Described as having ‘natural genius’, John Abraham Fisher was a significant figure in London during the second half of the 18th century. A virtuoso violinist,...

Described as having ‘natural genius’, John Abraham Fisher was a significant figure in London during the second half of the 18th century. A virtuoso violinist, he also wrote admired stage works for the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden. His orchestral works are largely forgotten today, but his symphonies display a surprising awareness of contemporary continental trends in their use of dynamic variations, revealing the influence of the Mannheim School. Possessing a richness of color, contrast and surprise, these symphonies typify Fisher’s expanding Classical style. About Michael Halász, ConductorMichael Halász’s recordings for Naxos include ballets by Tchaikovsky, operatic excerpts of Wagner, symphonies by Beethoven, Schubert and Mahler, Rossini’s overtures, three volumes of Liszt’s symphonic poems (the latter critically acclaimed by The Penguin Guide), Fidelio, Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte, and a pioneering recording of Schreker’s opera Der ferne Klang. He has also recorded Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and Orfeo, Richard Strauss’s Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, and Rubinstein’s Don Quixote.

REVIEW:

The orchestration is striking. Pardubice orchestra and conductor Halasz are so decidedly committed to this music, which has never been recorded before. There has definitely been a lot rediscovered that can’t compete with Fisher’s symphonies.

– Pizzicato