Ural Philharmonic Orchestra - Tchaikovsky: Manfred Symphony, Op. 58 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

P.I. Tchaikovsky - Manfred Symphony [COMPACT DISCS] date 10/28/1992

?InchI don't want to betray that constantly sounding tone in me, through which I hear the world around,Inch acknowledged Sergei Rachmaninov. This tone stimulated by the intonations of folk melodies and bell ringing, and the imagery of the Russian landscape, permeates his Second Symphony. It became a landmark work for the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra, whose performances in the leading concert venues of Europe and Asia were widely admired. Dmitry Liss, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Orchestra has created a musical collective of remarkable quality during his 25-year tenure. A life-long personal favourite of Liss, Rachmaninov is frequently included in the Orchestra's programmes, both in Russia and abroad. InchFor me, his music is as much a symbol of the flourishing Russian culture of the Silver Age as works by Bunin and ChekhovInch, states Liss. InchHis music always captivates me with it's incredible emotional sincerity expressed in a reserved, noble and aristocratic way. Perhaps it's this combination which gives his music such extraordinary depth.Inch

During the summer of 1883 Richard Strauss composed two large- orchestral works in traditional genres, the lengthy Concert Overture in C minor and the Symphony in F minor op. 12, both of them also with the same instruments. The overture is anything but a secondary effort; it also cannot be understood as a simple »work of his youth.« Although the key and the opening stance of the overture clearly point to Beethoven's Coriolanus Overture, the subliminal irritations, frictions, surprises, and saliencies already present here become even much more apparent in the symphony. As in the overture, so too in the symphony the composer abstains from any sort of allusions to content, and - even more strikingly - he does not include a dedication, even though the work was immediately published. And the finale pursues an unusual course, not with a breakthrough but over a festive path leading to a hymnic theme followed by an absolutely wild conclusion. Following our of early chamber music by Richard Strauss, we are now presenting two more significant early works by him!