Joseph Haydn
- Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 90, MWV N 16, "Italian" - II. Andante con moto
- The Hebrides Overture by Antal Doráti
- Carmina Burana: "Ave formosissima" featuring Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Symphony in E flat, H.I No.91: 3. Menuet (Un poco allegretto) featuring Joseph Haydn
- Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90 - I. Allegro con brio - Un poco sostenuto - Tempo I by Antal Doráti
- Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73 - IV. Allegro con spirito by Antal Doráti
- Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98 - III. Allegro giocoso - Poco meno presto - Tempo I by Antal Doráti
- Symphony in G, H.I No.92 - "Oxford": 3. Menuet (Allegretto) featuring Joseph Haydn
- "In taberna quando sumus" featuring Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Symphony in G, H.I No.92 - "Oxford": 2. Adagio featuring Joseph Haydn
- Symphony in G, H.I No.92 - "Oxford": 4. Presto featuring Joseph Haydn
- Stravinsky: The Firebird - 1. Introduction by Antal Doráti
- Stravinsky: The Firebird - 2. Kashchei's enchanted garden by Antal Doráti
- Symphony in F, H.I No.89: 3. Menuet & Trio (Allegretto) featuring Joseph Haydn
- Stravinsky: The Firebird (L'oiseau de feu) - Ballet (1910) - Collapse of Kashchei's palace and dissolution of all enchantments - Reanimation of the petrified prisoners - General rejoicing by Antal Doráti
- Stravinsky: Petrouchka - Version 1947 - Scene 1 by Antal Doráti
- Stravinsky: The Firebird (L'oiseau de feu) - Ballet (1910) - Magic carillon, appearance of Kashchei's guardian monsters and capture of Ivan Tsarevich by Antal Doráti
