Various Composers - Opening the Doors (Alexander Gibson)

Information

• Georges Bizet - Petite suite des "Jeux d'enfants", Op. 22, WD 39
• Benjamin Britten - Soirées musicales, Op. 9
• Jean Sibelius - King Christian II Suite, Op. 27
• Jean Sibelius - Karelia Overture, Op. 10
• Maurice Ravel - Ma mère l'Oye, M. 60
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Don Giovanni, K. 527 (Excerpts)
• Camille Saint-Saëns - Le carnaval des animaux
• Franz Lehár - The Merry Widow (Excerpts)
• Ethel Smyth - The Wreckers: Overture
• Felix Mendelssohn - Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 56, MWV N18 "Scottish"
• Giuseppe Verdi - Un ballo in maschera (Excerpts)
• Edward German - Welsh Rhapsody
• Ralph Vaughan Williams - Symphony No. 5 in D Major
• Hamish MacCunn - The Land of the Mountain and the Flood, Op. 3
• Richard Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59 (Excerpts)
• Hector Berlioz - Les Troyens, H 133, Act 5 (Excerpts)
• Ludwig van Beethoven - Fantasia in C Minor, Op. 80 "Choral Fantasy"
• Gustav Mahler - Das Lied von der Erde
• Hamilton Harty - With the Wild Geese

Alexander Gibson, conductor

Compilation: 2026

Label: Warner Classics

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Born in Scotland in 1926, Sir Alexander Gibson received his musical education at Glasgow University, the Royal College of Music—where he won the Queen’s Prize in 1951—the Salzburg Mozarteum, and the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. In 1952, he was awarded the Enesco Prize for young conductors at the Besançon Festival. He held key posts with Sadler’s Wells and the BBC Scottish Orchestra before becoming Music Director of Sadler’s Wells Opera in 1957. Appointed Principal Conductor of the Scottish National Orchestra in 1959, he enhanced its international standing through tours and recordings. Founder of Scottish Opera, he later held prominent international roles and received a CBE, a knighthood, and other honors before his death in 1995.