In these live recordings from 2011 and 2014 respectively, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and its longtime chief conductor Mariss Jansons present, in their second release of works by Richard Strauss, two of the composer’s "heroic" tone poems. With "Don Juan", the young and aspiring Strauss proved to be a prematurely consummate master of the symphonic poem genre. "Ein Heldenleben" ("A Hero's Life"), written at the turn of the 20th c., ranks as one of the great touchstones for a symphony orchestra – and with its extensive solo violin part, for a concertmaster too.
Woyrsch: Symphony No. 3, Bocklin-phantasies / Dorsch, Oldenburg State Orchestra
CPO
CD
$18.99Mar 10, 2015
The symphonist Felix Woyrsch (1860-1944) shouldered the burden of the mighty symphonic legacy that preceded him; a tradition he did not aspire to break with but rather seek a negotiable path for its continuance in his own personal manner. His Three Bocklin Fantasies belong to the group of works preparing for his symphonic style, drawing on coloristic instrumental and harmonic resources as in hardly any other work by him. The Third Symphony’s thoroughly chromaticized, frequently dissonant tonal idiom justifies its claim to the status of an ‘Apocalyptic Symphony’ in the context of his oeuvre.
On 18 March 1860, Vienna witnessed a genuine political sensation at the second concert of Euterpe, a young orchestra society. The programme began with several pieces by Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which were received with great applause for the composer, who was present. Equally successful was Fantasia symphonica on themes by Ernst II, for which the Kapellmeister of the Theater an der Wien was responsible - none other than Franz von Suppe, who had succeeded in weaving several themes by his blue-blooded "colleague" into a rousing, impressive symphony. Once again, Suppe's classical training had paid off. Although he achieved immortality as the composer of Die schone Galathee and, above all, Boccaccio, he made a significant contribution with a number of serious works (such as the Requiem cpo 777 842-2). The "symphonic fantasy" is paired with Twelve Spanish Dances, a spirited collection of delightful miniatures from which the famous Jota rears it's head time and again
Brahms: 8 Piano Pieces, Op. 76 - 7 Fantasien, op. 116 - 3 In
Azica Records
CD
$18.99May 28, 2013
Canadian pianist Peter Longworth has established himself as one of the most sought after performers of his generation. Equally comfortable as soloist and chamber musician, he has performed in cities around the world, including New York, Chicago, London, Montreal and Vancouver. Through his work as a private teacher at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto, and as one of the key facilitators of the chamber music and collaborative programs, he has influenced many of the most gifted young musicians of the next generation.
Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie & Tod und Verklarung / Jansons, Bavarian Radio Symphony
BR Klassik
CD
$19.99Jan 06, 2017
***This is the 100th Release of the BR-KLASSIK Label!***
At the age of just fifteen, the budding composer Richard Strauss (1864-1949) lost his way during a summer hike on the Heimgarten in the Bavarian Alps, and ended up in a thunderstorm. The next day, he fantasized about the experience on the piano. - Twenty years later, that memory had matured into a concept describing a one-day hike in the form of a symphonic poem, and in 1915 – a further fifteen years later – Strauss finally completed his masterpiece. The hike begins in the darkness before dawn, and after sunrise the ascent goes through a forest, past a stream and a waterfall, through meadows and pastures, and up to a glacier. The hiker then loses his way, and after several risky moments arrives at the summit, where he also experiences a vision. The weather then suddenly worsens, and the descent is accompanied by heavy rain and fierce thunderstorms. The eventful day - summarized in just sixty minutes of music - ends with a sunset, and darkness returns. "An Alpine Symphony" is probably Strauss' most famous symphonic poem. Its content is easily understandable, and the work became especially well-known for its gigantic orchestra. The music is far from heavy-handed, however, with many of the passages orchestrated like chamber music. Like a kind of greeting from the Bavarian Alps, as it were, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and its chief conductor Mariss Jansons have placed this masterpiece, and the music of Richard Strauss in general, on the programme of their forthcoming tour of Asia in late 2016. The live recording of “Alpine Symphony” concerts planned for October 2016 in Munich’s Philharmonie im Gasteig is enhanced on this latest release from BR-KLASSIK by the addition of Strauss’ symphonic poem "Death and Transfiguration", first performed in 1890; the recording here is of concerts performed in Munich in February 2014. – We thus have two very recent interpretations of two of this great German composer’s most important tone poems on one release.
Beethoven: The Symphonies and Reflections / Jansons, Bavarian Radio Orchestra
BR Klassik
CD
$54.99Oct 29, 2013
An unusual set that presents the complete cycle of nine Beethoven symphonies interspersed with commissioned works by Johannes Maria Staud, Misato Mochizuki, Rodion Shchedrin, Raminta Serksnyte, Giya Kancheli and Jörg Widmann. The modern works are in essence, reactions to or inspirations from the Beethoven symphonies. The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra is under the direction of Mariss Jansons.
