London Symphony Orchestra / Alsop,Marin - Bernstein: Candide - SUPER-AUDIO CD [Super Audio CD (SACD)]

Åke Uddén (1903-1987) was a composer and professor of harmony and counterpoint at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. During the 1920s, he studied at the Paris Conservatory and included Caussade and Tournemire among his teachers. He was greatly inspired by Ravel and InchLes SixInch. The basic characteristics of Uddén's compositions, mostly for chamber and vocal music, come from the French role models on which his education was based. A balanced, sober and technically-driven tonal language therefore characterizes his work, where linear playing and harmony are colored by impressionistic impulses. Uppsala Chamber Soloists have taken on this previously seldom-performed repertoire with enormous enthusiasm. With the of this album, it achieves it's major breakthrough. The Uppsala Chamber Orchestra - regarded by many as one of the finest chamber orchestras in Sweden - is part of Musik i Uppland, the county musical foundation. The Uppsala Chamber Orchestra is characterized by it's flexibility in various styles, from early baroque to contemporary music, and it's exquisite orchestral sound, both warm and lustrous. The orchestra includes a number of soloists who ensure it's high quality.

On this album, the London Symphony Orchestra and Chief Conductor Sir Antonio Pappano capture two British masterpieces that continue to astonish and inspire. Journey through the cosmos with Gustav Holst's beloved Planets suite. From the relentless energy of Mars, the Bringer of War to the jubilant optimism of Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity, the work remains one of the most visionary creations of the 20th century. The voyage concludes in mystery with Neptune, the Mystic, featuring the voices of Tenebrae in a wordless, otherworldly chorus. Arnold Bax's Tintagel closes the album with a sweeping portrait of Cornwall's rugged coastline. Inspired by a visit to the legendary castle in 1917, Bax's symphonic poem evokes windswept cliffs, ancient history and mythology in music that surges like the sea itself.

Stravinsky sent shockwaves through classical music in the 20th century. His first three ballets -The Firebird, Petrushka and The Rite of Spring, all composed between 1909 and 1913 - brought a new and frenzied sense of rhythm, so distressing to audiences that it caused uproar; The Rite of Spring even caused a riot. And it's not hard to see why. Is there any moment in music more demonic than the opening to The Firebird, a terrifying rumble of strings that would make Jaws tremble? There are few pieces more unsettling than The Rite of Spring with it's carnal, tribal rhythms; or Petrushka with it's impish Punch and Judy puppets. A notable voice of authority on the works of Stravinsky, Sir Simon Rattle masterfully brings these three creations to life in this dramatic performance, recorded live in the Barbican Hall as part of his inaugural season as LSO's Music Director.