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In 1904 Max Reger wrote what was to be the first in a major sequence of variations on themes by his great predecessors. The Variations and Fugue on a Theme by J.S. Bach was written for piano but it's richness and virtuosity exceed the scope of the instrument. Ira Levin's orchestration clarifies the structure, intensifies climaxes and reduces it's length. The Four Tone Poems explore the paintings of the symbolist Arnold Bocklin and form symphonic mood pictures that veer from delicacy to Bacchanalian frenzy.
