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Liszt: Dante Symphony

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Details

Composer
Franz Liszt
Artist
Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liege, Choeur Symphonique de Namur
Format
SACD
Discs
1
Label
BIS
Released
Sep 18, 2026
Catalog #
BIS-2800
UPC
7318599928005

About

Following their critically acclaimed recording of the Faust Symphony (BIS-2510), the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, conducted by Gergely Madaras and joined by the Choeur Symphonique de Namur, now presents Liszt's Dante Symphony-a work reflecting his profound engagement with Dante's Divine Comedy. Initially planned in three movements-Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso-the Dante Symphony was ultimately cast as two symphonic poems with a choral conclusion. The Inferno opens with a stern trombone theme beneath Dante's gate inscription, moves through lyrical episodes evoking Paolo and Francesca, and ends in demonic frenzy. The Purgatorio, serene and simple, contains a central fugue evoking souls striving toward paradise, leading without pause into the choral Magnificat. Liszt's treatment of tonality anticipates Mahler and Nielsen, while his use of the tritone and whole-tone scale confirms him as a composer ahead of his time. This recording also includes the symphony's original conclusion, later abandoned at Richard Wagner's insistence. The programme concludes with John Adams' orchestration of La Lugubre Gondola II, a visionary late work inspired by a funeral gondola procession on Venice's Grand Canal. Adams' arrangement honours the structural, stylistic, and poetic dimensions of Liszt's original, placing it's Romantic language within a modern soundscape.

Tracklist 4 tracks

  1. 1 I. Inferno 20:05
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Inferno
    Duration
    20:05
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Ensemble
    Orchestre philharmonique royal de Liège
    Conductor
    Gergely Madaras
  2. 2 II. Purgatorio - Magnificat 25:14
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Purgatorio - Magnificat
    Duration
    25:14
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Ensemble
    Namur Symphonic Choir, Orchestre philharmonique royal de Liège
    Conductor
    Gergely Madaras
  3. 3 Alternative conclusion 01:04
    Track
    3
    Title
    Alternative conclusion
    Duration
    01:04
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Ensemble
    Namur Symphonic Choir, Orchestre philharmonique royal de Liège
    Conductor
    Gergely Madaras
  4. 4 Die Trauergondel No. 2 (La lugubre gondola No. 2), S200/2/R81/2, "Élégie No. 3" (arr. J. Adams for orchestra as The Black Gondola) 08:54
    Track
    4
    Title
    Die Trauergondel No. 2 (La lugubre gondola No. 2), S200/2/R81/2, "Élégie No. 3" (arr. J. Adams for orchestra as The Black Gondola)
    Duration
    08:54
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Ensemble
    Orchestre philharmonique royal de Liège
    Conductor
    Gergely Madaras