The Romanian conductor Constantin Silvestri (1913-1969) began his distinguished career in 1930 with the Bucharest Radio Symphony Orchestra, leading to the directorship of the Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra in 1945. In 1956 Silvestri moved to Paris and a year later he made his UK debut with the London Philharmonic. This led to a major contract with EMI, under which he conducted the Philharmonia, the Paris Conservatoire and the Vienna Philharmonic orchestras in a wide selection of repertoire including Bartók, Debussy, Dvořák, Elgar, Franck, Hindemith, Liszt, Ravel, Shostakovich, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky.

These ‘Spanish’-themed recordings are rarities and belonged to Silvestri’s private collection, only discovered after his death. Silvestri’s live performances of Debussy’s Ibéria, Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain (Noches en los jardines de España) and The Three Cornered Hat

(Le tricorne) are new additions to his large discography, either commercial recordings or live broadcasts. The wide-ranging recording captures Silvestri’s hugely dynamic, colourful and expressive conducting of these popular Spanish-influenced works