Leif Segerstam

Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Leif Segerstam – Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G Major (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:01:38 minutes | 984 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Alba

The ten symphonies of Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) have sometimes been likened to a great autobiographical novel, each symphony constituting a chapter in itself while at the same time being an integral part of an unfolding narrative. Within this narrative flow, the fourth symphony (1899-1900) represents a magical pool of tranquility. Mahler drew on various sources in his symphony, one of them being Das himmlische Leben (1892). He originally intended this to be an independent song, but then had ideas of making it the finale of his giant third symphony before ultimately transferring it to his fourth. The song is a naïve vision of the joys of heaven seen through the eyes of a child; the symphony is, as a result, Mahlers most optimistic and relaxed. True, it does have some more shadowy moments, but they do not make the heart bleed or seriously disturb the overall mood.

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Turku Philharmonic Orchestra & Leif Segerstam – Beethoven: König Stephan & Other Choral Works (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:13:56 minutes | 1,21 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Naxos

Aside from his only opera Fidelio, Beethoven’s general link with the theatre in Vienna came about largely with incidental music or songs to be inserted into the works of other composers – insertion arias. König Stephan was written to celebrate the politically significant opening of a new theatre in Pest, its triumphant mood honouring the ruling Austrian Emperor. Standard-bearer of female heroism Leonore Prohaska is commemorated with a Soldier’s Chorus and a Romance with harp accompaniment. In Friedrich von Matthisson’s poem Opferlied (‘Sacrificial Song’), a young man prays to Zeus to bestow upon him beauty and goodness in youth and old age. Two of Beethoven’s four settings are heard on this wide-ranging programme.

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Turku Philharmonic Orchestra & Leif Segerstam – Beethoven: Cantatas (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:12:40 minutes | 1,21 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Naxos

By the time of Emperor Joseph II’s death in 1790 Beethoven was a member of the court musical establishment in Bonn. To mark the occasion, Beethoven was commissioned to write two cantatas, one to mourn Joseph’s death and the other to celebrate the accession to the throne of Emperor Leopold II. Although Beethoven was only 19 years old at the time, both works show the embryonic marks of his greatness: intense expression and control of structure in one, and an almost operatic panache in the other. Neither piece was performed during Beethoven’s lifetime.

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