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Gounod: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 / Tortelier, Iceland Symphony
Chandos

Gounod: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 / Tortelier, Iceland Symphony

$21.99 Only 2 left

Details

Composer
GOUNOD, CHARLES FRANCOIS
Artist
Tortelier
Format
SACD
Label
Chandos
Released
Apr 05, 2019
Catalog #
CHSA 5231
UPC
095115523124

About



After winning the Prix de Rome for his cantata Fernand in 1839 and spending two years in Rome, Gounod should have gone on to study in Germany, but he managed in 1842 to persuade the authorities that he should remain in Rome to work on a symphony. In 1843 he visited Mendelssohn who (while trying to dissuade him from wasting his time on Goethe’s Faust!) urged him to write another symphony. We do not know how much of the First Symphony Gounod had completed by then, but it is not surprising that Mendelssohn figures as one of the key influences on both symphonies. After performances of individual movements in 1855, premieres were given of the First on 4 March that year and of the Second on 13 February 1856. Yan Pascal Tortelier and his Iceland Symphony Orchestra demonstrate outstanding precision and musicality in these unjustly neglected works.

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REVIEW:

There’s a spring in Tortelier’s step with the Icelanders, a sappy bounce to the opening Allegro molto. The strings are alert and light and the woodwinds attack Gounod’s melodious writing with élan. If Haydn is the influence on the First, it is Beethoven who looms large over the Second.

– Gramophone

Tracklist 8 tracks

  1. 1 I. Allegro molto 06:10
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Allegro molto
    Duration
    06:10
    Composer
    Charles Gounod
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Yan Pascal Tortelier
  2. 2 II. Allegretto moderato 03:45
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Allegretto moderato
    Duration
    03:45
    Composer
    Charles Gounod
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Yan Pascal Tortelier
  3. 3 III. Scherzo: Non troppo presto 06:43
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Scherzo: Non troppo presto
    Duration
    06:43
    Composer
    Charles Gounod
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Yan Pascal Tortelier
  4. 4 IV. Finale: Adagio - Allegro vivace 08:55
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Finale: Adagio - Allegro vivace
    Duration
    08:55
    Composer
    Charles Gounod
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Yan Pascal Tortelier
  5. 5 I. Adagio - Allegro agitato 11:14
    Track
    5
    Title
    I. Adagio - Allegro agitato
    Duration
    11:14
    Composer
    Charles Gounod
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Yan Pascal Tortelier
  6. 6 II. Larghetto (non troppo) 08:00
    Track
    6
    Title
    II. Larghetto (non troppo)
    Duration
    08:00
    Composer
    Charles Gounod
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Yan Pascal Tortelier
  7. 7 III. Scherzo: Allegro molto 07:05
    Track
    7
    Title
    III. Scherzo: Allegro molto
    Duration
    07:05
    Composer
    Charles Gounod
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Yan Pascal Tortelier
  8. 8 IV. Finale: Allegro, leggiero assai 09:21
    Track
    8
    Title
    IV. Finale: Allegro, leggiero assai
    Duration
    09:21
    Composer
    Charles Gounod
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Yan Pascal Tortelier