Among Bruckner’s Symphonies, the Fifth is his contrapuntal masterpiece; the grandest until the Eighth. The tour-de-force of a finale gives us an idea of what the finale of the Ninth might have been like. Its magnificent dark and halting opening with the descending bass line – so effectively recalled in the finale – is inimitable. Although long available only in a disfigured version by Franz Schalk, it is also distinct for never having been the subject to revision or, perhaps, even doubt on the part of Bruckner – who never heard it performed with an orchestra. And yet, when Bruckner wrote this masterpiece, he was still far from establishing himself as a composer in Vienna and his spirits were as low as ever, writing a friend that “my life has lost all joy and delight – in vain and for nothing.” A radiant pinnacle from amid darkness.

Following their much-praised Schubert recording (‘the most thrilling account of Schubert’s last symphony’, BBC Music Magazine), Maxim Emelyanychev and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra are reunited for their highly anticipated second album on Linn, this time performing Mendelssohn’s Symphonies Nos. 3 & 5. Inspired by the natural beauty of Scotland – and what better way to celebrate SCO’s 50th anniversary in 2023 than the ‘Scottish’ Symphony! – No. 3 has a fiery character well suited for the ‘dynamic, energetic and exciting to watch’ conductor Maxim (The Guardian). Despite its numbering, No. 5 (known as the ‘Reformation’) is an early work which evokes the struggles and triumph of Protestantism. Its final chorale based on Luther’s much celebrated ‘Ein feste Burg’ draws the album to a reaffirming end.

Alexander Rudin and the Ural Youth Symphony Orchestra here present two symphonies by Nikolai Myaskovsky — one of the most undiscovered composers of the 20th century. In his creative legacy, Myaskovsky equals his more famous contemporaries — Prokofiev and Shostakovich. Rudin has been deeply attached to Myaskovsky’s works for a long time; “I have been playing and recording his compositions for more than thirty years… Myaskovsky hardly ever lowered his standards of sincerity, noble taste, extraordinary depth and tragedy. He is an amazing composer, whose works cannot perhaps be immediately understood by everyone. You have to enter into his music and listen to it with an open heart. There is nothing funky about it and many of its connotations are encoded; the music is introverted and thus reflects the personality of the composer. It nonetheless makes a very strong impression and can provide the answers to the questions we face today”.

Composing has always formed an integral part of the artistic life of pianist-conductor Olli Mustonen. Mustonen studied composition under the direction of Einojuhani Rautavaara since the age of 8. His first compositions mainly consisted of chamber works, but in the early 2010s, Mustonen has emerged as a symphonist. This album contains two of his most latest symphonies. Mustonen’s dramatic symphonies are firmly rooted and continuing the tradition of the great classical composers and seek inspiration from multiple sources. The theme of Mustonen’s 2nd Symphony, ‘Johannes Angelos’ (2013), is Byzantium and the ancient city of Constantinople with its mysticism. Mustonen’s 3rd Symphony (2020) is based on the Songs 47-49 in the Finnish national epic Kalevala. This work has been inspired by the cosmic and shamanistic elements in Finnish mythology. In this recording, the solo part is sung by Ian Bostridge who also premiered the work.

Zoltán Kodály’s orchestral output is relatively small but brimming with Hungarian spirit. JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic (BPO) present one of the composer’s most popular works, the Háry János Suite, alongside Summer Evening and the Symphony in C major. Falletta and the BPO’s acclaimed previous Kodály album is on 8573838.

REVIEW:

This is JoAnn Falletta’s second recording for Naxos of music by Kodály and it is every bit as fine as that earlier one. It includes two works which deserve greater exposure than they have received. It also contains Kodály’s most popular orchestral piece, the Háry János Suite. There have been plenty of excellent accounts of this suite, particularly by such Hungarian conductors as István Kertész and Iván Fischer. Falletta holds her own against those, even if none I have heard surpasses Kertész in this music, including his 1964 recorded sound.

The primary reason to get this CD is the rarely performed Symphony in C, a piece that Kodály worked on over a long period beginning in the 1930s and completing only in 1957. It is an attractive and well-orchestrated work with memorable themes and characteristic of Kodály in its harmony and rhythms.

There is plenty of detail to be savoured and at the same time good, but not excessive reverberation. Another fine production from Naxos.

-- MusicWeb International

SOMM Recordings is happy to present the fourth release in the planned First Recordings of the complete Beethoven Symphonies in the legendary edition for piano duet by Xaver Scharwenka, continuing a direct connection to Beethoven via his teacher Franz Kullak who studied with Beethoven’s pupil Carl Czerny, played by the ‘wholly exceptional’ duo of Tessa Uys and Ben Schoeman.

This new CD couples Beethoven’s Symphonies 1 & 6 ‘Pastoral’ together with Busoni’s brilliant Concertino BV88 on a theme of Mozart K. 459, for Two Pianos. Extract from the Duo’s recent Gramophone Blog: We would like to highlight our personal historical connection to this music – particularly the Zeitgeist of Berlin, the city where Scharwenka lived and worked. Tessa’s mother Helga Bassel was a concert pianist who also hailed from Berlin, and in the 1930s had to seek refuge in Cape Town. She was indeed fortunate to be able to leave Germany accompanied by her Blüthner grand piano and her collection of piano music which included Scharwenka’s duo transcriptions of the nine Beethoven symphonies.”

Previous releases in this ground-breaking set have received outstanding reviews: ‘Uys and Schoeman play marvellously...SOMM’s fine sonics do justice both to the performers and to their superbly regulated Steinway model D concert grand’ (Classics Today); ‘I was immediately struck by the orchestral quality of their sound – this is an exhilarating account’ (Rebecca Franks, BBC Music Magazine); ‘The result is stunning...these are two superb pianists who breathe through all this music as if they were one’ (Gramophone); ‘In a pure state...the work’s argument has a drivenness and gloriousness that seems to define what a musical argument might be...’ (The Sunday Times); ‘This is undoubtedly superb musicianship throughout’ (Musical Opinion). This new recording is fully up to the superlative standards with which this most gifted of piano duo’s previous recordings have been acclaimed. SOMM is proud to continue this unique integral series of world premiere Beethoven releases.

The baritone Matthias Goerne, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and Mikko Franck launch a trilogy of Shostakovich’s works for baritone and orchestra with a recording of Symphony No.14. This will be followed by Symphony no.13 (Babi Yar) and the Suite on poems by Michelangelo Buonarroti. The soprano Asmik Grigorian joins Matthias Goerne for this monumental yet highly subtle symphony setting poems by García Lorca, Apollinaire, Küchelbecker and Rilke. Drawing on their vast experience of the work and the passion that characterises them, they successfully embody all its dimensions: ‘The interpretative difficulty of this symphony is the need to hunt out subtle clues that are not immediately perceptible; a formidable expressive force is generated by their multiplicity, which, like a jigsaw puzzle, eventually makes sense’, writes Benjamin François. ‘It is Shostakovich’s fundamental affirmation that the inhuman actions of the executioners, Stalin and his henchmen, may well cause physical death, but cannot prevent the continued spiritual existence of works of art.’

The Danish Chamber Orchestra present more vibrant performances of Haydn’s 'London' symphonies with their chief conductor Adam Fischer. These recordings are the product of a two-decade partnership between Adam Fischer and the Danish Chamber Orchestra during which they have explored the most effective technical solutions necessary for performing these masterpieces. Volume 1 is on 8.574516.

Sony Classical releases the full cycle of Bruckner’s symphonies recorded by the Vienna Philharmonic under Christian Thielemann on 11 CDs. The box set, featuring the composer’s nine numbered symphonies, his ‘Study Symphony’, his ‘Nullified’ symphony, and a 172-page booklet. This release constitutes the first complete recording of the Austrian composer’s symphonies from the orchestra under a single conductor. Christian Thielemann enjoys a strong rapport with the Vienna Philharmonic and has established himself as one of his generation’s most esteemed interpreters of the Romantic Austro-German repertoire.

Past praise for previously released CDs included in this set:

Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 / Thielemann, Vienna Philharmonic

This new Bruckner Fourth deserves a strong recommendation. It is a reading of undeniable power and presence.

-- Fanfare

Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 / Thielemann, Vienna Ohilharmonic

Overall, there’s an aliveness to the music, inspired by the concert setting, which adds another reason this Bruckner Eighth is so satisfying. If you want to hear Thielemann at his best, conducting a stupendous orchestra, that’s precisely what we have here.

-- Fanfare

Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 . Thielemann, Vienna Philharmonic

Thielemann's interpretation has intimacies hard to find in other versions, and a vulnerability movingly communicated in the Vienna Philharmonic’s super-empathetic playing.

-- BBC Magazine

The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin launches a series of Mozart symphonies to appear on Pentatone, starting with the composer’s “Paris” and “Haffner” symphonies. On this first album, the works are coupled with his enchanting Oboe Concerto – performed by the ensemble’s first oboist Xenia Löffler - and the bold overture to Die Entführung aus dem Serail in Mozart’s own woodwind arrangement. Taken together, these pieces demonstrate the rich palette and expressive power of Mozart’s music in the period between 1777 and 1783, during which he finally managed to spread his wings and leave his hometown of Salzburg.

The Akademie für Alte Musik is generally seen as one of the best period-instruments ensembles of today, and has a substantial Pentatone discography, including CANTATA with Bejun Mehta (2018), Handel’s Concerti grossi Op. 3 and 6 (released in 2019 and 2020), Telemann’s Miriways (2020), Handel’s Messiah (2020), Haydn’s L’isola disabitata (2021) and La Passione with Christina Landshamer (2022).

This series marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Anton Bruckner, which falls in 2024. It’s dedicated to Bruckner’s symphonies, most of them recorded in new transcriptions for organ by Hansjörg Albrecht. The 8th recording was made on the organ at Gewandhaus in Leipzig with the transcription of Bruckner’s 7th Symphony by Erwin Horn.

In 1761, a 31-year-old Haydn joined the service of Count Esterházy, who entrusted the young composer with his orchestra, said to be one of the best in Vienna. The Prince “gave Haydn the four times of the day as the theme for a composition, which he set to music”. The result was Haydn’s Symphonies on the times of day: Le Matin (Morning), Le Midi (Noon) and Le Soir (Night), as the composer nicknamed them in French. These first Symphonies by Haydn are true masterpieces and served as Thierry Malandain's inspiration for his ballet “Marie-Antoinette”. These sinfonia concertantes give each soloist in the orchestra their moment of glory, offering the listener an almost “landscaped” vision of the passing of time, until the Opéra Royal Orchestra unleashes the final, furious tempest!

Learn more about the VOX Label, the Elite Recordings production team, and the reissuing of these classic Utah Symphony recordings on the Naxos Classical Spotlight Podcast!

Vox Audiophile Edition. Tchaikovsky’s unnumbered symphony Manfred is based on a poem by Byron and charts the tempestuous journey of Manfred towards the long-sought peace of death. The rousing Marche slave is a long-established concert favorite. The much-admired Tchaikovsky recordings by the Utah Symphony Orchestra and Maurice Abravanel were originally released on Vox in 1974 as quadraphonic LPs (QSVBX 5129 and QSVBX 5131). Remastered in high definition from the original source tapes.

Learn more about the VOX Label, the Elite Recordings production team, and the reissuing of these classic Utah Symphony recordings on the Naxos Classical Spotlight Podcast!

Vox Audiophile Edition. Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 3 is his only symphony in a major key and displays echoes of Mendelssohn; Schumann and Schubert. The tragic and tempestuous symphonic poem Francesca da Rimini is based on scenes from Dante’s Divine Comedy. The much-admired Tchaikovsky recordings by the Utah Symphony Orchestra and Maurice Abravanel were originally released on Vox in 1974 as quadraphonic LPs (QSVBX 5129 and QSVBX 5131). Remastered in high definition from the original source tapes.

Mahler 2 is the second album from Philharmonia Records; following their first album - Santtu conducts Strauss. “[Also sprach Zarathustra] Rouvali’s conducting of both is certainly interesting and personal... impressive; an expansive reading that sees the work whole...[An Alpine Symphony] undeniably picturesque; vivid and dramatically projected...top-notch playing; and this extravagant score also enjoys notable recorded sound... lingering lyricism; invariably heartfelt and; in conclusion; cathartic”; Founded in 1945; The Philharmonia Orchestra creates thrilling performances for a global audience and has premiered works by Richard Strauss; Sir Peter Maxwell Davies; Errollyn Wallen; Kaija Saariaho and many others. The Philharmonia has an extraordinary 77-year recording legacy; and has recorded around 150 soundtracks; with film credits stretching back to 1947. In the 2021/22 season the Orchestra performs in Romania; Spain; Finland; Greece and Germany.

Santtu-Matias Rouvali is a Finnish conductor and percussionist; and is currently principal conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra. Rouvali continues his relationships with orchestras across Europe; including with the Berlin Philharmonic; New York Philharmonic; Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; Munich Phillharmonic and the the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.

REVIEW:

In the first movement Rouvali is animated and engaged, using a lighter hand than most other conductors. Such a natural lyrical bent would seem to run counter to music that Mahler originally conceived as a funeral rite (Totenfeier), and it’s certainly unusual for a conductor to have such a relaxed grip on the drama and still make the first movement work.

The point is underscored in the minuet-like second movement, usually a throwaway, which is captivating in Rouvali’s hands, a nostalgic poem. The Scherzo is taken at quite a clip, divorcing the music from the gently satiric song in Des Knaben Wunderhorn about St. Anthony preaching to a school of transfixed fish. Rouvali sharpens the edges and makes the movement rambunctiously exciting—I can’t remember any other conductor leading this music one beat to a bar.

As the soloist in the raptly reverent “Urlicht,” mezzo Jennifer Johnston is sensitive and sincere, but Rouvali leads such an eloquent orchestral part that one wishes he had a singer of the highest caliber. Johnston’s German is more than a shade too basic for the poetry. The thunder and brass that open the fifth movement display excellent balance, bringing forward this conductor’s ability to extract beautiful playing for which the word “burnished” was invented. The many solos and ensemble passages in the final half hour of the “Resurrection” Symphony come off with unforced gorgeousness, needing no shred of rhetoric to make an impact.

Rouvali has held his fire to some extent, making it all the more thrilling when he unleashes the full power of the finale in moments of blazing climax. He must have had the audience on the edge of their seats. Against this tumult, the sudden whispered quiet of the chorus is doubly effective. Soprano Mari Eriksmoen emerges with melting lyricism, and yet you are aware that Rouvali milks nothing for effect—his eye is fixed on the musicality of every measure. You also notice how even the softest passages retain a restrained intensity that keeps the moving line tensile and alive. This is particularly helpful in the duets for mezzo and soprano, where the momentum is most likely to sag. Here, not a single transition is awkward or faltering.

The final apotheosis is so magnificently handled that I can’t blame the producers for including a minute of excited applause from the audience in Royal Festival Hall. For anyone who has harbored doubts about Rouvali’s meteoric rise, a performance as imaginative and beautifully shaped as this one should dispel them. I’m convinced that he has a special gift. I cannot wait to see how it will unfold in the coming years.

-- Fanfare (Huntley Dent)