Welsh National Opera Orchestra - Symphonic Suites - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Schubert / Lonskov / Llambias - Piano Works for 4 Hands 1 [COMPACT DISCS] date 06/28/1994

In conversations about Franz Schmidt the recurring theme emerging for many is that listening to a performance of his music at a young age became the turning point in their lives the realization of how powerful music can be, says Jonathan Berman, whose longtime love of Franz Schmidt's work has it's origins in a performance preparation for his Fourth Symphony. Berman's passion for Schmidt's work and the composer's upcoming 150th birthday in 2024 were key reasons for the conductor to approach the BBC National Orchestra of Wales to record all four symphonies together - a major project that also marks Jonathan Berman's CD debut. The recordings were realized between 2020 and 2022 at BBC Hoddinott Hall, the home of the BBC NOW in Cardiff. In November 2023, Accentus Music releases all four symphonies in a high-quality box set that will also be made available across all digital platforms. BBC Music Magazine wrote about the digital pre- of the first symphony in March 2021 InchJonathan Berman and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales deliver a terrific performance which provides a fine alternative to the excellent version from Paavo Järvi. [...] What really makes this new recording so enticing is the sheer energy and enthusiasm with which conductor and orchestra communicate the vigour and optimism of the opening movement.Inch Produced in association with BBC Radio 3 and BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

British Conductor Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez makes his debut recording for First Hand Records with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the 6th & 9th Symphonies of Dmitri Shostakovich; two of the composer's more enigmatic and intimate works. The scale and breadth of the 6th Symphony's opening nocturnal Largo contrasted with the livelier and shorter 2nd and 3rd movements emphasizes the work's unique form and place in the 20th century symphonic oeuvre. The 9th Symphony's Haydnesque first movement with it's notorious gate-crashing trombone is followed by one of Shostakovich's most searching and atmospheric of movements. The Presto, by contrast, is a whirlwind of virtuosity before unexpectedly running out of steam and leading 'attaca' to the brutalist lower brass fanfare opening of the 4th movement, which in turn lays bare the ground for a desolate bassoon cadenza, here featuring Joshua Wilson as soloist. The Allegretto - Allegro finale once again evokes the classical sound world of the 1st movement, but now with a sense of nonchalance and aplomb.