Sebastian Bohren - Rauchenecker: Symphony No. 1 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The occasion for the composition of Mozart's Missa longa is still a matter of speculation, but the Mass remains an exceptional work with it's elaborate choral writing, extended orchestration and dramatic changes. The symphonic qualities of the Coronation Mass reveal influences from Mozart's travels in Paris and Mannheim, as well as a move towards a more operatic style - the memorable soprano solo of the Agnus Dei clearly anticipates the aria 'Dove sono' from Le nozze di Figaro. The richness and variety of this work ensures that it has deservedly remained one of Mozart's most frequently performed Masses. Working with many top orchestras throughout Europe, North America, South America, and Asia, Christoph Poppen is currently principal conductor of the Cologne Chamber Orchestra and principal guest conductor of Hong Kong Sinfonietta. He is former artistic director of the Munich Chamber Orchestra, and former music director of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern. Greatly sought-after as a pedagogue, he has been Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich since 2003 and was also appointed Professor of Violin Chair at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía Madrid in 2021.

Symphony No. 1 - Symphony No. 1 [COMPACT DISCS] date 02/27/2008

Sebastian Bohren's world-premiere recording of InchIn Evening LightInch, the second violin concerto by Peteris Vasks, comes 25 years after the celebrated Latvian composer's first, InchDistant LightInch, one of the most successful, oft-performed and recorded concertos by a living composer. InchIn Evening LightInch seems certain to follow in it's forebear's footsteps, destined to become another modern classic. InchIn Evening LightInch - a three-movement, 38-minute work - is beautiful and contemplative, evoking a twilit world immersed in muted colours and permeated with deep shadows and dramatic contrasts. The album ends as it begins, with another atmospheric Vasks work. InchLonely AngelInch is an homage to his late mother who lived through practically the whole of the 20th century. The composer explains, InchThis piece is the vision of an angel flying alone above humankind, filled with grief at how cruel and aggressive we are to each other. Like a guardian angel he touches the earth with his wings and in that way offers us comfort and healing.Inch Sandwiched in between is the contrasting, classical-era Rondo in B minor by Franz Schubert, arranged for violin and strings. Preceding Vasks' works by nearly two centuries, Schubert similarly revels in exploring ambiance and spaciousness.