Antal Doráti was born in Budapest, where his father Alexander Doráti was a violinist with the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra and his mother Margit Kunwald was a piano teacher.
He studied at the Franz Liszt Academy with Zoltán Kodály and Leo Weiner for composition and Béla Bartók for piano. His links with Bartók continued for many years: he conducted the world premiere of Bartók's Viola Concerto, as completed by Tibor Serly, with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1949, with William Primrose as the soloist.
He made his conducting debut in 1924 with the Budapest Royal Opera.
As well as composing original works, he compiled and arranged pieces by Johann Strauss II for the ballet Graduation Ball (1940), premiered by the Original Ballet Russe in Sydney, Australia, with himself on the conductor's podium. For Ballet Theatre (later renamed American Ballet Theatre) he created scores for the ballets Bluebeard (1941) from music by Jacques Offenbach and The Fair at Sorochinsk (1943) from music by Modest Mussorgsky.
His autobiography, Notes of Seven Decades, was published in 1979. In 1983, Queen Elizabeth II made Doráti an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE). This entitled him to use the post-nominal letters KBE, but not to style himself "Sir Antal Doráti".
His wife was Ilse von Alpenheim, an Austrian pianist. Dorati died at the age of 82 in Gerzensee, Switzerland.
Doráti held posts as principal conductor of the following orchestras:
Ballet Theatre orchestra (1941–1945).
Dallas Symphony Orchestra (1945–48), practically creating that orchestra from scratch
Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (1949–60)
BBC Symphony Orchestra (1963–66), which bid him a fond farewell playing his Symphony in Five Movements and his Madrigal Suite.
Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (1966–70), with which he recorded his Symphony No. 1 and his Symphony No. 2, "Querela Pacis" on the BIS label. He took that orchestra on its first international tours.
National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. (1970–77), which he rescued from bankruptcy and a players' strike.
Detroit Symphony Orchestra (1977–81)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (1975–79)
Recordings:
He made his first recording with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for the recording label His Master's Voice. This was later transferred to RCA Records with whom HMV were for some time associated. Over the course of his career Doráti made over 600 recordings.
With the Philharmonia Hungarica, Doráti was the second conductor to record the complete symphonies of Joseph Haydn (the first complete recorded edition was conducted by Ernst Märzendorfer and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, but it had a very limited release). He also recorded an unprecedented cycle of Haydn's operas.
Doráti became especially well known for his recordings of Tchaikovsky's music. He was the first conductor to record all three of Tchaikovsky's ballets - Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker - complete. The albums were recorded in mono in 1954, for Mercury Records, with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (later renamed the Minnesota Orchestra), as part of their famous "Living Presence" series. All three ballets were at first issued separately, but were later re-issued in a 6-LP set. Dorati never re-recorded Swan Lake, but he did make a stereo recording of The Sleeping Beauty (again complete) with the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam for Philips Classics Records, and two complete recordings in stereo of "The Nutcracker", one with the London Symphony Orchestra (again for Mercury), and the other with the Concertgebouw Orchestra for Philips - all this within a span of about twenty-seven years. He also recorded all four of Tchaikovsky's orchestral suites with the New Philharmonia Orchestra, and he was the first conductor to make a recording of Tchaikovsky's "1812" Overture (featuring the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra) with real cannons, brass band, and church bells, first in mono in 1954 and then in stereo in 1958. Both the mono and stereo "1812" were certified Gold Records by the RIAA. He also recorded all six of Tchaikovsky's symphonies with the London Symphony Orchestra.
Other prominent composers in Doráti's recording career are Béla Bartók and Igor Stravinsky. His comprehensive series of Bartók's orchestral works for Mercury have been brought together on a 5-CD set.
He also made the first stereo recording of Léo Delibes' Coppélia, with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. An album set of Richard Wagner's opera The Flying Dutchman is also among Doráti's more popular recordings.
In 1969 he made the world premiere recording of Sibelius's tone poem Luonnotar, with Gwyneth Jones as soprano soloist. In 1973 he conducted the world premiere recording of Max Bruch's Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, which was written in 1912 but only rediscovered in 1971.
He lived to make digital recordings, for English Decca Records (released in the U.S. on the London label), with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. One of these, the recording of Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, received the coveted French award Grand Prix du Disque.
Overture
Antal Doráti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Didn't come home.
His unborn child
Will never know him.
Believe him missing
With a number of men.
Don't expect
To see him again.
The above lyrics to Antal Dorati/London Symphony Orchestra's song Overture tell a tragic story of a man named Captain Walker who never returned home. The lyrics suggest that he may have been a soldier or a sailor who was believed to be missing along with a number of other men. The lyrics also indicate that Captain Walker had an unborn child, who will never know their father. The tone of the lyrics is melancholic and full of sorrow, as it conveys the pain and heartache that comes with losing a loved one.
The lyrics are open to interpretation, as they do not provide much context or background information about the characters or the story. However, they offer a glimpse into the emotional turmoil that the characters are experiencing. The line "Don't expect to see him again" is particularly poignant, as it suggests that the characters have given up hope of finding Captain Walker.
Overall, the lyrics to Overture are a moving tribute to the sacrifice and bravery of those who have lost their lives in service to their country. The song conveys a sense of loss and longing, as well as a deep respect for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
Line by Line Meaning
Captain Walker
The leader of a group of men.
Didn't come home.
He didn't return to his family.
His unborn child
The child that he and his wife were expecting.
Will never know him.
The child will never get to meet or know their father.
Believe him missing
Think that he is lost or unaccounted for.
With a number of men.
Along with other soldiers or companions.
Don't expect
There is no reason to anticipate.
To see him again.
To have the opportunity to reunite with him.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave
Written by: PETER TOWNSHEND
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
barbara brandt
My grandfather played trumpet with the Minneapolis Symphony. Love that I can hear him!
Roger Chou
According to the description with my CD, the cannon used in this recording is the same model as those used by French troop in attacking Moscow in 1812. Further, the bell set is a replica of the one in a major church in Moscow, and the copy was given to the Riverside Church at NYC as a gift when NYC and Moscow first became sister cities.
Steve Seifer
This recording came out when I was 17. It was too much. I never heard anything like it. The fidelity was ahead of it's time.
pianozach1
My favorite version. Naturally, it's because I grew up with it. Capriccio Italien's on the 2nd side of this album, and it rocks!
James Hurst
Yes, that would have to be the best recording of the 1812 Overture I have ever heard! The carillon at the end was almost overpowering!
Andy hodgson
On overall balance this is my favourite version that I've heard. It isn't better in every way than other versions but If I could make my perfect hybrid version I would take most sections from this version. Fabulous full bodied recording too, the positioning of the recording equipment was spot on.
Thomas Collins
I listened to this version as a sophomore in high school while I was learning trombone. Reinforced my choice of instrument that I still play to this day! Second only to Stars and Stripes Forever as the greatest piece of music ever written!
Frank Collins
Still the one and only best recording.
Lisa Toth
I love Antal Dorati! I've been looking for a recording up here on you tube of him with Detroit Symphony conducting the 1812, but not much luck, yet. I do have an old vinyl recording of it and it is great! Cannon and tons of church bells and all. Thanks so much for posting this.
Sâmua Elisa Georg
Love it! Thank you very much!