Austrian symphonist Bruckner was long denied the recognition that he deserved - which was a situation that almost endured until towards the end of his life. However, he owed his significant breakthrough as a composer to the premiere of his Seventh Symphony in Leipzig in 1884. With the famous Adagio, this work was an enormous success during Bruckner's lifetime and is still considered one of the most famous and beautiful works of romantic symphonic repertoire. Even Johann Strauss, Jr. was amazed by the symphony: "Am deeply moved. It was the musical experience of my life." For the present album, this deeply moving symphony is recently recorded in one of the most famous concert halls in the world, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, by its Orchestra in Residence NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra under their new Chief Conductor Alan Gilbert. With this recording, one will experience Bruckner’s breathtaking Seventh Symphony in the spectacular big concert hall of Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.
J. Strauss Jr: Die Gottin Der Vernunft / Pollack, Kumpfmuller, Cortez, Mittermeier, Fodinger
Naxos
CD
$29.99May 31, 2011
Set in the town of Chalons near the German border at the time of the French Revolution during the Reign of Terror in 1794, Johann Strauss II’s final operetta The Goddess of Reason languished for 111 years until this 2009 in-concert revival. Its light-hearted mockery of the aristocracy, morality and the army, somewhat controversial at the time, seems as harmless now as that of Bernstein’s ebullient opera Candide and its humour stands the test of time. Abounding in waltz tunes and marches, its exuberant music is vintage Strauss. For this recording Christian Pollack has reconstructed the score as it would have been heard on its opening night with additional items that Strauss added for its 25th performance.
Symphony 5 In C Minor 67 / Die Fledermaus Overture
NKB Record
CD
$18.99May 03, 2019
This recording, unlike the previous two albums, was made in the newly renovated Slovak Philharmonic Hall. Reflecting the bright and festive atmosphere of this hall, this performance changes the heavy impression of anguished "Destiny" which has prevailed until now. The progression of this symphony, starting with the first movement which inspires violent anxiety, to a reversal in the warm and friendly second movement, to the wrenching third movement, and finishing with the strong resoluteness of the fourth movement, is testimony to the lifetime of Beethoven. The two works of Johann Strauss let you enjoy the good old Vienna atmosphere, appropriate to the home of this orchestra. Without aggressive pressure, with a characteristic generous and spacious tempo, this performance dispels the stern image which tends to follow this work around.
A veritable musical metaphor for the suicide of Europe that was the Great War, both apotheosis and apocalypse. We also hear evocations of Schubert, Liszt, Mahler and Kreisler, all imbued with a kind of nostalgia that belongs only to this mythical city. - Aurélien Pontier
Dedicated to the last years of Imperial Vienna, which gave rise to an artistic effervescence unique in European history. The program opens with a piano transcription of Strauss's Die Fledermaus and ends with Ravel's La Valse.
Strauss II-Korngold: Eine Nacht In Venedig / Burkert, Oper Graz
CPO
CD
$18.99May 03, 2019
Erich Wolfgang Korngold greatly revised the comic operetta A Night in Venice by Johann Strauss (Jr.) on the basis of the libretto version by Ernst Marischka. The original Straussian version initially rapidly made its way around the world, with performances in the lands of the Danube monarchy as well as in Hamburg, Munich, and London and even in New York. Nevertheless, until the end of World War I it experienced only about five hundred performances, which means that it was clearly overshadowed by Die Fledermaus. Again and again the attempt was made to reinterpret the text with interventions revising its content. Erich Wolfgang Korngold took an additional step in 1923, when he not only adapted the text but also changed the original instrumentation and integrated inserts into the work from other operettas by Strauss, for example, from Simplicius (1880). For several reasons Korngold’s revised version was a success when it was performed at the Theater an der Wien on 25 October 1923: the stage set was lavish and magnificent, the new orchestration displayed tonal sophistication, and the great Richard Tauber was heard in the role of the Duke in quest of erotic adventures. A few years later Korngold’s version made its way to the stage of the Vienna State Opera.
Ten famous composers are represented on this fantastic 10-CD set, with each disc focusing on some of the best-known music from each conductor. You’ll hear some of the most celebrated compositions from Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Frederic Chopin, Antonin Dvořák, Leos Janacek, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Bedrich Smetana, Johann Strauss, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky and Antonio Vivaldi. Selections include the wistful Largo from Dvořák’s New World Symphony, the solemn entrance of the piano in Tchaikovsky’s Concerto in B flat minor, the festive Ode to Joy from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, the sweet bird song and summer storm from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, and an inexhaustible amount of other musical treasures. This box set is truly a “Best of ” the best—the perfect present for you and your nearest and dearest, who like beautiful music in top quality.
Ravel: Complete Solo Piano Music, Vol. 3 / Marshev
Danacord
CD
$18.99Feb 02, 2024
Last volume of Ravel
On a previous volume of this, the most complete survey of Ravel´s piano music ever recorded, Oleg Marshev “sails through thickets of tremolos and relentless arpeggios, yet remains attuned to the composer´s sensual harmonic language (Gramophone). The final volume brings the composer's oblique homages to the world of ancient régime Paris, in his dance suite after Couperin, and the Vienna of Schubert and Johanns Strauss in constrasting transformations of the waltz. Marshev is a phenomenon.
Viennese composer, conductor, and pianist Wilhelm Grosz was a musician of remarkable versatility and wide-ranging influences. He attracted critical praise as a composer from an early age with the technically formidable Symphonic Variations on an Original Theme, acclaimed as "a dramatic tone painting expanding to symphonic grandeur - on only one instrument." The Kleine Sonate is marked by great depth and clarity of expression, while the waltz transcriptions tapped into a craze for Johann Strauss II in 1930s London. The highly original Three Pieces was rediscovered just before this recording was made.
For his tenth solo recording for Alpha Classics and Outhere Music, Nelson Goerner returns to a composer he particularly cherishes: Schumann, here with the Davidsbündler, his imaginary music society created to combat the Philistines, musicians considered decorative and traditionalist (such as Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti). Robert began the Davidsbündlertänze a few days after 14 August 1837, the date of his engagement to Clara. Between idyllic dreams and impassioned protests, Goerner is able to develop his full sense of narrative... In addition, he puts his sensitivity to work on Handel's 21 variations on the Chaconne in G major, published in 1735 under the title 'Suite No. 2'. Viennese sweetness and virtuoso intoxication conclude this recital with the Arabesques on 'The Blue Danube' by Johann Strauss Jr., written by the Polish composer Adolf Schulz-Evler (1852/4-1905).
All six of these orchestral works exemplify Busoni's personalized classicism. The Lustspielouverture (Comedy Overture) is light, and almost Mozartian in clarity, whilst Gesang vom Reigen der Geister (Song of the Spirit Dance) is a delicately scored chamber piece, forward-looking in both style and content. Both the Concertino for Clarinet and the Flute Divertimento reveal Busoni's affinity for solo instruments; the former is deftly organized and the latter more obviously capricious. The spirit of Johann Strauss II haunts the infectious Tanzwalzer and the Rondo arlecchinesco unleashes Busoni's broadsides of wit. In 2002 Francesco La Vecchia was appointed Artistic Director and Resident Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma. Under his leadership the orchestra has rapidly achieved success in Europe and in highly successful tours to St Petersburg, Madrid, Belgrade, Brussels, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, London, Athens, Berlin, Beijing and Shanghai.
Imre Széchényi was a distinguished diplomat who rose to become the Austro-Hungarian ambassador to Berlin, retaining the friendship and admiration of a gallery of leading figures of the age: Liszt, Johann Strauss ii, Suppé, Waldteufel, Bismarck, and many others. He was also a pianist and composer, and his diplomatic career ran parallel to his musical life. Széchényi’s métier was the dance, and his series of polkas, mazurkas and serenades – infectiously engaging and ardently lyrical – were popular pieces in their day but are now little known. orchestrations of many of these dances were made by the composer (Naxos 8.573807) but five that were never scored for orchestra are included here.
Széchényi: Waltzes and Hungarian Marches / Kassai, Lázár
Naxos
CD
$9.99$19.99Save 50%Jun 25, 2021
Count Imre Széchényi of Sárvár-Felsővidék was a highly regarded Austro-Hungarian diplomat and politician who counted Johann strauss as a lifelong friend, and whose dances were popular and much in demand in his day. Széchényi composed waltzes throughout his creative period, but only a few of these have been preserved. His work was of interest to his contemporaries, and among these premiere recordings is Liszt’s own arrangement of the Ungarischer Marsch. These lively and melodious forgotten gems are brought to life on a 1908 Bechstein piano previously owned by Wagner’s grandson, Wolfgang.
After the successful album release “Slavonic Souls” (Capriccio C5039) the Vienna State Opera Singer Zoryana Kushpler, accompanied on the piano by her partner and twin sister Olena, offer a rich recital of famous Spanish songs by the likes of Granados, de Falla, Mompou, Rodrigo and Montsalvage, including some choice rarities by these composers. Born in Lvov, Ukraine, Ms. Kushpler made her debut at the Wiener Staatsoper in 2007 as Adelaide in Richard Strauss’s Arabella. She has also been heard there in the operas of Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini, Offenbach and Johann Strauss.
2018 release. Since 1939, the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert has become a tradition and the world's most famous classical music event. The list of names of leading conductors who have led the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concerts reads like a veritable who's who of great maestros: Herbert von Karajan, Lorin Maazel, Claudio Abbado and Gustavo Dudamel to name a few. For the New Year's Concert 2018 world-renowned conductor Riccardo Muti returns to conduct the New Year's Concert for the fifth time. He has conducted the Vienna Philharmonic for over 500 concerts, has a very close connection to the orchestra and is one of the most engaged New Year's Concert conductors. Italian conductor Muti holds two music directorships: the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. A prolific recording artist, Muti has received dozens of honors, titles, awards and prizes throughout his career. The Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert is unique and has often been imitated, but not equaled, with a live broadcast on television in over 90 countries around the world with over 40 million viewers. The repertoire for the New Year's Concert features works by members of the Strauss Family - Johann Strauss, father and son, as well as Eduard and Josef Strauss. Old favorites from their works are played alongside others that have never been recorded or are rarely heard. All of them programmed around two fixed points in the concert, The Blue Danube Waltz and the Radetzky March.
Entitled Vienna Evenings, this recording contains music linked to the imperial city and the piano, and to the enviable bourgeois musical culture of these time periods. The album features Schubert's piano pieces, the waltzes of Liszt and Schubert, and the waltzes of Johann Strauss re-imagined for the piano. Gábor Farkas received his MA and doctorate at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. Zoltán Kocsis was his master-teacher. After the academy he studied at the International Piano Academy, Lake Como, Italy, with William Grant Naboré. In 2015 he won the Grand Prix of the competition announced by the New York Concert Artist & Associates, as a result of which he could debut in Carnegie Hall in 2016.
World Orchestra For Peace - Valery Gergiev At The Abu Dhabi Festival
C Major Entertainment
DVD
$26.99Aug 30, 2011
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5. ROSSINI William Tell: Overture. PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 1, “Classical” • Valery Gergiev, cond; World O for Peace • C MAJOR 707008 (DVD: 104:00) Live: Abu Dhabi 1/4/2011
& SOLTI’S VISION—THE WORLD ORCHESTRA FOR PEACE: THE FIRST 15 YEARS 1995–2010
The World Orchestra for Peace was founded by Sir Georg Solti in 1995, incorporating players from around the globe. Solti’s successor as its conductor is Valery Gergiev, who leads the present concert at the Abu Dhabi Festival, the orchestra’s first appearance in the Arab world. The DVD contains a pleasant bonus feature about the history of the orchestra and its workings. One thing that this documentary makes clear is the affection between Gergiev and his players. With what essentially is a pick-up orchestra, Gergiev hones an ensemble of beauty and refinement, with a powerful sonority. I concur with the audience in Abu Dhabi; this concert is a resounding success.
The William Tell Overture receives beautiful playing from the solo cello, flute, and English horn, plus an incisive response by the trombone choir. The interpretation is unhackneyed—one hears Gergiev’s skill as an opera conductor in setting an atmosphere. His hands flutter to create tension. The Lone Ranger music possesses a fine edge and is very exciting; I couldn’t help but conduct along with it. Gergiev takes the first three movements of the “Classical” Symphony at a leisurely pace. He begins the first movement by making circles with his right hand, suggesting the long line of the music. Gergiev’s gestures remind me of a remark Leonard Bernstein made to Glenn Dicterow: “I’m not a time beater. I’m an inspirer.” The solo bassoon in this movement is suitably puckish. The second movement here reveals the strongest influence of Haydn, with exquisite playing. The Gavotte in Gergiev’s hands is like a slow, heavy-footed Russian dance. Gergiev’s tempo for the finale is quick but not breathless. In the witty exchanges between orchestral choirs, the 20th century greets the 18th.
In Tchaikovsky’s Fifth, Gergiev molds the rich sound of the orchestra with the curve of his arms. I heard Gergiev say in an interview with Gilbert Kaplan that Furtwängler is one of his idols, which helps explain the never-capricious freedom of tempo in this performance. The opening clarinet solo is dark and mellifluous. Inexorable fate dominates Gergiev’s conception of the first movement. Nothing is sugary here. Its coda has an unusually slow, slightly menacing tempo. The horn solo that opens the second movement is dusky and dreamlike. In the darkness and heaviness of this movement, the conductor provides a foretaste of Shostakovich’s slow movements. Gergiev here gets the maximum expressiveness out of his body, perhaps wishing he could do even more. He doesn’t signal an end to the slow movement, just letting it fade away. The waltz offers a nervous respite from the previous movement. The finale is not march-like or triumphal. Gergiev paints it on a huge canvas, even down to beautiful tuba playing. The final peroration seems Byronic in its suggestion of despairing heroism. In sum, this is an individual and striking Tchaikovsky Fifth, gorgeously played.
In the encore, Johann Strauss Jr.’s Tritsch-Tratsch Polka, the orchestra creates a completely different atmosphere, echt Viennese. The violin playing is especially lithe and sparkling. The sound engineering in stereo is very good, with just a hint of congestion in climaxes. I was unable to try out the surround-sound option. The director does a fine job, alternating not overbearing views of Gergiev with sensitively judged close-ups of the orchestra’s players. I enjoyed just listening to the DVD’s sound while lying down as much as I did viewing its picture. If you are looking for CDs of the primary works, I would recommend Sir Colin Davis for the Rossini, Masur and the London Philharmonic or Rostropovich in the Prokofiev, and in the Tchaikovsky Antal Doráti and the London Symphony or Leonard Bernstein on Deutsche Grammophon. Gergiev really presents a seminar on the conductor’s art on this DVD. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to see how a major artist achieves his results.
FANFARE: Dave Saemann
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Gioacchino Rossini: Guillaume Tell: Overture Sergei Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25, “Classical” Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 Johann Strauss II: Tritsch-Tratsch Polka, Op. 214
World Orchestra for Peace Valery Gergiev, conductor
Recorded live from the Abu Dhabi Festival, 2011.
Bonus: - Solti’s Vision: The World Orchestra for Peace – The First 15 Years 1995–2010.
Picture format: NTSC 16:9 Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS 5.1 Region code: 0 (worldwide) Subtitles: German Running time: 83 mins (concert) + 21 mins (bonus) No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)
Gemischter Satz: Celebration of Viennese Song / Groissböck, Ebner, Trenkwitz, Philharmonia Schrammeln
Gramola Records
CD
$31.99Jan 14, 2022
This two-album set contains four different kinds of iterations of the Viennese spirit: Duets, Lieder, dialect literature, and Schrammelmusik, all of which stem from the vineyard that is Vienna and all of which, for all their variety and different flavor, stand for what makes Vienna, musically speaking. It’s a fortuitous confluence of circumstances when a celebrated operatic bass like Günther Groissböck and a likewise popular tenor like Karl-Michael Ebner develop a friendship and discover their mutual love for Wienerlied, Vienna’s unique musical and socio-cultural phenomenon. Even more so, if this leads to an album production like the one at hand, which additionally features spoken interludes – witty but also pointed, biting, and sarcastic Viennese poems by Trude Marzik, Josef Weinheber and H. C. Artmann, read with great charm by Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz – as well as captivating instrumentals by the Philharmonia-Schrammeln.
