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Gould: Symphonettes Nos. 2-4 & Spirituals for Orchestra / Fagen, Vienna Radio Symphony

Naxos

$19.99 Mar 27, 2020

Morton Gould was an American musical phenomenon, equally at home in classical, crossover and film genres, and the recipient of both GRAMMY and Pulitzer awards during his long and distinguished career. The Symphonettes represent Gould’s best crossover work – the Symphonette No. 4 deriving its character from Latin-American dance forms to make it one of his most popular compositions. The first movement of Symphonette No. 3 has been described as “a collection of dance band licks, full of bent notes and syncopations” and the central Pavanne of Symphonette No. 2 with its bluesy trumpet motif is one of Gould’s biggest hits. Spirituals for Orchestra utilizes the strings as a choir, with antiphonal responses in the rest of the orchestra. Arthur Fagen has conducted at the world’s most prestigious opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera and Vienna State Opera, and has led acclaimed orchestras such as the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie. He has recently conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philharmonia. He regularly records for Naxos, with releases including a cycle of the Martinu? Symphonies (8.553348, 8.553349, 8.553350), and a recording of Martinu?’s Piano Concertos Nos. 3 and 5 with Giorgio Koukl (8.572206), which was selected as an ‘Editor’s Choice’ by Gramophone.

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REVIEWS:

The attractive and inventive light orchestral music of Morton Gould is still delightful when listened to in the right mood — and particularly when delivered with the panache to be found on this disc. The Symphonettes represent Gould’s best crossover work — the Symphonette No. 4 deriving its character from Latin-American dance forms to make it one of his most popular compositions.

– Classical CD Choice (Barry Forshaw)

The multi-functional ORF Vienna Radio Symphony, with conductor Arthur Fagen, play in an American style ‘to the manner born’, the orchestra’s trumpets enjoying the Symphonetts, sound suitably jazzy in the Second. You will have to play the disc at a high volume level to breath life into it. Most strongly recommended.

– David's Review Corner (David Denton)

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Gould: Symphonettes Nos. 2-4 & Spirituals for Orchestra / Fagen, Vienna Radio Symphony
Naxos Mar 2020
CD
$19.99

VIERNE: Organ Symphony No. 1 / WIDOR: Organ Symphony No. 4 /

Wergo

$17.99 Mar 01, 1999

The performer on this CD, concert organist Lionel Rogg of Geneva, is at home in the world's greatest concert halls. He began his worldwide career as a concert organist playing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, whose works for organ he would subsequently record in full three different times. Since then, he has been much in demand throughout the world as both organist and harpsichordist. As professor for organ in Geneva, Rogg teaches young organists from all over the world. More than forty of his students have been awarded the Prix de virtuosité. Recently, Rogg has been devoting more time to composition. Following the devastating fire of 1984, as a member of a committee of experts, he decisively influenced the specification of the new van den Heuvel instrument in his native city's Victoria Hall. For Lionel Rogg it was particularly important that this concert-hall organ should be optimally configured for the specifics of it's surroundings, whether as an emancipated - orchestral - counterpart or as a solo instrument. The high tonal standard for the characteristic foundation stops (fonds) with wide mensuration and the powerful intonation of the reeds combined with the attention paid to the specification of the (low) mixtures, give the organ in Victoria Hall the desired symphonic, French character. The extensive battery of horizontal reeds and the pedal stops of 32' pitch (labial and lingual) make the four-manual instrument just as appropriate for the music of the founder of the symphonic organ music of France, César Franck, as heard on this Organ-CD, as it is for the effective presentation of Liszt and Bizet transcriptions, with their virtuosically pianistic, even orchestral character. The booklet of this fifth CD of the Organ series contains liner notes in German, English, and French.

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VIERNE: Organ Symphony No. 1 / WIDOR: Organ Symphony No. 4 /
Wergo Mar 1999
CD
$17.99

Bruckner: Symphony No "00" / Georg Tintner, Royal Scottish
Naxos Apr 2000
CD
$19.99

Gunning, C.: Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4 / Oboe Concerto
Chandos May 2009
CD
$21.99

Pierre Monteux Edition Vol 14 - Tchaikovsky: Symphonies 4-6
RCA May 2010
CD
$24.99

Abel: Symphonies, Opp. 1 & 4 / Willens, Kolner Akademie

CPO

$36.99 Mar 23, 2018

The two great musical dynasties of central Germany, the Bachs and the Abels, were closely entwined. Carl Friedrich Abel, the greatest of his clan, was a pupil of Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig and the friend and business partner of Bach’s youngest son, Johann Christian in London. Abel’s output of symphonies comprises over forty works, most of which were published in sets of six, the standard number for publications of sonatas, chamber works and concertos in the eighteenth century. A concert in his time would have a range of compositions by several composers and it is more likely that only one symphony would be played in a single evening. The present day listener should not feel guilty for indulging in these fine works one by one or out of sequence. They are rich and delicate, and should be savored individually. Die Kolner Akademie is a unique ensemble based in Cologne which performs music of the seventeenth through the twenty-first centuries on period instruments with world renowned guest soloists.They have receieved the highest acclaim for their outstanding performances at major festivals all over the world, many of which were broadcast live and filmed for television.

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Abel: Symphonies, Opp. 1 & 4 / Willens, Kolner Akademie
CPO Mar 2018
CD
$36.99

Weinberg: Symphony No 12 "In Memoriam D. Shostakovich" / Lande

Naxos

$19.99 Jan 28, 2014

WEINBERG Symphony No. 12. The Golden Key: Ballet Suite No. 4 • Vladimir Lande, cond; St. Petersburg St SO • NAXOS 8.573085 (75: 40)

I have been at least mildly enthusiastic about Lande’s previous Weinberg discs for Naxos (Symphony No. 6 on 8.572779 and Symphony No. 19 on 8.572752) and this one is as good, if not better. This is not the first recording of Weinberg’s Symphony No. 12—Maxim Shostakovich had that privilege—but it appears to be the only one available on CD, and the coupling, which is very different in tone, and a nice complement to the symphony, is as enjoyable as it is generous.

Weinberg’s Symphony No. 12 “In Memoriam D. Shostakovich” was composed in 1976, a year after Shostakovich’s death. Many of Weinberg’s works are stylistically similar to Shostakovich’s. This is not surprising, as Shostakovich was a friend and mentor to Weinberg, almost from the time that the latter arrived in the Soviet Union after fleeing his native Poland. This symphony is particularly Shostakovich-like. Although it is “in memoriam,” it is not funereal in tone. In fact, like many of Shostakovich’s works, it displays an emotional ambiguity that encourages a number of interpretations from performers and from listeners alike. Shostakovich’s “Leningrad” Symphony appears to have been an especially strong source of inspiration, but the work’s structure—for example, the epic first movement—is more reminiscent of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10. The D-S-C-H (D-E?-C-B) monogram even makes several subtle appearances. The symphony’s themes are distinctive, and Weinberg is a surefooted musical architect. Another similarity with Shostakovich is his ear for unusual scoring, and his always interesting and sometimes grotesque use of wind instruments at the extremes of their register. No one hearing this symphony for the first time will miss its connections with Shostakovich. Weinberg is not an imitator, however, any more than Telemann imitated Bach.

The Golden Key is a ballet from 1955 based on a story by Aleksey Tolstoy. The lead character, Burattino, is a puppet, and the eponymous golden key allows its bearer to enter the country of Happiness. In addition to puppets, there are various animal characters as well. On one level, this is an innocent ballet—even a children’s ballet—but its themes of rebellion and idealism also suggest a deeper and even socio-political interpretation. Shostakovich’s ballet scores have their moments of excellence as well as moments of more workmanlike writing. The Golden Key , from what I have heard of it, is at least on their level. The first three suites were recorded by Mark Ermler with the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra—Olympia OCD 473, if you can find it. That disc also included excerpts from the Fourth Suite. In other words, all four suites have been recorded. Taken together, they add up to about 85 minutes of music, so I am wondering if all of the ballet’s music was used in one of the four suites.

As on the previous CDs, Lande and the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra are very satisfactory. Certainly one can imagine more assertive conducting and a richer sounding orchestra, but I don’t think anyone will be unhappy with these performances. In fact, I would say that this is an improvement from the earlier recordings, particularly that of the Symphony No. 6, but that’s one Weinberg symphony in which there was more competition. If you’re interested in Shostakovich, or in music from the Soviet Union in general, there is absolutely no reason not to give this fine new CD a try.

FANFARE: Raymond Tuttle

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Weinberg: Symphony No 12 "In Memoriam D. Shostakovich" / Lande
Naxos Jan 2014
CD
$19.99

Red Seal - Günter Wand Edition - Brahms: Symphonies No 1-4
RCA May 2010
CD
$29.99

WEINBERG CHAMBER SYMPHONIES 1 & 4

ALTO

$11.01 Jan 27, 2023

The Chamber symphonies come from the last decade of his life, the First for string orchestra, from the same year as the 18th symphony... it is pastoral in character, closer in feeling to a divertimento or sinfonietta... The Fourth... unremitting as late Shostakovich, and strongly valedictory in feeling. A haunting piece, music of real substance. (Penguin Guide 3 stars)

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WEINBERG CHAMBER SYMPHONIES 1 & 4
ALTO Jan 2023
CD
$11.01

Schmidt: Complete Symphonies / Sinaisky, Malmö Symphony

Naxos

$30.99 ~~$42.99~~ Save 25% Oct 25, 2024

Vassily Sinaisky's widely acclaimed cycle of Schmidt symphonies with the Malmo Symphony Orchestra is now available as a 4-CD box set. Also included are the popular orchestral excerpts from the opera Notre Dame, Variations on a Hussar's Song, the Fuga Solemnis for organ, brass and percussion, as well as the monumental Chaconne. From 8.570828, 8.570589, 8.572118, 8.572119

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Schmidt: Complete Symphonies / Sinaisky, Malmö Symphony
Naxos Oct 2024
CD
~~$42.99~~ $30.99

Heinrich Schulz-beuthen: Symphonie Nr. 5 "reformationshymnus"
Sterling Records Aug 2013
CD
$20.99

Rubbra : Symphonies 3 & 4 / Del Mar, Philharmonia

Lyrita

$20.99 Sep 01, 2006

Here is the ideal introduction to the music of Edmund Rubbra. The Third and Fourth symphonies (fine works, both) sandwich two shorter, but still impressive, orchestral works.

Robert Layton provides a sterling example of a programme note. As he quite rightly says, ‘Edmund Rubbra belongs to the same generation of English composers as William Walton and Michael Tippett … but has never enjoyed the same measure of exposure’. Perhaps bringing these Lyrita discs once more to the public’s attention will do something to rectify the situation.

The Third Symphony is quite a lean work in terms of orchestration. It also breathes a dignity that is most compelling. It is fairly unremittingly serious in both demeanour and in intensely controlled thematic workings. The intensity reaches its height in the ‘Molto adagio ma liberamente’ slow movement, a statement of real depth, and one that inspires Del Mar and his orchestra to great things. If the title of the finale sounds forbidding – ‘Tema con 7 variazioni e una Fuga’ – it is not all so (there is even a passage that trips along nicely until interrupted by darker shades). The closing pages are marked by a rugged determination. Of course, 1939 was the year that marked the beginning of the Second World War, and it is not difficult to read echoes of these events into the more intense passages of this symphony..

The Fourth Symphony opens with a feeling of peace (now, of course, quite removed from external events – it was written in 1942). The work is in three movements, although the extended Introduzione to the last movement is banded separately by Lyrita because of its length (4’50). Robert Layton talks of ‘serenity, a remarkable stillness and an inner repose’ and this just about sums it up. The music of the first movement seems to pulsate welcomingly. The Intermezzo second movement is pure delight (its marking is ‘Allegretto grazioso sempre delicato’), especially when played with as much affection as on this Lyrita recording. The clouds of the ‘Introduzione’ to the final movement are magnificently evocative here (the well-balanced recording helps, preserving the depth of the shadowy strings), while the movement proper (‘Allegro maestoso’) has a noble dignity (it is more immediately identifiable as ‘English’ than some music by this composer). It does, however, carry the inimitable stamp of Rubbra’s compelling harmonic language.

The Overture, Resurgam, was inspired by the bombing of Plymouth in March 1941. The Overture was written in 1975 on a commission from the Plymouth Symphony Orchestra to commemorate its centenary. The title comes from a word (Resurgam) inscribed on the tower of the church of St Andrew (the only part left standing after the bombing). Resurgam begins very quietly and delicately. Although only eight minutes long, it is very serious in its intense scoring and in its density of ideas (Rubbra also uses a more acidic language than in the Third Symphony, heard first on the disc). Finally, A Tribute, Op. 56 (originally entitled ‘Introduzione e danza alla fuga’) begins in the most tender of fashions. Del Mar’s balancing of orchestra textures is revelatory in the introduction, while the ‘danza alla fuga’ is fascinating. It begins rather stealthily, but never releases its dance origins. The tribute is actually to Ralph Vaughan Williams (in honour of that composer’s seventieth birthday), although there appears to be no direct musical allusion.

A fascinating disc, then. Rubbra’s music reveals more and more on repeated hearings – facile is the one thing it is not.

-- Colin Clarke, MusicWeb International

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Rubbra : Symphonies 3 & 4 / Del Mar, Philharmonia
Lyrita Sep 2006
CD
$20.99

Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 4 / Manze, Helmchen, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin

Alpha

$20.99 Apr 24, 2020

Beethoven’s piano concertos are a precious source for understanding the history of the practice of this instrument, which, in the early nineteenth century, permanently replaced the harpsichord in the hearts of composers. Thus one can still hear the gallant influence of Mozart in the First Concerto (1795-1800), whereas the Fourth (1805-06) reveals the introspective personality, at once vigorous and generous, of a Beethoven at the height of his artistic maturity. In the second installment of his recording of the complete concertos, the German pianist Martin Helmchen performs these two contrasting works with Andrew Manze and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin.

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Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 4 / Manze, Helmchen, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
Alpha Apr 2020
CD
$20.99

BRAHMS, J.: Violin Concerto / TCHAIKOVSKY, P.I.: Symphony No
Profil Jan 2008
CD
$18.99

Sinding: Symphonies Nos. 1-4 / Steffens, Norrköpings Symfoniorkester

Capriccio

$29.99 Feb 07, 2025

Christian Sinding might be thought of as a Grade-B composer. That’s not a dismissal, merely an assessment to adjust the expectations. He’s not the symphonic Grieg we’ve been missing, nor a Nordic Brahms that’s been overlooked. He’s an – essentially German – symphonist of the second rank who wrote very pleasing works that we will sadly not hear in the concert halls, but which can enliven our musical diet on record if we need to take a break from the usual suspects. To unfold their inherent fervour, his compositions are dependent on sensitive and enthusiastic interpretations, but that’s exactly what they get from the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra under Karl Heinz Steffens, for whom Sinding has become a composer close to his heart.

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Sinding: Symphonies Nos. 1-4 / Steffens, Norrköpings Symfoniorkester
Capriccio Feb 2025
CD
$29.99

Lajtha: Suite No. 2 & Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4 / Pasquet, Pecs Symphony

Naxos

$19.99 Mar 10, 2017

László Lajtha's passionate Third Symphony emerged from a fruitful period when the composer was based in London. Its origin was a film score for T.S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral, the author grateful for a soundtrack to "elevate his words and thoughts". Lajtha's Fourth Symphony uses Hungarian musical idioms with wit and charm to bewitch the listener from the outset, its escapist joie de vivre belying the dark circumstances that surrounded its creation, while the Second Suite is based on a satirical ballet that uses Classical mythology to poke fun at fascist dictators.

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Lajtha: Suite No. 2 & Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4 / Pasquet, Pecs Symphony
Naxos Mar 2017
CD
$19.99

BEETHOVEN/5 VOL. 4

ORCHID CLASSICS

$16.99 Oct 03, 2025

Each of Beethoven's piano concertos is a world unto itself, gripping and moving in it's own way and for it's own set of reasons. But even in this company, the Concerto no. 4 stands apart. It's opening phrase, inward-facing and played by the piano alone, immediately establishes that it is a work without precedent or parallel. It is full of contradiction - poetic and grand in equal measure - and makes an indelible impression on the listener. Many pianists will say it is the Beethoven concerto they love most; I am among them. It is fitting that this work inspired the strangest, most surreal companion piece of the Beethoven/5 project: Salvatore Sciarrino's Il Sogno di Stradella. Described by the composer as a concerto "not only of sounds but of resonances, near and distant," the work toggles back and forth between the composer's own spectral language, and one which evokes the 19th century. It is impossible to describe and utterly compelling. Recording these works live but without audience with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic was an intensely intimate experience. It is extremely gratifying to finally share these performances with music-lovers not just in Stockholm, but throughout the world. (Jonathan Biss)

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BEETHOVEN/5 VOL. 4
ORCHID CLASSICS Oct 2025
CD
$16.99

Mix & Match

BRUCKNER: SYM NO. 4 (RECORDED LIVE AT ST. FLORIAN)

MUNCHNER PHILHARMONI

$20.49 Sep 18, 2020

The Munich Philharmonic have arguably given more performances of Anton Bruckner's music than any other orchestra. A great number of Bruckner recordings led by the many legendary conductors that have worked with the Munich Philharmonic are stored in the historical archive of the MPHIL Label including magnificent pieces with Sergiu Celibidache, Christian Thielemann, Rudolf Kempe, Gunter Wand and Oswald Kabasta. Having started in September 2017 at the Monastery of St. Florian, a setting with unique historical significance in this context, the Munich Philharmonic and Valery Gergiev have presented a most spectacular cycle of Anton Bruckner's symphonies.

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BRUCKNER: SYM NO. 4 (RECORDED LIVE AT ST. FLORIAN)
MUNCHNER PHILHARMONI Sep 2020
CD
$20.49

Reznicek: Symphony No 1 "tragic", Etc / Beerman, Prudenskaja, Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt

CPO

$18.99 Jan 27, 2009

REZNICEK Symphony No. 1, “Tragic.” 4 Songs of Prayer and Repentance 1 • Frank Beermann, cond; Marina Prudenskaja (mez); 1 Brandenburg St O Frankfurt • cpo 777 223 (68:50)

In some ways, Reznicek might be described as the poor man’s Richard Strauss. Cpo, which is engaged in a project to record Reznicek’s orchestral output, has already released the composer’s Second and Fifth Symphonies and two tone-poems, Schlemihl and Raskolnikoff , reviewed by Henry Fogel in 28:2. Schlemihl has been dismissed in some quarters as the effort of a jealous and bitter Reznicek to parody and deflate the puffed up ego of Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben, schlemihl being Yiddish for an unlucky, incompetent boob upon whose head every manner of misfortune falls—in effect, the anti-hero to Strauss’s Übermensch . But the non-Jewish Reznicek, as Fogel pointed out, may have misconstrued the caustic connotation of the word, which imparts the flavor of not just a pitiable sad sack, but of a fool who invites bad luck and ridicule; for Reznicek’s trials and tribulations—the deaths of two children and his first wife—were real and indeed heartbreaking.

Like Brahms, who didn’t complete his First Symphony until he was 43, Reznicek was 41 in 1901 when he wrote his Symphony No. 1 in D Major. The original booklet essay written in German by Eckhardt van den Hoogen is, in translation at least, incomprehensible gibberish. I was unable to make heads or tails of its mishmash of arcane literary references and absurdist metaphors—“the Criminal Tango of the first movement and the Jesus Christ Superstar of the last movement”—not to mention the mental imagery of “pulling on the pigtails of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto,” and the depiction of Reznicek’s beard as a “foot muff” that put me off my dinner. From what I was able to glean, it seems that the only “tragedy” that led the composer to subtitle the work “Tragic” was a ride on a crowded city train in which a pretty young girl who caught Reznicek’s eye got up and offered the “old man” her seat.

So what does this “tragic” concoction sound like? Well, a bit like Strauss being badgered by Pauline to go to his room and compose something. Then, beginning at 12:08 in the first movement, a sequence that seems to mimic the development section in the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique” makes a discomfiting appearance. Here comes a snippet of Schumann, there a scrap of Brahms, and everywhere the oddments and leftovers of Liszt. This symphony would be a piece of utter trash were it not for the twofold fact that it was obviously written by a master orchestral craftsman of the first order, and that it buys one entrance to a musical circus of clowns dressed up as Tchaikovsky, Strauss, Wagner, and Liszt somersaulting around the ring. I defy anyone to listen to Reznicek’s Symphony No. 1 and not laugh out loud as the parade of jesters passes by. If the piece had been written after Schlemihl instead of before it, a more appropriate subtitle might have been Schlamazel.

Having had my say on the Symphony, let me turn now to the Four Songs of Prayer and Repentance after words of the Holy Scriptures. Reznicek really ought not to be judged by his First Symphony, which has got to be either an aberration or some sort of off-color, politically incorrect joke. He was a serious composer with a quite significant catalog of works to his credit: five symphonies, a dozen operas, numerous orchestral and concerted compositions, at least five string quartets, two piano trios, and a considerable volume of solo piano and organ pieces. Very little of it has been recorded; and, except for the Donna Diana Overture, I’ve no recollection of hearing any of it performed live—which is a shame, because the Four Songs are gorgeous.

Written in 1913, long before Strauss said sayonara with his Four Last Songs , Reznicek’s songs take their cue from Brahms’s Four Serious Songs , though they are not nearly as reverential and austere. Where Brahms chose Biblical texts that reflect the fatalism of his last years—“for that which befalls man befalls beasts”—Reznicek selected verses from Ecclesiastes and The Book of Sirach that focus on comforting, acceptance, and the beauty that is to be found in wisdom—“The pipe and the psaltery make sweet melody, but a pleasant tongue is above them both.” Reznicek’s songs are supple and sensuous, but not sensual in that steamy, erotic way that many of Strauss’s songs are. The orchestral accompaniments caress the words with an angelic tenderness.

Marina Prudenskaja, who is identified as a mezzo-soprano, actually has more of a dark-hued contralto quality to her voice that reminded me a bit of Rita Gorr. She has the right timbre and range, I think, to be an ideal candidate for Brahms’s Alto Rhapsody.

Despite what you may have concluded from my opinion of the Symphony, this disc comes with a hearty endorsement, and not just for the Four Songs , which are lovely beyond description, but yes, for the Symphony, too, which is a laugh-a-minute Hooterville riot. Performances and recording are first-class.

FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

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Reznicek: Symphony No 1 "tragic", Etc / Beerman, Prudenskaja, Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt
CPO Jan 2009
CD
$18.99

Prokofiev: Piano Concertos Nos. 1, 3 & 4 / Mustonen, Lintu, Finnish Radio Symphony

Ondine

$18.99 Sep 09, 2016

This awaited release is the first disc in a series of Olli Mustonen and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hannu Lintu performing the Piano Concertos by Sergei Prokofiev. Without a doubt some of the most substantial twentieth century masterworks, Prokofiev’s piano concertos prove the composer’s brilliant piano skills. The composer premiered his First Piano Concerto in 1914. The Third Piano Concerto is the most popular of Prokofiev’s concertos. The piece took several years to complete, and premiered in Chicago in 1921. Prokofiev’s Fourth Piano Concerto (for the left hand) is the most rarely heard of the three concertos featured on this recording. He wrote the piece in 1931 for pianist Paul Wittgenstein, but the work wasn’t performed until 1956. Olli Mustonen is sought after by orchestras all over the world, and he has performed and recorded with such groups as the Berlin Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, and The Royal Concertgebouw. His recent collaborations with the Finnish Radio Symphony have garnered excellent reviews.

REVIEW:

How many times have I regretted a shortage of fantasy, flair, and fairy-tale imagination in recordings of the Prokofiev piano concertos? Well, here is a disc that takes all those qualities to the top, gleefully goes over it, and ends up halfway down the other side. The super-light, transparent textures Hannu Lintu conjures from the orchestra are an excellent foil for the soloist. If there is room in your collection for several sets of the Prokofiev concertos, this one at least comes with a provocative distinctiveness.

– Gramophone

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Prokofiev: Piano Concertos Nos. 1, 3 & 4 / Mustonen, Lintu, Finnish Radio Symphony
Ondine Sep 2016
CD
$18.99

Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 (Original Version)
BIS Dec 2006
SACD
$21.99

Sinfonía No. 4 / Fandangos / Carnaval

Naxos

$9.99 ~~$19.99~~ Save 50% Nov 19, 2013

Over the last decade the music of the Puerto Rican composer Roberto Sierra has become internationally admired, and this has led to prestigious commissions and performances around the world. Fandangos was heard at the BBC Proms in London and employs a harpsichord work attributed to Antonio Soler as a departure for a richly inventive orchestral fantasy. The dramatic Sinfonia No. 4 was described by ArtsNowNashville as 'a textbook example of how this composer breathes new life into old forms. The piece is basically a classic Germanic symphony imbued with Spanish sensibilities and reinvigorated with new harmonies and rhythms.' Robert Schumann is subtly evoked in Carnaval, five character pieces that explore mythical creatures, both menacing and serene.

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Sinfonía No. 4 / Fandangos / Carnaval
Naxos Nov 2013
CD
~~$19.99~~ $9.99

Avet Rubeni Terterian: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4

Chandos

SACD

$21.99 Nov 01, 2019

Armenian composer Avet Rubeni Terterian’s third and fourth symphonies were written in the mid-1970’s, during one of his most prolific periods as a composer. Kirill Karabits and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra make a compelling case for these rarely performed works. Terterian is regarded in his homeland as a giant of twentieth century Armenian music, and as the founder of his nation’s progressive school of composers. The backbone of his achievement is enshrined in eight symphonies, which Terterian composed over two decades from 1969 onwards; a ninth was in progress at the time of his death. In summing them up, he wrote: “We are all living on the threshold of a terrible apocalyptic judgement. It has always seemed to me that my symphonies are a cry of the soul for salvation and for the forgiveness of sins.”

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Avet Rubeni Terterian: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4
Chandos Nov 2019
SACD
$21.99

Schubert: The Symphonies / Dausgaard, Swedish Chamber Orchestra

BIS

SACD

$44.99 Aug 05, 2022

It was only after his death that Franz Schubert’s symphonic works made an impact in music history. In fact, the first public performance of any of Schubert’s symphonies took place at a memorial concert held a few weeks after the composer had passed away, on 19th November 1828. The work that was heard at that occasion was Symphony No.6, D589, the ‘Little C major’, while the two undisputed master works of the series – the ‘Great C major’ and the ‘Unfinished’ – had to wait until 1838 and 1865, respectively, before being performed. The six symphonies that precede them in the list of completed works were all composed between 1813 and 1818, while Schubert was still only 21 years of age. In a style above all oriented on Haydn and Mozart, they are youthful in the best sense of the word and display a disarming freshness which the present performances convey to perfection.

The four discs gathered here were released singly between 2010 and 2014, receiving critical acclaim in the international music press: the reviewer in The Daily Telegraph (UK) described the experience as ‘having a layer of varnish removed from a much-loved painting’ while his colleague in Fanfare wrote that the approach by Thomas Dausgaard and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra ‘changes the landscape’, proposing that the cycle ‘could become a first choice among any available.’ The set also include some shorter orchestral works, among them the much-loved Rosamunde Overture.

Excerpts from reviews of previously released volumes included in this set:

Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9 / Dausgaard, Swedish Chamber Orchestra

Dausgaard somehow manages to approach the surviving two movements of Schubert's B minor Symphony as though we didn't all know that it remained 'unfinished. For once it was hard not to regret the absence of an energetic scherzo or finale.

-- BBC Music Magazine

Schubert: Symphony No. 6 / Dausgaard, Swedish Chamber Orchestra

Dausgaard dexterously manages the internal balance within the orchestra. His pacing of the opening Adagio instills confidence, the line shaped by phrases stretched and contracted, dynamics thoughtfully graded, the interpretation of the whole work thoughtfully considered.

-- Gramophone

Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 3, 4 & 5 / Dausgaard, Swedish Chamber Orchestra

Even if not in his mature style, and showing the influence of Rossini, as well as of Haydn and Mozart, they are pure Schubert, not least in harmony and scoring, and they stand up well to the high-powered approach of Dausgaard and the splendid Swedish Chamber Orchestra.

-- The Sunday Times (UK)

Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 / Dausgaard, Swedish Chamber Orchestra

The definition and dynamism that these forces have been bringing to their Schubert symphony cycle are qualities that are radiantly replicated in the performances here.

-- Gramophone

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Schubert: The Symphonies / Dausgaard, Swedish Chamber Orchestra
BIS Aug 2022
SACD
$44.99

Saint-Saens: Piano Concertos 4 & 5 / Descharmes, Soustrot, Malmo Symphony

Naxos

$9.99 ~~$19.99~~ Save 50% Apr 13, 2018

Romain Descharmes concludes his generally impressive cycle of Saint-Saëns piano concertos with this coupling of the formerly popular Fourth, and the increasingly popular Fifth. His performance of the Fourth, the composer’s most original work in the medium, is impressive. It’s a difficult work to pace; there’s a lot of slow music, and the thematic material is expressively pretty neutral. If the work is “about” anything, it’s a study in thematic metamorphosis and chromatic counterpoint versus diatonic harmony.

Descharmes and conductor Marc Soustrot understand the music well. The opening variations are nicely contrasted, the ensuing Andante attractive in its flow. The long finale effectively integrates the ongoing return of the main themes, with Descharmes weaving into and out of the instrumental textures smartly and sensitively. It’s an interpretation that consistently holds your attention, and rewards your patience.

The “Egyptian” Concerto isn’t quite as good. The outer movements are fine, especially the rollicking finale, but the long central movement could be more effectively shaped, its “orientalisms” indulged just that more characterfully. Still, as in the Fourth, the performance reveals a lot of meaningful detail, especially in the finale, and Descharmes isn’t afraid to take a step back and let other instrumental colors take center stage once in a while. Ultimately this complete set of the five piano concertos stands among the best out there, even if everyone will have favorite individual performances. This is an achievement of which everyone can be proud.

– ClassicsToday (David Hurwitz)

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Saint-Saens: Piano Concertos 4 & 5 / Descharmes, Soustrot, Malmo Symphony
Naxos Apr 2018
CD
~~$19.99~~ $9.99