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Schumann: Manfred Overture & Symphony No. 4 - Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 / Furtwangler

Audite Musikproduktion

$20.99 Jan 05, 2018

This outstanding new release is Volume 12 in the Lucerne Festival edition produced by Audite. In cooperation with Audite, Lucerne Festival presents outstanding concert recordings of artists who have shaped the festival throughout its history. The aim of this edition is to rediscover treasures- most of which have not been previously released- from the first six decades of the festival, which was founded in 1938 with a special gala concert conducted by Arturo Toscanini. These recordings have been made available by the archives of SRF Swiss Radio and Television. This edition represents a sonic history of the festival. This installment is a sensational archive discovery including two of Wilhelm Furtwangler’s favorites: a live recording of the Manfred Overture (1953), presumed lost until recently and now released for the very first time, alongside Beethoven’s Eroica and Schumann’s Fourth Symphonies, remastered for the first time using original tapes.

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Schumann: Manfred Overture & Symphony No. 4 - Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 / Furtwangler
Audite Musikproduktion Jan 2018
CD
$20.99

Ries: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5 / Nisonen, Tapiola Sinfonietta

Ondine

$16.99 Oct 11, 2024

Second instalment in the ongoing complete Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838) symphony cycle by Tapiola Sinfonietta and conductor Janne Nisonen includes the composer's Symphonies Nos. 4 and 5. Often remembered in music history as Beethoven's 'right hand', these new recordings by the Tapiola Sinfonietta reveal a major symphonist. The first volume in the series has received oustanding reviews in the German music press.

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Ries: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5 / Nisonen, Tapiola Sinfonietta
Ondine Oct 2024
CD
$16.99

Bruckner: Symphony No. 9; Symphony in F minor "Study"

Capriccio

$21.99 Jul 05, 2024

This final release of Capriccios Bruckner Symphonies - The Complete Versions Edition includes his very first and last Symphony. In March 1861, Anton Bruckner completed his counterpoint studies with the renowned teacher Simon Sechter who had also taught Schubert. His graduation signaled the end of an extended compositional hiatus. Bruckner's F-Minor Symphony was conceived in the classical and early romantic tradition of Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Schumann. Bruckner's Ninth: his best (as some say) symphony, certainly his most daring and, thanks to the missing finale, his most mysterious. It is where Bruckner meets Mahler and, while working on it, his maker. He wanted to write a finale, of course, but too much remains missing. What is left, is a heavenly Adagio, which quietly fades away with references in the brass to the two preceding symphonies. Thus ends Bruckner's uncompleted life's work.

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Bruckner: Symphony No. 9; Symphony in F minor "Study"
Capriccio Jul 2024
CD
$21.99

Bruckner: Symphony in F Minor 1863 "Study Symphony"

Profil

$18.99 Oct 06, 2017

Without denying its Classical and Romantic models (including Beethoven, Carl Maria von Weber, and Franz Schubert), the F minor Symphony shows a refined grasp of formal, dynamic, and structural logic and demonstrates Bruckner’s extraordinary creative powers in this, his first symphonic work. Formal criteria like repeating the exposition before the development in the outer movements, or Beethoven-like figurations in the second thematic block of the Andante, point to Classical influences, while in the development of the first movement, besides the classically-influenced motivic and thematic treatment, there are clearly Romantic tendencies recalling Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony and Weber’s opera Der Freischutz. Here we already see Bruckner’s great skill in incorporating apparently foreign material into his thematic development- inconspicuously and fruitfully, and without making obvious citations- a quality that may well derive from his experience improvising at the organ.

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Bruckner: Symphony in F Minor 1863 "Study Symphony"
Profil Oct 2017
CD
$18.99

Reznicek: Symphonies 3 & 4 / Beermann, Robert Schumann Philharmonie

CPO

$18.99 Sep 09, 2014

Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek had a very conflicted relationship with the German symphonic legacy. His First Symphony, subtitled “Tragic,” is anything but. The Second, the “Ironic,” is arguably too cute for its own good. The Fifth is a suite of dances orchestrated from piano originals–it’s not really a symphony at all. The two immaculately crafted works on this release make the best impression so far, while confirming that when it came to dealing with the imposing musical tradition that he inherited, Reznicek basically hadn’t a clue. Even so, there are times when failure can be interesting, especially when it’s done with such craft.

The Third Symphony, subtitled “In the Olden Style” (in the score, not on the tray card), is written for classical orchestra: double winds, two trumpets, four horns, timpani and strings. Its music is pure pastiche. It begins with a 15th century folk song, and continues with a first movement that recalls Schumann, albeit with better orchestration. The third movement is a faux Haydn minuet (sound clip) with tipsy harmonies, while the finale takes the accompaniment of the opening of Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony and combines it with the tune of the Scottish Symphony’s scherzo. It tries really hard to be adorable, but winds up sounding forced and tired. The trio of the minuet is a bland Ländler, and the finale fails to sustain the energy of its opening. It’s really a bit sad.

The situation hardly improves in the Fourth. Its slow movement is a “Funeral March for a Comedian,” and might strike you as a bit like Prokofiev, without the melodic character. The scherzo is just a good piece of traditional symphonic writing, but the outer movements are a mess. This work adds trombones,and features two crashes for cymbals and bass drum in the finale, but is otherwise just as conservative, not to say inhibited, as its predecessor. The grand chorale at the end never quite achieves the culmination that Reznicek obviously intends, and like the Third Symphony you get the sense that the medium simply resists the composer’s best efforts to write something plausibly honest and genuine.

In short, these two decadent relics are fun to listen to as desperate attempts to grapple with a tradition that, however vital and vibrant just about everywhere else in the world, was truly dead in Germany. They are fascinating documents of their time (the first decades of the 20th century), and Frank Beermann contrives to offer the most successful release thus far of the three devoted to Reznicek’s symphonies.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

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Reznicek: Symphonies 3 & 4 / Beermann, Robert Schumann Philharmonie
CPO Sep 2014
CD
$18.99

Weigl: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 6

Capriccio

$21.99 Nov 01, 2019

In terms of style, with his works linked to basic tonalities Weigl drew on the sound realm of late Romanticism, from whose aesthetics he never departed in favour of more progressive contemporary trends. Whereas Weigl’s Symphony No. 1, written in 1908, associatively evokes the mood of a composer thinking of new territory and inquiring into the future, the dissimilar pair of his Symphonies Nos. 4 and 6 shows the musician’s intellect at historically distinctive periods, allowing an assessment to be made as to whether what could be expected, intended and hoped for at the time of his early works was achieved or whether it developed in an entirely different manner. The background to Symphony No. 4 in 1936 was the emergence of dictatorial Austro-Fascism. Symphony No. 6 of 1947 is in a certain sense a continuation and a conclusion following the end of the Nazi terror and a war that did not remain without profound changes and far-reaching effects for almost all the countries in the world.

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Weigl: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 6
Capriccio Nov 2019
CD
$21.99

BRAHMS, J.: Symphony No. 4 / RESPIGHI, O.: Feste romane / KO
IDIS Jan 2009
CD
$32.99

SYMPHONY NO. 4, OUVERTURES 'BE
Tudor Jan 2001
CD
$21.99

Brahms: Symphony No 4, Hungarian Dances / Alsop, London PO

Naxos

$19.99 Sep 25, 2007

Top Brahms!

Here it is: the final release in the set of Brahms symphonies from Marin Alsop with the London Philharmonic. Previous reviews have praised just about every aspect of this new Naxos cycle, and while I admit to arriving somewhat late on the scene I have to admit that all expectations are realised.

So that you know where I’m coming from, my formative introduction to the symphonies of Brahms came with the 1983 live cycle on DG with Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic. The influence of those initial impressions of intensity and edgy freedom of expression are of course hard to shake, but there is always more than one way to skin a great piece of music, and later on I was as likely to be found settling down with a good book and Herbert von Karajan’s 1989 recordings with the Berlin Philharmonic. Other versions have passed my way as well – Günter Wand’s 2001 RCA cycle with the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra for instance, and those lovely old Bruno Walter recordings with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra now on Sony, which still sound surprisingly good given their vintage.

If done properly, Brahms’s symphonic writing means that you will have read the same page a multitude of times in that ‘good book’ you have in your hand while listening. The content and meaning of the words will remain as obscure as at the first attempt as your ears and attention are absorbed and enthralled by the lush musical garden that gradually unfolds through your loudspeakers, or in my case headphones. With Alsop and the LPO you might as well give up on reading at all, and give yourself over to a feast of wonderful music-making.

Marin Alsop’s tempi are measured and sustained in what seems to me an ideal way in this symphony. The first movement seems at first urbane and restrained, but the ceiling is set high, and there is plenty of room for bite and drama in the music – never hurried or unstable, but with a gloss of perfect preparation which seems to allow the listener to plunge directly and deeply into Brahms’s inspired vision. The same is true of the second Andante moderato movement, in which the winds initially shine with lush resonance. Intonation is crucial here, and the LSO’s wind and brass are spot on – playing as one. The timing and anticipation is beautifully measured in advance of the ‘big tune’ at 8:55, which is turned out here without histrionics, but as a noble and almost infinite field of sound – a bounteous source for a composer like Elgar, whose own ‘Enigma’ variations spring immediately to mind.

A lightness of touch is required of the third movement’s Allegro giocoso, and Alsop blows away any cobwebs which may have gathered in a sweep of freshness. There’s a slightly anticipatory rhythm at 4:23 caused by an edit, but this will hopefully only be noticeable to fully trained and overly picky reviewers. The final movement brings back the measured, sustained feel of the first, but with that extra turbulence, and those quicksilver touches of detail in the orchestration pointed subtly and superbly by all concerned in this recording. I was wondering if that slow central section wasn’t just a little too slow and lingering, but the re-entry of the full orchestra at around 6:00 is made all the more magical for being delayed for that extra few ounces of ‘down-time’, and the final run builds in intensity to create a fully satisfying close.

The Hungarian Dances presented here are the ‘leftovers’ from Brahms’s own orchestrations of nos. 1, 3 and 10, covered in volume 2 of this series. The dances here have been newly orchestrated by Peter Breiner in an imaginative commission from Naxos especially for this recording. Breiner’s versions respect Brahms’s orchestral resonances for the most part, but inject quite a bit of extra jazzy impact and violinistic Hungarian idiom, emphasising some of those seriously fun syncopations with extra percussion and brass. There is a danger of creating a set of little P.D.Q. Bach monsters here, but with the essence of Brahms’s ideas held largely intact I admire the way Breiner has stretched these pieces just enough to make them into genuine orchestral showpieces, without turning the smiles they bring into disrespectful guffaws.

I think the way is clear – I simply must have the rest of this set.

-- Dominy Clements, MusicWeb International

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Brahms: Symphony No 4, Hungarian Dances / Alsop, London PO
Naxos Sep 2007
CD
$19.99

Mahler: Symphony No. 4
SWR Jun 2006
CD
$20.99

Mozart: Symphonies IV – Nos. 4, 5, 6, 10, & 12

Genuin

$20.99 Mar 07, 2025

A child prodigy on tour: Instead of bringing home holiday snapshots, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart returned with brilliant compositions, transforming the music and experiences he encountered on his travels into something uniquely his own. The Folkwang Chamber Orchestra Essen, under the vibrant direction of Johannes Klumpp, now brings Mozart's symphonic travel memories to life for us. This thrilling new GENUIN release is the fifth instalment in a series of highly praised Mozart recordings. Critics consistently highlight the ensemble's "outstanding technical skill" and praise "the conductor and orchestra as ideal interpreters of Mozart"!

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Mozart: Symphonies IV – Nos. 4, 5, 6, 10, & 12
Genuin Mar 2025
CD
$20.99

MAHLER: SYMPHONY 4
UNIVERSAL JAPAN Dec 2018
SACD
$25.99

SYMPHONY NO. 4 PIANO CONCERTO
Audite Musikproduktion Aug 2008
CD
$14.99

Beethoven: Complete Symphonies & Selected Overtures / Toscanini

Music and Arts Programs of America

$64.99 Jul 30, 2013

Complete Symphonies and Selected Overtures, from the legendary October-December 1939 NBC cycle. CD 1: Symphony No 1 in C Major, Op. 21 & Symphony No 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 "Eroica" (Studio 8H, 28 Oct. 1939. CD 2: Symphony No 2 in D Major, Op. 36; Symphony No 4 in B-flat Major, Op. 60 & Leonore Overture No. 3 (Studio 8H, 4 Nov. 1939). CD 3: Symphony No 6 in F Major, Op. 68 "Pastorale" & Symphony No 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 (Studio 8H, 11 Nov. 1939). CD 4: Egmont Overture & Symphony No 7 in A Major, Op. 92 (Studio 8H, 18 Nov. 1939); Leonore Overture No. 1 & Symphony No 8 in F Major, Op. 93 (Studio 8H, 25 Nov. 1939). CD 5: Leonore Overture No. 2 (Studio 8H, 25 Nov. 1939}; Symphony No 9 in D Minor, Op. 1(Jarmila Novotna, Kerstin Thorborg, Jan Peerce, Nicola Moscona, Westminster Choir, Carnegie Hall, 2 Dec. 1939). New 2013 digital transfers by Aaron Z. Snyder using the revolutionary harmonic balancing process. Notes: Christopher Dyment. Total time: 6 hrs 12 min. BUZZ: "With Chris Dyment's uncommonly informative notes, this release is essential for anyone who cares about Beethoven or Toscanini" --Mortimer H. Frank in Fanfare [on the previous edition] "a must for every experienced music lover... 5.0 out of 5 stars " --Peter Dietrich, amazon.com customer reviews [on the previous edition] "These are superb transfers... They give a great cycle its best sonic shout to date." --Rob Cowan, Gramophone [on the previous edition] "The NBC Orchestra is in fine form and the great conductor's sometimes controversial genius combines with that of Beethoven to produce dazzling and memorable performances." -- www.new-classics.co.uk [on the previous edition]

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Beethoven: Complete Symphonies & Selected Overtures / Toscanini
Music and Arts Programs of America Jul 2013
CD
$64.99

Brahms: Symphony No. 4 / Dausgaard, Swedish Chamber Orchestra

BIS

SACD

$10.99 ~~$21.99~~ Save 50% Aug 07, 2020

Begun in 2012 with the release of Symphony No. 1, Thomas Dausgaard’s four-album traversal of the symphonies of Johannes Brahms is here brought to a close with the composer’s final work in the genre. The E minor Symphony is sometimes described as Brahms’ ‘elegiac symphony’, and has been called ‘one of the greatest orchestral works since Beethoven’. Typical for the composer is the striking degree of motivic relationships throughout the work. This includes the finale in which Brahms demonstrates his full mastery in a towering Passacaglia consisting of 30 variations and a coda. The smallish forces of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra contribute to a transparency and clarity which bring out the finer details of Brahms’ compositional web. As on previous installments, the symphony is coupled with other works by Brahms. Included on the present release is another late work, Tragic Overture, which concludes the programme. These two ‘serious’ works frame some of the most rousing and ebullient music Brahms ever wrote, namely his Hungarian Dances. Composed for piano four-hands, the 21 dances became immensely popular, and Brahms arranged three of them for orchestra himself. Having made his own orchestrations of the remaining 18 dances, Thomas Dausgaard has recorded the full set for his Brahms cycle, with the final nine dances included here.

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Sale

Brahms: Symphony No. 4 / Dausgaard, Swedish Chamber Orchestra
BIS Aug 2020
SACD
~~$21.99~~ $10.99

Franz Ignaz Beck: Symphonies Op. 4, Nos. 4-6 & Op. 3, No. 5

Naxos

$9.99 ~~$19.99~~ Save 50% Dec 09, 2014

The court at Manneheim, one of Europe’s great 18th-century musical centers, provided myriad opportunities for creative development. Having absorbed the ideas of his teacher, Johann Stamitz and other luminaries, Beck wrote a series of symphonies notable for their dramatic contrasts, breadth and sweep, the progressive inclusion of the woodwinds and a willingness to explore expressive intensity. His progressive use of woodwind instruments in the Symphony in G major, Op. 4 No. 5 is among the notable developments to be heard in this second recording of Beck symphonies by Marek Štilec and the Czech Chamber Philharmonic.

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Franz Ignaz Beck: Symphonies Op. 4, Nos. 4-6 & Op. 3, No. 5
Naxos Dec 2014
CD
~~$19.99~~ $9.99

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4
BIS May 2009
SACD
$21.99

Beethoven: Gassenhauser Trio, Symphony No. 6

CAvi-music

$19.99 Aug 07, 2020

In a series of 3 albums, the Beethoven Trio Bonn explores the confrontation between one of Beethoven’s standard works for piano trio with a further “house music” arrangement of one of his orchestral works. More than providing an interesting pairing, the Beethoven Trio Bonn was keen on interpreting an original work for piano trio alongside an arrangement of an orchestral work “downsized” to piano trio format. Here the very well-known Piano Trio No. 4 (Gassenhauer) with his enormous witty playfulness (we listen to the version with the violin instead of the clarinet) and his three (!) movements is partnered with the Symphony No. 6, in an arrangement of the Brahms friend Christian Gottlieb Belcke.

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Beethoven: Gassenhauser Trio, Symphony No. 6
CAvi-music Aug 2020
CD
$19.99

SCHMIDT, F.: Symphony No. 4 / STRAUSS, R.: Symphonisches Fra
Chandos Nov 1996
CD
$21.99

SYMPHONY NO. 4 IN G MAJOR

RCO LIVE HOLLAND

SACD

$21.99 Oct 30, 2015

With Gustav Mahler, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra has a very special relationship. The composer conducted the orchestra no less than 12 times and found in Amsterdam an understanding audience. Mahler's Fourth Symphony was premiered in Amsterdam by the composer, who conducted it twice, once before and once after the interval, so that the audience could get to know the work better. With this release, Mariss Jansons and the Concertgebouw orchestra add an impressive new chapter to the RCO's recorded history of Mahler Symphonies.

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SYMPHONY NO. 4 IN G MAJOR
RCO LIVE HOLLAND Oct 2015
SACD
$21.99

Brahms: Sextette, Op. 18 & Op. 36

Bayer

SACD

$21.99 Mar 31, 2015

Johannes Brahms exhibited a noticeable disposition to paired works, composing 2 serenades, 2 piano concertos, 2 sonatas for cello and clarinet and likewise 2 string sextets. The first sextet, in B flat major, op. 18 reflects the work-filled time he spent in Detmold. Brahms began working on the second sextet in G, op. 36 in September 1864. That Christmas, he sent Clara Schumann it's first three movements, completing the work in May 1865. On this record, the soloist ensemble of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam plays both sextets.

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Brahms: Sextette, Op. 18 & Op. 36
Bayer Mar 2015
SACD
$21.99

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

Mahler: Symphony No 4; Mozart: Exsultate, Jubilate / Szell
CBS Masterworks Apr 2007
CD
$17.99

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No 4; Prokofiev / Ormandy
RCA Apr 2009
CD
$17.99

Kalliwoda: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4; Concert Overture

CPO

$18.99 Oct 26, 2010

...Johann Kalliwoda was a tremendously interesting and talented composer, and both symphonies offer a fund of very attractive ideas. The Fourth Symphony, with its introductory funeral march, scoring that includes three trombones, and its delicious 6/4 scherzo, is perhaps more noteworthy in this respect, but both pieces--and the overture (in a turbulent F minor)--offer plenty of listening satisfaction. - David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

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Kalliwoda: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4; Concert Overture
CPO Oct 2010
CD
$18.99