Szymanowski: Symphonies No 1 & 3 / Gardner, BBC SO

$16.99
Label
Chandos
Release Date
November 18, 2014
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      SZYMANOWSKI, KAROL
    • ORCHESTRA / ENSEMBLE
      Bbc Symphony Chorus, Bbc Symphony Orchestra
    • PERFORMER
      Johnson, Gardner
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      November 18, 2014
    • UPC
      095115514320
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      CHSA 5143
    • LABEL
      Chandos
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Orchestral & Symphonic
    Works ⌄

    1. I. Moderato assai

      Composer: Karol Szymanowski

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Ben Johnson

      Conductor: Edward Gardner

    2. II. Allegretto tranquillo

      Composer: Karol Szymanowski

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Edward Gardner

    3. III. Largo

      Composer: Karol Szymanowski

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Ben Johnson

      Conductor: Edward Gardner

    4. No. 1. Zyczenia (Desires)

      Composer: Karol Szymanowski

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Ben Johnson

      Conductor: Edward Gardner

    5. No. 2. Zakochany wiatr (The infatuated East wind)

      Composer: Karol Szymanowski

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Ben Johnson

      Conductor: Edward Gardner

    6. No. 3. Taniec (Dance)

      Composer: Karol Szymanowski

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Ben Johnson

      Conductor: Edward Gardner

    7. No. 4. Serca mego perly (Pearls of my soul)

      Composer: Karol Szymanowski

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Ben Johnson

      Conductor: Edward Gardner

    8. No. 5. Wieczna mlodosc (Eternal youth)

      Composer: Karol Szymanowski

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Ben Johnson

      Conductor: Edward Gardner

    9. No. 6. Glos twoj (Your voice)

      Composer: Karol Szymanowski

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Ben Johnson

      Conductor: Edward Gardner

    10. No. 7. Piesn pijacka (Drinking song)

      Composer: Karol Szymanowski

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Ben Johnson

      Conductor: Edward Gardner

    11. No. 8. Grob Hafiza (Hafiz' Grave)

      Composer: Karol Szymanowski

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Ben Johnson

      Conductor: Edward Gardner

    12. I. Allegro Moderato

      Composer: Karol Szymanowski

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Edward Gardner

    13. II. Finale

      Composer: Karol Szymanowski

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Edward Gardner


Edward Gardner and the BBC Symphony return to the intoxicating orchestral music of Karol Szymanowski in their third disc devoted to the composer. Ben Johnson, a tenor whose star is rapidly rising, joins Gardner and the BBC SO here as a soloist in two works. Symphony no 1 (1907) belongs to his early period, heavily influenced by German late-Romanticism. The exquisite Love Songs of Hafiz (1911), marked by fascination with oriental themes, and the ‘Song of the Night’, scored for huge orchestra with choir and tenor soloist, both feature Persian poetry set to sensuous and emotionally-charged music.

Reviews:

The performances are particularly cosmopolitan. And why not? The works here reflect influences from many nationalities. Johnson, whose relatively lean voice (in contrast with the Eastern European sopranos sometimes heard in this piece) is very much responsive to the text's meaning.

– Gramophone

“The BBC Symphony Chorus sings with languid exaltation, yet it is the orchestral detail that impresses most here, right from the still, mystery-laden opening. Gardner conducts with such conviction that it is impossible not to find beauty in [Love Songs'] potentially dense Reger-meets-Scriabin soundworld.

– BBC Music Magazine