Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Michael Schonwandt – Klenau: Symphony No. 9 (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:28:38 minutes | 1,52 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Dacapo
Paul von Klenau’s (1883-1946) grandiose Ninth Symphony in eight movements was composed in Copenhagen 1945 as his last major work; an extraordinary fusion of a Requiem with Latin text and a traditional symphony for orchestra, choir and four soloists. The manuscript then lay unknown for more than fifty years until it appeared in the 2001 discovery of a large collection of Klenau manuscripts in Vienna, and not until March 2014 – after a thorough editing by The Royal Library in Copenhagen – did it receive its first performance by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Schønwandt. This world premiere recording presents the full symphony; a magnificent opus of both tonal, atonal and even twelve-tone passages, very far removed from the style that predominated in the post-Nielsen Danish music of the 1940s.
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Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, James Gaffigan, Ingo Metzmacher, Christoph Poppen, Michael Schonwandt, Markus Stenz, Osmo Vanska – Karl Amadeus Hartmann: Symphonies Nos. 1-8 (2014)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 03:18:13 minutes | 7,86 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Booklet, Front Cover | © Challenge Records
Karl Amadeus Hartmann (1905-1963) is one of the most significant but least-known symphonic composers of the 20th century. This set of three hybrid SACDs, issued to mark the 50th anniversary of the German composer’s death, features his eight symphonies played by the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and Chamber Philharmonic Orchestras under the batons of several major conductors, including Christoph Poppen, Osmo Vanska, James Gaffigan and Markus Stenz.
One of the most characteristic features of Hartmann’s work is the way in which he forges contrasting stylistic elements and techniques from various periods of music history into a seamless unit. Moreover, one melody is found in all his symphonies, concealed to varying degrees. This melody is based on the Jewish song “Elijahu hanavi” about the prophet Elijah, whom the Jews anxiously await to bring them redemption. This yearning quality lies at the heart of the composer’s music.
Two types of movement, adagio and scherzo, form the unmistakable axis of Hartmann’s symphonic works, and the result is that the musical discourse continually takes place between expansion and energy, monumental stasis and a dynamic primal force toppling everything in its path. Hartmann’s symphonic legacy most certainly deserves its rightful place in the canon, especially in English-speaking countries where it’s been often overlooked.
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Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic, Michael Schonwandt – Schumann: Symphonic Works (2013)
DSF Stereo DSD128/5.64 MHz | Time – 02:25:23 minutes | 11,4 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Booklet, Front Cover | © Challenge Records
Robert Schumann’s four symphonies are undoubtedly highlights of the symphonic repertoire and are a true challenge for any orchestra. The numbering of the symphonies produces a degree of confusion — the Symphony in D minor from 1841 was fundamentally revised by Schumann in 1851 and was then given number 4. The recording on this Album is a reconstruction of the original version and is in fact Schumann’s ‘Second’. It is remarkable to see how fast Schumann could work. He maintained a detailed and accurate administration of his activities. This means we know that as soon as he had an idea he was often able to write down a piano sketch in a few days, which was then instrumented during a very short period of time. The piano versions were often performed on piano by his wife Clara Schumann before a critical circle of friends at home. His direct involvement with the orchestral world in Leipzig, where his friend Felix Mendelssohn was in charge, and later in Dusseldorf — where he himself was Stdtischer Musikdirektor — meant that once his symphonies were orchestrated they could be programmed and performed immediately. Compared with our modern days this was an incredible enterprise — nobody was familiar with this complicated music and it was played from manuscripts. The works had not been published yet and every part was copied by hand!
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