Sir Roger Norrington has been chief conductor of the former Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra RSO (today SWR Symphonieorchester) for thirteen years. During this time he caused internationally quite a stir with what got to be called "The Stuttgart Sound", a synthesis between historically informed performance and technical capabilities of a modern orchestra. Whether Mozart or Haydn, Bruckner or Brahms, Norrington's main focus laid on quick tempi, a "pure ton" (that is, vibratoless), articulation, seating plan and orchestra size as experienced by the composers themselves back in their time. With the present re-issue of his Bruckner SWR-recordings, Norrington sought to render the "human face" of Bruckner, not just the quasi-religious abstraction the public is sometimes given instead. His symphonies are secular works written with the Musikverein Vienna in mind. They contain descriptive music (journeys, nature, birds), dance music and humor, unexpected dramatic passages, and pauses. In his entirely individual style (culled from Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Wagner, but rarely sounding like any of them), Bruckner echoes memories of his own violin playing as a youth at village weddings, quite as much as those of the St. Florian organ loft.

Sir Roger Norrington has been chief conductor of the former Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (today the SWR Symphonieorchester) for thirteen years. During this time he has caused a stir internationally with what has come to be termed ‘The Stuttgart Sound’: a synthesis of historically-informed performance practice with the technical capabilities of a modern orchestra. Whether in Mozart, Haydn, Bruckner or Brahms, Norrington has sought to capture the performance experience of the time, adjusting the orchestra’s size and seating plan to create an authentic sound without vibrato. The present reissue of Brahms' four symphonies, recorded back in 2005, is no exception to Norrington's artistic credo of keeping as close as possible to the composer's expectations. And one of the main features – beside the "pure sound" without vibrato – are the quick tempi. Brahms left no metronome indications in his symphonies. However, the overall timings left by the Brahms conductor von Bülow are so short, compared to today, that there can have been no very slow tempi in his interpretations. Additionally, Norrington considered also one of the many hints left by another admired conductor and friend of Brahsm, Steinbach: “By all means conduct the opening of Brahms First Symphony in 6. But it must sound in 2.” 'A German Requiem' is one of the most popular compositions by Johannes Brahms. Although the texts are taken from the Bible, the piece is not part of any ecclesiastical-liturgical tradition, it is aimed – as Brahms himself expressly emphasized – at people “who are in mourning” and unlike the “Requiem”, the Catholic Mass of the Dead, it is not a liturgical prayer for the souls of the deceased, but rather intended to console the bereaved.

This album showcases one of Ginette Neveu's last recordings of Beethoven's concerto, recorded only weeks before her death. The Brahms Concerto was recorded live in 1948 and the Beethoven Concerto was also recorded live in 1949.

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

The contemporary vocal music of the Baltic states is infused with the timeless resonances of a folk tradition dating back to pagan times, and created a sensation when it was first unleashed upon European concert halls in the second half of the 20th century. This very special programme from the acclaimed SWR Vokalensemble represents the most eloquent and sophisticated choral repertoire of this region. Veljo Tormis’ intense folk song arrangements, and compelling works by Peteris Vasks and Arvo Part are included next to music of entrancing colours, heard in remarkable settings by a younger generation of award-winning composers.

Tanja Becker-Bender, one of Germany's most distinguished violinists, already has a number of critically acclaimed CDs of absorbing repertoire to her credit. Her collaboration with the Hungarian pianist Peter Nagy over many years has borne musical fruits of remarkable quality, as this Bartok recording so impressively demonstrates.

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REVIEW:

These players don’t seem to be among those who conceive Bartók’s music primarily as a rigorous exploration of dissonance; and their moving it from center stage, though hardly underplaying its jagged power (as in the Solo Violin Sonata), allows it to speak naturally and, in general, cogently. Highly recommended to admirers of the composer’s paradigm-shattering synthesis.

– Fanfare

Also available on Blu-ray

The contemporary vocal music of the Baltic states is infused with the timeless resonances of a folk tradition dating back to pagan times, and created a sensation when it was first unleashed upon European concert halls in the second half of the 20th century. This very special programme from the acclaimed SWR Vokalensemble represents the most eloquent and sophisticated choral repertoire of this region. Veljo Tormis’ intense folk song arrangements, and compelling works by Peteris Vasks and Arvo Part are included next to music of entrancing colors, heard in remarkable settings by a younger generation of award-winning composers.

Alice Babs, the Swedish singer and actress, was mostly seen by the industry as the hit-warbling Swedish girl. But she continued to make excursions into the realms of jazz and swing. This was also thanks to Erwin Lehn, who invited her, beginning in 1952, to sing before the microphones of his Südfunk Dance Orchestra (Südfunk-Tanzorchester). One can hear what a good choice this was on the recordings that were made on various occasions between 1952 and 1955 in Stuttgart. One can also hear Alice Babss roots in the European vocal culture, but the sheer presence of her interpretations is impressive. Each of the songs radiates the smile of her enthusiasm, which also makes Erwin Lehns orchestra shine acoustically. Alone for this reason these finds from the SWR archives are jewels of European swing history.

Sammy Nestico, the composer-arranger known for his contributions to the Count Basie Orchestra library and whose name is familiar to anyone who’s played in a big band since the 1960s, recently has gone through a highly creative and productive phase. The rise of Nestico’s international profile has been sparked by a period of collaboration with the SWR Big Band of Germany that has produced several masterful albums, including No Time Like The Present (2004), Basie-Cally Sammy (2005), Fun Time (2009) and Fun Time And More (2011). The productive streak continues with this year’s A Cool Breeze, which finds the perpetually developing, 93-year-old orchestrator combining swing, soul, funk, fusion and symphonic expressions in a stylistic manner that’s distinctly modern yet undeniably Nestico. Unlike his previous SWR collaborations, Nestico (who’s based in San Diego) wasn’t able to travel to Germany for these recording sessions, but digital technology allowed him to participate via Skype and high-speed audio file transfer. His signature syncopations, volleying counterpoint passages, tensely stacked fourths, dramatic dynamics and tasteful manner of combining instrumental timbres are all manifest in the SWR Big Band’s impeccable, inspired performance. These dedicated musicians have become so adept at finessing and interpreting Nestico’s work that they actually transcend what’s on the printed page. They turn his carefully crafted charts into memorable works of art that will have toes tappin’ and fingers snappin’ for decades to come. - DownBeat Magazine Editors' Pick

The Mozart symphonies on this album were recorded within two weeks at the European Music Festival Stuttgart in September 2006. More than 20 symphonies, ranging from the earliest to the last ten, were chosen to represent the superb range of the composer's output. The aim was to recreate as far as possible the playing style of the period. Roger Norrington used the exact orchestra size of each symphony at it's first performance (the smallest was a mere 18 players!). Tempos followed the most recent research. Bow strokes, articulation and phrasing were carefully studied, and of course the orchestra played quite without the 20th century vibrato. Every album in this edition contains a symphony from the early, the middle and the late period. The last four symphonies, however, were played in a much grander, and experimental, manner (24 violins and 16 woodwinds).

Witold Rowicki, one of Poland’s most important conductors of the 20th century and leading figure of his generation, is internationally known especially for the complete recording of Dvorák’s symphonies with the London Symphony Orchestra as well as for his impulsive Tchaikovsky performances. In his native country he was admired as the conductor to whom Witold Lutoslawski dedicated his brilliant Concerto for orchestra and who strongly promoted the music of his compatriots. The Tchaikovsky studio recordings presented here were made in 1962 (Fifth Symphony) and 1969 (Sixth Symphony) with the Südwestfunk Symphony Orchestra and in 1979 (Nutcracker Suite) with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra. Rowicki had many other appearances with German orchestras, each of them enthusiastically greeted by the press and the public.

REVIEW:

Witold Rowicki was surely Poland’s ‘number one’ conductor in the second half of the 20th century, a fascinating musician not to be underrated, who always had plenty to tell us about whatever repertoire he tackled.

What a pity that Rowicki didn’t tackle the Nutcracker Suite in the studio. Well, happily SWR has come up with an all-Tchaikovsky double-pack featuring that very suite (with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, 1979) in addition to Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6, both with the SWR Symphony Orchestra.

The suite’s highlights are surely the incisive, super-swift Overture and a ‘Waltz of the Flowers’ that is elegant, unhurried and precise. Both the suite and the Pathétique are offered in reasonably good stereo sound, the symphony volatile in the extreme, the initial statement of the first movement’s secondary theme free and rhapsodic, the Allegro molto vivace third movement broadening near the close before speeding up again, the finale charged with emotion.

The Fifth (1962) is heavier, the transition to the second idea very emphatic, the Andante cantabile slow movement deeply elegiac, with raging full-orchestral interjections. The finale is broader than is generally the fashion nowadays but is none of the worse for that, its peroration speeding excitedly. A fascinating set that should prove stimulating for all fans of charismatic conducting and will hopefully prompt further Rowicki releases and reissues. There must surely be plenty of broadcast recordings hidden away in various radio archives.

-- Gramophone

These performances are of a surpassing musicality throughout.

Although Mozart's five violin concertos represent only a very small part of his creative work (when compared to the 27 piano concertos and the 41 symphonies), they nevertheless belong to the core repertoire of all violinists. Just like his piano concertos Mozart’s violin concertos, all of them written in his young years, rest on the constant dialogue of the solo instrument with the orchestra. Right from the first concerto the violin is integrated into the performance of the orchestra, which in itself is much more than just accompaniment. Gil Shaham, one of the foremost violinist of our times, carves these works to jewels of the genre. He is accompanied by the SWR Symphony Orchestra under Nicholas McGegan, who stands for historically informed music performance.

REVIEW:

This cycle of Mozart violin concertos has no right to be as good as it is. The players are of diverse backgrounds and aren’t known for working together. So it’s a surprise to find that these performances are of a surpassing musicality throughout. Shaham’s slow movements are gloriously melodic, and listeners get to hear the rarely heard replacement Adagio in E major, K. 261, a superb piece of Mozartian lyricism. Coordination between soloist and orchestra is at a very high level. This relatively unheralded release may come to be seen as a standard for Mozart’s violin concertos.

-- AllMusicGuide.com (James Manheim)

Among the works of Robert Schumann, the four symphonies represent the highs and lows of the composer’s life unlike any others. They were composed between 1840 (shortly after his marriage to Clara Schumann) and 1853 (at which point his mental health problems were becoming clearly apparent). They were, at least, where the first symphony is concerned, a leap into the unknown for the young composer who until then had focused on piano and Lied repertoire. In the coming years, Schumann’s life was a series of short, carefree episodes that alternated with considerably longer period marked by pressing worries – recognition often gave way to criticism and rejection. These were the composer’s personal circumstances when writing the four symphonies. The approach of Roger Norrington, whose artistic credo is the faithful rendition of a composer's intentions, becomes all the more important when considering Schumann’s background as well as the epoch in which he lived and worked. During Norrington’s thirteen years as chief conductor of the former Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (which merged with its sister orchestra from Baden-Baden to form the SWR Symphonieorchester in 2016), he adhered to historically informed performance practice, applying the characteristics of period style to the modern symphony orchestra.