The Metamorphoses by the Roman poet Ovid were not always merely the nightmare of classical philology students. On the contrary: the great work on the transformations of figures of ancient mythology by scornful, amorous or grateful gods have been handed down to us in innumerable paintings, stories, theatre pieces and operas. The symphonies written by Joseph Haydn's colleague and friend Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf in the 1780s occupy a special place among the purely instrumental reflections of these events. Anything but programmatic in the Romantic sense, it plays with sophisticated associations that can only be discovered by those who listen attentively and can supplement the allusions with their own imagination - a rewarding endeavour, especially when sparks fly out of the classical symmetry of the gods as they do here.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Recorded in: Henry Wood Hall, Glasgow 24-26 August 1986 Producer(s) Ralph Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Philip Couzens [Assistant]

Classical Music

DITTERSDORF: Sinfonias

Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (2 November 1739 - 24 October 1799) was an Austrian composer, violinist and silvologist. Music from this Classical period can be difficult to be positive about when it's compared to the works of Mozart, but Dittersdorf's manages to be far from boring and in fact not that far removed from the music of Mozart. All the music on this CD has a gentle and flowing nature about it, while still managing to dip into the lower/softer extremes of it's subject as well as the more intense aspects. This selection was recorded at the Calvanist Church, Budapest, Hungry, from 9th to 11th December, 1996.

DITTERSDORF: Sinfonias on Ovid's Metamorphoses, Nos. 4 - 6

DITTERSDORF: Sinfonias on Ovid's Metamorphoses, Nos. 1 - 3

Baron von Dittersdorf's attractive personality and inventiveness as a composer shines through in every movement of the three charming symphonies featured on this world premi're recording.

In 1781 Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf conceived a ground-breaking, multi-media project to compose and have published a series of fifteen symphonies based on Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Each symphony was to be graced by newly commissioned engravings and synopses. In the event, only six symphonies were published (and without engravings) and these are the only works from the set to survive in orchestral form. The works heard here are four-hand arrangements of three of the lost symphonies, possibly Dittersdorf’s attempt to salvage something from the project. These fascinating works juxtapose conventional structures with fluid, unconventional music transforming Ovid’s ‘tableaux’ into dramatic structures teeming with incident and wit.