Multi-instrumentalist (clarinets, saxophones, bandoneon, etc.) and composer Michel Portal can be considered as the father figure of the French modern jazz scene.
Classically trained, Portal gained notoriety through his association with various modern and contemporary music composers. His performance as the featured soloist on Pierre Boulez's Domaines remains a highlight of his career. However, this exceptional musician also had a seriousRead more interest in folk music and jazz. In the late '60s, he initiated the free jazz movement in France with François Tusques, Bernard Vitet, and Sunny Murray. He went on to form New Phonic Art with Vinko Globokar, Carlos Roque Alsina, and Jean-Pierre Drouet to encourage collective improvisation, sonic explorations, and instant composing. In 1970, Portal developed a fruitful collaboration with John Surman. The following year, he created the long-lived Michel Portal Unit, a structure designed to have European and American musicians meet in a freely improvised setting. In 1975, writing movie soundtracks became a regular activity, which is well-documented on Musiques de Cinémas. In the '80s and '90s, Portal went through countless new musical encounters, never following a plan and always seizing the moment. During that period, his most notable collaborators included Pierre Favre, Dave Liebman, Martial Solal, Mino Cinelu, and Jack DeJohnette. At the turn of the century, Portal finally started to make a serious connection with the U.S., and Minneapolis in particular. He enlisted the help of some of Prince's musicians to develop a rock-tinged project which represented yet another departure. Read less
Label: Naive
Catalog: 40040
Release Date: 02/25/2014
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky,
Erich Wolfgang Korngold,
Maurice Ravel,
Michel Portal
...
Performer:
Laurent Korcia,
Michael Wendeberg,
Michel Portal,
Nemanja Radulovic
...
Conductor:
Jean-Jacques Kantorow
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Liège Philharmonic Orchestra,
Jean-Louis Aubert
Recommendation
Label: Erato
Catalog: 46441
Release Date: 11/19/2013
Number of Discs: 50
Composer:
Tomaso Albinoni,
Giuseppe Tartini,
Georg Philipp Telemann,
Giuseppe Torelli
...
Performer:
Maurice André,
Pierre Pierlot,
Paul Hongne,
Jacques Chambon
...
Conductor:
Sir Neville Marriner,
Jean-François Paillard,
Frigyes Sándor,
Kent Nagano
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ens.,
Paillard Chamber Orchestra,
Vienna Soloists
...
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalog: 001836502
Release Date: 07/23/2013
Number of Discs: 13
Composer:
Pierre Boulez
Performer:
Sophie Cherrier,
Pierre-André Valade,
Emmanuelle Ophèle,
Pierre-Laurent Aimard
...
Conductor:
Pierre Boulez,
Diego Masson,
Roger Desormière
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Ensemble InterContemporain,
BBC Symphony Orchestra,
BBC Singers
...
Label: Emi Classics
Catalog: 972165
Release Date: 11/06/2012
Number of Discs: 20
Composer:
Francis Poulenc
Performer:
Gabriel Tacchino,
Jacques Février,
Emmanuel Strosser,
Xavier Phillips
...
Conductor:
François Boulanger,
Georges Prêtre,
John Alldis,
Harry Christophers
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Garde Républicaine Soloists Ensemble,
Philharmonia Orchestra,
Ambrosian Chorus
...
Recommendation
Label: Erato
Catalog: 2586
Release Date: 09/25/2012
Number of Discs: 3
Composer:
Leopold Mozart,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Emile Naoumoff,
Michel Portal,
Jean-Bernard Pommier,
Paul Meyer
...
Conductor:
Yehudi Menuhin,
Christopher Warren-Green,
John Nelson,
Mikhail Pletnev
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Ensemble Orchestral de Paris
Label: Naive
Catalog: 5154
Release Date: 10/28/2008
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Michel Legrand,
Béla Bartók,
Henri Wieniawski,
Manuel de Falla
...
Performer:
Jean-Philippe Viret,
Christophe Lartilleux,
Laurent Korcia,
Florin Niculescu
...
Recommendation
Label: Emi Classics
Catalog: 6860
Release Date: 07/22/2008
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Sergei Prokofiev
Performer:
Martha Argerich,
Michel Béroff,
Michel Portal,
Frank Peter Zimmermann
...
Conductor:
Simon Rattle,
Charles Dutoit,
Efrem Kurtz,
Riccardo Muti
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra,
Montreal Symphony Orchestra,
Philharmonia Orchestra
...
Recommendation
Label: Decca
Catalog: 425861
Release Date: 03/19/2007
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Vincent D'Indy,
Darius Milhaud,
Francis Poulenc,
Jean Françaix
...
Performer:
André Cazalet,
Pascal Rogé,
Michel Portal,
Amaury Wallez
...
Recommendation
Label: Erato
Catalog: 51793
Release Date: 05/02/2006
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Bernhard Flies
Performer:
Dagmar Schellenberger,
Semeon Skigin,
Andreas Schmidt,
Catherine Pierard
...
Conductor:
Sir Neville Marriner,
Franz Welser-Möst,
Roger Norrington,
Jean-Bernard Pommier
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields,
Stockholm Chamber Orchestra,
London Classical Players
...
Label: Naive
Catalog: 4991
Release Date: 03/21/2006
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Béla Bartók
Performer:
Laurent Korcia,
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet,
Michel Portal
Conductor:
Sakari Oramo
Orchestra/Ensemble:
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Label: Col Legno
Catalog: 20004
Release Date: 08/12/2000
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Vinko Globokar
Performer:
Vinko Globokar,
Josip Dern Kovic,
Tomaz Faganel,
Joze Fürst
...
Conductor:
Vinko Globokar
Orchestra/Ensemble:
University of Illinois New Music Ensemble
Label: London/Decca Double Decker
Catalog: 448270
Release Date: 10/14/1997
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Francis Poulenc
Performer:
Sylvia Greenberg,
George Malcolm,
Alexander Wolkovski,
Bracha Eden
...
Conductor:
Jesús Lopez-Cobos,
Iona Brown,
Sergiu Comissiona,
Charles Dutoit
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Lausanne Pro Arte Chorus,
Suisse Romande Radio Chorus,
Suisse Romande Orchestra
...
Recommendation
Label: Emi Classics
Catalog: 62542
Release Date: 09/29/1992
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Sergei Prokofiev
Performer:
Michel Béroff,
Michel Portal
Conductor:
Kurt Masur
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Parrenin String Quartet,
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Recommendation