Symphonies 1-3

$18.99
Label
CPO
Release Date
January 30, 2026
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      Friedrich Witt
    • PERFORMER
      Kolner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      January 30, 2026
    • UPC
      761203561124
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      555611-2
    • LABEL
      CPO
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Orchestral & Symphonic
    Works ⌄

    1. I. Adagio - Allegro vivace

      Composer: Friedrich Witt

      Ensemble: Orchester der Kölner Akademie

      Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens

    2. II. Adagio

      Composer: Friedrich Witt

      Ensemble: Orchester der Kölner Akademie

      Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens

    3. III. Menuetto

      Composer: Friedrich Witt

      Ensemble: Orchester der Kölner Akademie

      Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens

    4. IV. Finale: Allegro vivace

      Composer: Friedrich Witt

      Ensemble: Orchester der Kölner Akademie

      Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens

    5. I. Grave - Allegro non tanto

      Composer: Friedrich Witt

      Ensemble: Orchester der Kölner Akademie

      Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens

    6. II. Adagio

      Composer: Friedrich Witt

      Ensemble: Orchester der Kölner Akademie

      Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens

    7. III. Menuetto

      Composer: Friedrich Witt

      Ensemble: Orchester der Kölner Akademie

      Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens

    8. IV. Finale: Allegro non tanto

      Composer: Friedrich Witt

      Ensemble: Orchester der Kölner Akademie

      Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens

    9. I. Adagio - Allegro assai

      Composer: Friedrich Witt

      Ensemble: Orchester der Kölner Akademie

      Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens

    10. II. Andante

      Composer: Friedrich Witt

      Ensemble: Orchester der Kölner Akademie

      Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens

    11. III. Menuetto

      Composer: Friedrich Witt

      Ensemble: Orchester der Kölner Akademie

      Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens

    12. IV. Finale

      Composer: Friedrich Witt

      Ensemble: Orchester der Kölner Akademie

      Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens


The protagonist of these recordings owed his posthumous fame to an error. The Jena Symphony, discovered in the city's university library in 1909, was thoroughly studied, discussed, and even recorded as a supposed early work by Beethoven. However, since 1968 it has been established that the composition is by no means the titan's "zero" symphony, but rather the 14th of 23 symphonies that Friedrich Witt wrote in Niederstetten, Baden-Württemberg, many of which were also published. A full five weeks older than his colleague from Bonn, whom he outlived by nine years, he had been court conductor in Würzburg since 1802, where his symphonic output took an astonishing turn and was apparently renumbered. The three symphonies recorded here, Nos. 1 to 3, were written a few years earlier than their much-praised cousin, but consistently display uncompromising quality.