Wurttembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen - Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Bohuslav Martinu's six symphonies were composed between 1942 and 1953 during the composer's years in America. He completed the first five symphonies at the astonishing rate of one per year, although not at any artistic expense - years later, he described the Fifth Symphony as a 'well organized, organic, well ordered work' in an interview with The New York Times. A full seven years elapsed, however, before Martinu completed his Sixth. One of his 'unexpected' works, it took, quite unusually for him, two years to complete, and it's form proved to be a radical change from his previous symphonies. As he wrote to his friend Šafránek - 'I am about to create fantasias!' In November 2021 Sir Roger Norrington announced his retirement from conducting. From 1998 to 2011 he was chief conductor of the former Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (today the SWR Symphonieorchester), and during that time caused an international stir with what came to be known as the 'Stuttgart Sound' - a synthesis of historically-informed performance practice with the technical capabilities of a modern orchestra. Whether Mozart, Haydn, Bruckner, Brahms or Martinu, Norrington sought to recreate a faithful performance experience, adjusting the orchestra's size and seating plan, and creating an authentic sound without vibrato.

In 1884, Antonín Dvorak undertook his first concert tour to England. This was to become a highlight of his career to date and brought him international recognition and economic security. It was a time of private and professional bliss. It is interesting to note, however, that the Seventh Symphony by no means reflects a consistently pastoral, idyllic atmosphere. On the contrary, the music often has a dramatic and sombre effect. It is possible that Dvorak was coming to terms with the blows of fate he had suffered he had lost his mother and three children. Four years after the premiere of the Seventh Symphony, Dvorak set to work on his Eighth, which differed substantially from it. In the Seventh, he still adhered to the form of the classical symphony according to Beethoven, but here he gave preference to melody over form. It leads through the work, creating the impression of a Inchsequence of atmospheric poetic pictures.Inch Finnish conductor Pietari Inkinen has been chief conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie since 2017 and Music Director of the KBS Symphony Orchestra in Seoul since 2022. He has conducted many renowned orchestras, including the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.

This is the first installment of the series dedicated to Sergei Prokofiev's Symphonies performed by the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie under the baton of it's chief conductor Pietari Inkinen, and features the composer's Third and Sixth Symphonies. The Deutsche Radio Philharmonie (DRP) was formed in 2007 through the merger of two orchestras, each with it's own great tradition the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra (SR) and the Kaiserslautern Radio Orchestra (SWR). Since 2017, the Finn Pietari Inkinen has been the chief conductor at the head of the DRP. Like his predecessors - the founding chief conductor Christoph Poppen, the Briton Karel Mark Chichon and honorary conductor Stanislaw Skrowaczewski who passed away in 2017 - Pietari Inkinen utilizes a diverse repertoire from classical romantic key works from the history of music, through new discoveries and rediscoveries up to contemporary music. He has also introduced his own distinct programmatic themes into the repertoire of the DRP. The aim of the DRP is to reach all generations.