Prior to becoming Principle Guest Conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Andrey Boreyko served as chief conductor of the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra from and is currently in the same position with the Dusseldorf Symphony Orchestra. In his first recording for Henssler CLASSIC, Maestro Boreyko delivered what has come to be regarded as one of the definitive recordings of Shostakovich's difficult and emotionally searing Fourth Symphony. For this new release, Boreyko returns with what will surely become benchmark versions of two equally difficult Shostakovich scores.

Classical Music

In 1893 Claude Debussy wrote to his friend "it is Tristan that prevents us from working. On can't see... I can't see what could be created beyond Tristan." The French intellectuals, especially musicians and writers, were captivated by the magic of Richard Wagner's music and were frantically looking for ideas as to how things could go on after Wagner. Without doubt, all musicians were acutely aware of the fact that the possibilities of tonality, the key element that had united European music for 400 years, were exhausted. However, in France there was more at stake: In 1870 the conflicts between Germany and France had culminated in a war that the French had lost. Subsequently, removing the German element at least from art and culture and developing genuinely French music became a question of national identity. That is why, in 1871, Gabriel Faure and Camille Saint Saens founded the Societe Nationale de Musique which was to further the new French music. The programme on the present release was born out of this tradition, and is performed here by the SWR Vokalensemble.

Among the major 19th c. choral/orchestral works Sir Roger Norrington and his former Orchestra, the Radio. Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, have tackled over the years, now finally comes Brahms' "German Requiem." one of the most beautiful and popular sacred music works in the repertoire. Although Biblical texts are used, the piece is not in the standard church liturgical tradition. World class soloists/soprano Christina Landshamer and basso Florian Boesch are acompanied by the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart and the NDR lend their full artistic support to Mr. Norrington's interpretation of this work.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Great Britain's music culture is marked by a centuries-old tradition of choral singing, as is shown, for instance, in the institution of college choirs. Church policy had a beneficial effect on the development of sacred music. After the Anglican Church separated from Rome in the 16th c. and the abbeys were secularized, many cathedral choirs were founded which took over the Holy Office from the monastic communities. The fact that sacred choral music in the British Isles is still written largely with an orientation to liturgical purposes must be understood as an effect of this constellation. The close relationship between the way composers and performers work, moreover, explains the tendency of a large portion of this art to be addressed to the general public. Marcus Creed directs the SWR Vokalensemble in a program of 20th-21st c. choral music by five outstanding, legendary figures of British music: Maxwell Davies, the Scotsman James Macmillan, Jonathan Harvey, John Taverner and Benjamin Britten.

This live recording of Quincy Jones and his Orchestra was taken in Ludwigshafen in 1961. The orchestra had an all-star roster, including Freddie Hubbard, Benny Bailey, and Sahib Shihab. The program includes classics such as Summertime and Stolen Moments.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music