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Frommel: Symphony No. 1 & Symphonic Prelude / Bruns, Jena Philharmonic

Capriccio

$21.99 Apr 06, 2018

Music in the tempest of the times: If we seek to deal with Gerhard Frommel’s personality and music (a master pupil of Hans Pfitzner) in greater depth, as in the case of many other German composers of his generation, we cannot avoid going into the historical and political events and the underlying active and reactive behavior of the individual. Concepts like opportunism or passive obedience come readily to mind, but they fall short of the truth, if we were not direct contemporary witnesses. His position during the years 1933-45 becomes all the more salient as regards the works recorded here, both of which were written at that time. Many things sound familiar; Wagner, Bruckner and other elements from the past stand out trenchantly, ‘For me, the 1st Symphony is at the centre of my oeuvre.’ Frommel says. The score reached Wilhelm Furtwängler, who then scheduled its premiere with the Vienna Philharmonic for the autumn of 1942.

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Frommel: Symphony No. 1 & Symphonic Prelude / Bruns, Jena Philharmonic
Capriccio Apr 2018
CD
$21.99

COMPLETE SYMPHONY SUITE NO. 23 IN A MINOR OP. 56
ALTO Oct 2008
CD
$11.01

MAHLER: SYMPHONY NO. 8 "OF A THOUSAND"

ALTO

$11.49 Jan 10, 2020

All the great reviewing publications, Penguin Guide, Gramophone, International Record Review, gave this release a rapturous reception when first issued. The atmoshpere of a great occasion is caught admirably with impressive timpani and organ, and a special mention for the final Chorus Mysticus bringing a real sense of gravitas and uplift. The massed voices are wonderfully hushed. Outstanding.

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MAHLER: SYMPHONY NO. 8 "OF A THOUSAND"
ALTO Jan 2020
CD
$11.49

AN ALPINE SYMPHONY / DANCE OF THE SEVEN VEILS

LPO

$17.99 Jun 01, 2018

This release marks the 29th on the LPO label conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, and is the first Jurowski-conducted Richard Strauss release to date. Vladimir Jurowski has a strong affinity with Die Frau ohne Schatten (The Woman Without a Shadow), and chose to conduct a selection of orchestral highlights from the opera rather than the composer's own published Fantasie. He went on to conduct the complete opera at the Metropolitan Opera in 2013. "If the evening can boast a hero, the honor must go to Vladimir Jurowski, who conducts with abiding passion, sensitivity and propulsion." (The Financial Times) The performances of the three works on this release were also critically well received, with the soloists within the Orchestra noted for their 'poise' and 'exquisite handling' of Die Frau ohne Schatten and Jurowski's 'perfect blending of rich textures' in Eine Alpensinfonie. The Dance of the Seven Veils was performed as part of the opening concert of the London Philharmonic Orchestra's critically acclaimed The Rest is Noise festival of music which shaped the twentieth century. "Jurowski and the LPO set the scene with an outstandingly delicate performance of the Dance of the Seven Veils." (The Financial Times)

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AN ALPINE SYMPHONY / DANCE OF THE SEVEN VEILS
LPO Jun 2018
CD
$17.99

SYMPHONY NO. 4 - ADAGIO
DUX May 2011
CD
$21.99

Toscanini Collection Vol 15 - Schubert: Symphonies No 5 & 9
RCA May 2007
CD
$17.99

SYMPHONY 8
LPO Jun 2011
CD
$15.99

MAAZEL: THE COMPLETE EARLY RECORDINGS ON DEUTSCHE

DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON

$86.99 Feb 17, 2015

18 CDs, cap box. For the first time, DG brings together all of it's celebrated early Maazel recordings. Iconic stuff in a handsome, limited-edition box, offered at an attractive price, with gorgeous original cover art. Highlights include Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6, Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 2-6 & 8 "Unfinished," "Romeo & Juliet" by Berlioz, Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, Prokofiev: "Peter and the Wolf" & more.

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MAAZEL: THE COMPLETE EARLY RECORDINGS ON DEUTSCHE
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON Feb 2015
CD
$86.99

Beethoven: 13 Times the Same and 13 Times Different / Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra

Naxos

$14.99 ~~$29.99~~ Save 50% May 28, 2021

G-G-G-E flat, better known as "Ta-ta-ta-taaa", are perhaps the four most famous notes in all of classical music, four notes that almost the whole world knows. They form the opening motif of the 5th Symphony in C minor, Opus 67 by Ludwig van Beethoven. In various interpretations by Otto Klemperer, Michael Gielen, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski and Ádám Fischer, among others, the range of Beethoven's reception at the turn of the millennium is to be compared. At the end the whole symphony will be heard under Robert Trevino: Hear, discover and compare.

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Beethoven: 13 Times the Same and 13 Times Different / Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra
Naxos May 2021
CD
~~$29.99~~ $14.99

Beethoven, L. Van: Symphony No. 5 / Piano Concerto No. 4
Delos Jan 1986
CD
$18.99

Shostakovich: Symphony No 15 Op 141, Hamlet Op 32 / Pletnev, Et Al

PENTATONE

SACD

$21.99 Apr 28, 2009

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

Mikhail Pletnev remains a cypher. Remember how rapturously his first major recording as a conductor, Tchaikovsky's Sixth on Virgin, was greeted? Then he went on to do all the symphonies for DG, and the result was the dullest cycle in history. His Beethoven, on the other hand, was simply perverse: not interestingly perverse, but stupidly perverse. Of course this didn't stop equally stupidly perverse critics from praising it, but that's another story altogether.

Now he turns in a very fine Shostakovich 15th. It has something of the balletic grace that made his initial Pathétique so attractive. The lyrical passages in the second movement and the main theme of the finale have a poised beauty that really is quite striking. Similarly, his light textures in the first movement's "toy" music, as well as the scherzo, tickle the ear and keep the music buoyant.

There is a price, of course, in terms of sharpness of focus and power at the climaxes, not to mention emotional intensity. The xylophone and whip don't cut as they might, and the Wagner quotations in the finale lack a certain atmosphere, but the otherworldly textural clarity that Pletnev achieves in the movement's central passacaglia remains very special. In fact, his relative coolness suits this "spacey" music particularly well.

The coupled Hamlet excerpts do not come from the more familiar film score, but comprise a suite taken from the much earlier incidental music. It's typical youthful Shostakovich: pithy, bright, angular, and lots of fun. It requires little beyond sprightly tempos and a literal reading of the notes to make a fine impression, and that's just what the music receives here. PentaTone's sonics are, like the performance, clear, well-balanced, and a touch lacking in body, whether in stereo or multichannel surround formats. A very recommendable disc.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

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Shostakovich: Symphony No 15 Op 141, Hamlet Op 32 / Pletnev, Et Al
PENTATONE Apr 2009
SACD
$21.99

Bruckner: Symphony No 5 / Abbado, Lucerne Festival Orchestra

Accentus Music

DVD

$31.99 May 29, 2012

Also available on Blu-ray

Live Recording from the Lucerne Festival, Summer 2011

‘Abbado’s approach to the music of Bruckner is soft and songlike, at times tense and urgent, but constantly filled with warmth of feeling’ – not only the Neue Zürcher Zeitung is full of praise when Claudio Abbado and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra play Bruckner. Their interpretation of his awe-inspiring Fifth Symphony reflects the composer’s burgeoning powers and exquisite compositional artistry. As The Guardian poetically states: ‘The composer himself, one suspects, might have leapt to embrace Abbado as an ideal interpreter.’

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Bruckner: Symphony No 5 / Abbado, Lucerne Festival Orchestra
Accentus Music May 2012
DVD
$31.99

Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 8 / Elder, Halle Orchestra

Halle

$20.99 Feb 01, 2011

Mark Elder leads the Halle Orchestra in two beautiful works by Ralph Vaughan Williams. The 8th Symphony was written for, and premiered by, Sir John Barbirolli and the Halle orchestra in 1956 and is noted for an enlarged and colorful percussion section. The music is among the more light hearted and sunny of Vaughan Williams' scores. The lyrical, richly melodious 5th Symphony embraces the world of nature and human emotions one finds in the Tallis Fantasia and Serenade to Music. This concert was recorded live in the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester on 9th November 2011.

Review quote:

"Elder made a splendid job of it, capturing its quizzical nature to a nicety and balancing the orchestral sound with a skill that drew out the subtlest of Vaughan Williams’s instrumental colourings." - Richard Fairman, Financial Times, (Review of Symphony No.8 Royal Albert Hall Proms, July 2008)

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Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 8 / Elder, Halle Orchestra
Halle Feb 2011
CD
$20.99

SYMPHONY NO.9
Sony Masterworks Jan 2005
SACD
$11.98

Widor: Organ Symphonies, Vol. 5 / Blohn

Naxos

$19.99 Apr 09, 2021

Widor’s cycle of ten organ symphonies underwent profound development and transformation over many years. Classical elements became more obviously virtuosic and, by the time of these Op.42 symphonies, his musical language had become monumental. Symphony No. 5 in F minor is world famous for a single movement, its concluding Toccata, a moto perpetuo of astonishing brilliance, but the whole work is imbued with structural and musical genius. Striking rhythms, dynamic contrasts and technical roulades mark out Symphony No. 6 in G minor. Also included is a graceful movement from Symphony No. 8 (8.574207) that Widor later omitted.

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Widor: Organ Symphonies, Vol. 5 / Blohn
Naxos Apr 2021
CD
$19.99

Bruckner: Symphony No. 2

CPO

$18.99 Jun 26, 2012

We continue our astonishing Bruckner cycle with the rarely performed 2nd Symphony. As in the case in the 1st, Venzago has chosen a top orchestra of relatively small instrumental dimensions. 'After the many new recordings of the Bruckner symphonies, finally an interpretation that genuinely exhibits character and in a very musical way offers the listener the opportunity to complement his picture of Bruckner'(Pizzicato 3/12).

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Bruckner: Symphony No. 2
CPO Jun 2012
CD
$18.99

Philip Sawyers: Symphony No. 4 & Hommage to Kandinsky

Nimbus

$20.99 Jun 05, 2020

Sawyers's Fourth Symphony is scored for an orchestra of two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals and strings. Structurally, it marks a departure from his First and Third Symphonies, which are both in the traditional four-movement form, and the one-movement Second. Sawyers says of the somewhat unusual structure that: My Fourth symphony is in three movements. "Why?" might be a reasonable question. The answer is that simply that by the time the third movement was complete, there was nothing more to say. The large-scale symphonic poem Hommage to Kandinsky was commissioned by the Grand Rapids Symphony in celebration of the tenure of their longstanding Music Director, David Lockington, who premiered the work in September 2014. Given the celebratory nature of the occasion, the orchestra encouraged Sawyers to employ the largest orchestra he had yet written for: 2 flutes and piccolo, 2 oboes and cor anglais, 2 clarinets and bass clarinet, 2 bassoons and contra bassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani and percussion, harp and a large string section. The work's subject matter had it's origins in Sawyers's attendance at an exhibition "Kandinsky: The Road to Abstraction" at the Tate Modern in London in 2006. Although Sawyers took particular inspiration from several paintings in the exhibition, the resulting tone poem represents primarily an emotional response to Kandinsky's work rather than an attempt to respond literally to Kandinsky's images in music.

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Philip Sawyers: Symphony No. 4 & Hommage to Kandinsky
Nimbus Jun 2020
CD
$20.99

Ruders: Symphony No. 5 / Elts, Danish National Symphony Orchestra

Bridge Records

$18.99 Nov 08, 2016

This disc presents the world premiere recording of Poul Ruders's latest symphony, completed in 2013. The symphony, composed in three movements is, in some ways, the great Danish composer's most traditional symphony- an explosive, quick-paced first movement followed by an hypnotically inward-looking slow movement, followed by a bristling dance finale. Aside from its outer-trappings, Ruders 5 inhabits a sound world all its own. The first movement's opening brass fanfare is followed immediately by startling police whistles and pounding drums- music of volcanic power and intensity. The slow movement employs a huge registral span, and the third movement's funky dance rhythms collide with dense harmonic underpinnings. The work is given a brilliant reading by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, led by the Estonian maestro, Olari Elts. The recording was made in the Danish Radio's new concert hall, named by Gramophone, as one of the "10 best concert halls in the world".

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Ruders: Symphony No. 5 / Elts, Danish National Symphony Orchestra
Bridge Records Nov 2016
CD
$18.99

Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 & Six Piano Pieces, Op. 118

PENTATONE

$17.99 ~~$19.99~~ Save 10% Sep 11, 2026

Following the 2025 release of Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 and Intermezzi Op. 117 - an album that received rave reviews worldwide - Francesco Piemontesi, conductor Manfred Honeck, and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig continue their Brahms journey with a compelling new recording of the composer's Piano Concerto No. 1. A work of striking emotional force and symphonic grandeur, it was born from a profound personal and artistic crisis. Composed in the aftermath of Robert Schumann's tragic collapse, the concerto reflects Brahms' struggle for artistic identity, as well as his confrontation with grief, responsibility, and expectation. From it's monumental opening - once likened to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony - to the deeply introspective slow movement, often understood as a portrait of Clara Schumann, this interpretation reveals the work's extraordinary psychological depth. Complementing the concerto are Brahms' Six Piano Pieces, Op. 118, works of introspection, farewell, and concentrated expression. Composed more than three decades after the concerto, these miniatures distil a lifetime of experience into music of remarkable intimacy and emotional restraint. From the consoling warmth of the Intermezzo in A Major to the desolate introspection of the Intermezzo in E-flat minor - often regarded among Brahms' darkest utterances - these pieces form a poignant counterpoint to the youthful turbulence of the concerto. Together, they trace a path from struggle to reflection, offering a profound insight into Brahms' artistic evolution and inner world. Francesco Piemontesi, one of today's most-cherished pianists, presents the sixth release in his exclusive collaboration with PENTATONE, following the widely praised Schubert - Last Piano Sonatas (2019), Bach Nostalghia (2021), Schoenberg, Messiaen & Ravel (2022), Liszt Transcendental Etudes & Piano Sonata (2023), and Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 & Three Intermezzi Op. 117 (2025).

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Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 & Six Piano Pieces, Op. 118
PENTATONE Sep 2026
CD
~~$19.99~~ $17.99

Recent Favorite

Shostakovich: Orchestral Songs; Vocal Symphonic Music

Capriccio

$33.99 Jun 20, 2025

Dmitri Shostakovich is known for his symphonies, his chamber music, maybe the popular Suites, and to some extent even his film. Largely unknown, however, is his vocal symphonic music, of which only the cycle on Jewish Folk Poetry, Op. 79, has gained some wider popularity. Here these hidden gems are brought together in authoritative interpretations under Michail Jurowski and the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne with it's rich Shostakovich tradition under Semyon Bychkov and Rudolf Barshai, among others, from the Six Romances on words by Japanese poets to the Suite on Verses by Michelangelo Buonarroti.

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Shostakovich: Orchestral Songs; Vocal Symphonic Music
Capriccio Jun 2025
CD
$33.99

Beethoven: Symphony No 4; Schubert: Symphony No 5 / Casals
Sony Masterworks Apr 2009
CD
$17.99

Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 9 / Keller, Concerto Budapest [SACD]

TACET Musikproduktion

SACD

$26.99 Mar 19, 2021

Pictures while listening to symphony no. 9: A joyful, almost boisterous opening movement. A dreamy, contemplative second followed by a sparkling presto. And then this short fourth movement, the helpless lament of a lonely bassoon, still showing signs of vitality against the stark, unbending, unison brass. A small, tormented individual under brutal state power. Nevertheless, still it laments. The dictator repeats his demand. But the bassoon does not totally lose heart. It starts the last movement with a shy, slightly mischievous dance that becomes gradually more light-hearted. Somewhere along the line, the timpani and horns give the signal to rise up, initially very softly. This is the announcement to the dictator: watch out, Stalin, this is it, now I'll make you think with pen and ink! The furious ascent peaks with a grotesque triumphal march that sounds like liberated laughter. The powerless one makes fun of the all-powerful – and then whistles in his face! Looking back, the question arises: who is the one lying as heavy as cold sheet metal in an eternal bottomless pit and who is the one who remains laughing in history? Judging by the music, by the 9th symphony Shostakovich had put the worst of times behind him. Quite different from in the 5th, but that's another story. Another story, by the way, that you can also find in this cinema.

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Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 9 / Keller, Concerto Budapest [SACD]
TACET Musikproduktion Mar 2021
SACD
$26.99

SCHUBERT: SYMPHONIES NOS. 5 & 7 UNFINISHED

HARMONIA MUNDI

$18.33 Jun 30, 2023

If the shadow of Mozart still haunts Schubert's Symphony No.5, the Seventh (in no way 'unfinished' in the eyes of it's creator) already looks far into the future. Pablo Heras-Casado and the musicians of the Freiburger Barockorchester lead us towards that Romantic elan. Their flexible approach, keen and swift in the earlier symphony, making room for shadows and mystery in it's successor, meets the challenge of bringing out the contrast between these 'two Schuberts', here more audible than ever.

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SCHUBERT: SYMPHONIES NOS. 5 & 7 UNFINISHED
HARMONIA MUNDI Jun 2023
CD
$18.33

ELSA BARRAINE: SYMPHONIES NOS. 1 & 2

ERATO

$18.36 May 08, 2026

Elsa Barraine, a notable and politically intrepid figure in her lifetime (1910-1999), is a composer whose distinctive voice is being heard again. Under it's music director Cristian Macelaru, the Orchestre national de France performs four works by Barraine: the Symphony No 1, completed in Italy in 1931; the compact, but powerful Symphony No 2, composed in 1938 and ominously subtitled 'Voina', the French transliteration of the Russian word for 'war'; Song-Koi (Le Fleuve rouge) - an eight-movement evocation of the Red River which flows through Vietnam, composed in 1945, the year Vietnam declared it's independence from France, and, dating from 1959, Les Tziganes, which, as it's name implies, takes inspiration from gypsy culture. Rooted in tonality, Barraine's music is confidently and soberly crafted, it's orchestral palette both clearly defined and subtly shaded as it reflects it's times and the composer's philosophical and spiritual concerns.

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ELSA BARRAINE: SYMPHONIES NOS. 1 & 2
ERATO May 2026
CD
$18.36

Mix & Match

Karlowicz: Symphonic Poems - Chopin: Allegro De Concert / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Grzegorz Nowak

DUX

$21.99 Oct 16, 2020

This album includes three symphonic poems by one of the greatest Polish symphonic musicians, pianist Konrad Binienda, performed by pianist Konrad Binienda and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Grzegorz Nowak. In addition, the album features Allegro de concert, Op. 46 by Fryderyk Chopin in Konrad Binienda’s original arrangement. Mieczyslaw Karlowicz is currently most often associated with songs and symphonic poems. Although the musical language of the Polish artist, who died an untimely death, can undoubtedly be considered universal (evidenced by his solo piano compositions, plenty of ingenious harmonic solutions, yet rarely performed now), it was on the basis of the symphony that he mastered his compositional technique. As the pianist himself points out, his version of the Allegro de Concert, unlike many others, is based solely on the principles of the Chopin orchestration. The recording was made during a concert of the Orchestra in the concert hall of the Lodz Philharmonic.

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Karlowicz: Symphonic Poems - Chopin: Allegro De Concert / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Grzegorz Nowak
DUX Oct 2020
CD
$21.99