Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38004
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From Holberg-Suite, Op. 40: Praludium, Sarabande, Gavotte, Air & Rigaudon
From “Lyric Pieces”: Abend im Hochgebirge, Op. 68/4; Zug der Zwerge, Op. 54/3; Hochzeitstag auf Troldhaugen, Op. 65/6 & An der Wiege, Op. 68/5
Sonata in E minor, Op. 7
Peer-Gynt-Suite No. 1, Op. 46

Martin Schmeding, organ
Few composers attained during their lifetime a popularity comparable to that of Edvard Grieg. Numerous arrangements of his most famous works, for example the “Peer Gynt Suite” or the “Lyric Pieces”, have made his music accessible to a large audience. Despite this general recognition Grieg was plagued throughout his life by self-doubts. He found it difficult to accept that his genius and creativity lay in small forms, written in a classical-romantic musical language coloured by Norwegian influences and skilfully exploited, rather than in symphonic dimensions. On top of these musical difficulties came problems with his health and his private life. Moulded by a conservative bourgeois family and a conventional musical education at the Leipzig Conservatory, Grieg rejected a revolutionary attitude to musical development, such as can be found for example in the compositions of his contemporary Richard Strauss. He nevertheless found in his central works his very own formal and sonorous solutions. Grieg saw himself – contrary to great masters like Bach, Mozart and Beethoven – as a composer of his time writing for the contemporary audience. The constant popularity of some of his works surely testifies with hindsight to the quality of his inspiration and lets the epithet “Master of the Miniature” appear in a positive light. Because of the secular content of most of the works by Edvard Grieg, an arrangement for organ does not at first suggest itself. Nevertheless the musical structure and extremely varied coloration of numerous pieces make them adequately portrayable, with great technical and sonorous charm, by the “King of the instruments”. - Martin Schmeding

Label: BIS SACD 1187
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Arcanum for voice and chamber ensemble (1996)

Janet Youngdahl, soprano
Absolute Ensemble/Kristjan Jarvi

Arcanum (Latin for a deep secret or mystery) is a work which takes the listener on a journey through the Bible, the Underworld, the Middle Ages and beyond in search of God, only to discover that divinity is in fact everywhere. Written in 1996, it was conceived in memory of a friend of Argentinian-born composer Ezequiel Viñao (b. 1960). The work, in two parts, is a meditation on the concept of time itself and the nature of knowledge. In it the composer examines the development of early thought, using material from philosophers and composers alike. The often very brief texts, from the Bible and the works of Parmenides, Virgil, Augustine and others, are set to music inspired by sources scattered over nine hundred years: from early mozarabic chant to late medieval and renaissance composers such as Machaut and Gesualdo, and including influences from Persian and Hindustani music. Our guides on the Arcanum journey are the Absolute Ensemble and Kristjan Järvi, a team which has chosen to integrate, rather than segregate music. The group fuses its classical roots with everything from jazz and rock to world and hip hop, often working with eminent guests from various genres. For this work 11 Absolute members - playing the oboe, trombones, strings and percussion (including tabla-drums) - are joined by soprano Janet Youngdahl in creating unforgettable soundscapes.

Label: BIS SACD 1291
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EDVARD GRIEG: Norwegian Dances, Op. 35 (1881); Symphonic Dances, Op. 64 (1896/98); Lyric Suite, Op. 54 (1889-91). Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Ole Kristian Ruud. Another BIS first. Not the music this time but the way it is packaged. BIS breaks new ground by offering the public the first surround-sound version of Grieg's justly popular Symphonic Dances. Like all our hybrid SACD releases, this disc is compatible with all CD players but will also provide a surround-sound performance - at no extra cost! - to those who are equipped with the relevant hardware. This highly atmospheric music, which so easily removes the listener to the lonely beauty of the Norwegian fjords, gains especially from the striking realism of a musically balanced surround-sound recording. Further enticement is added by the inclusion of both the Norwegian Dances and the Lyric Suite on this disc. The performances are by Grieg's "own"* orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Ole Kristian Ruud - Norwegian maestro with an international reputation. This disc follows the recently released BIS-CD-1191SA containing, among other works, the famous Piano Concerto in our Grieg-Bergen PO - Ruud cycle. *Not everyone is familiar with the fact that Grieg came from Bergen and, after many years abroad, he made this second city of Norway his home for the latter part of his life and bequeathed a large sum of money to the musical life of the city.

Label: BIS SACD 1339
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ULJAS PULKKIS (*1975): Enchanted Garden for violin and orchestra (2000); Concerto for Flute and Orchestra (2001); Symphonic Dalí – three paintings for orchestra (2002)

Jaakko Kuusisto, violin; Sharon Bezaly, flute
Stavanger Symphony Orchestra/Susanna Mälkki
In spite of his youth, Uljas Pulkkis (b. 1975) is firmly established in Finnish music. A number of his compositions have won prizes in competitions, such as the Queen Elisabeth competition in Brussels (for ’Tears for Ludovico’) and the Gustav Mahler competition in Klagenfurt (for ’Duett für eine’). The title work of the present disc, Enchanted Garden, is another example: subtitled ‘a musical fairy-tale in eight chapters’ this work was singled out by UNESCO's International Rostrum of Composers 2001. The solo violin – the work is sometimes described as a violin concerto – is the narrator whom the orchestral musicians comment upon and react to, and the ’fairy-tale’ itself tells of happenings from sunset to sunrise in a magical garden. The highly colorful writing in Enchanted Garden is characteristic of an early phase in Pulkkis’s development, a phase of which the work forms both the climax and the conclusion. In the following Flute Concerto, composed for Sharon Bezaly who performs it here, Pulkkis has turned full circle and uses material which, he himself claims, is as straightforward as possible. Especially in the outer movements one finds traces of a neo-classical style reminiscent of Honegger or Hindemith, though filtered through the composer’s very personal vision. The disc closes with Symphonic Dalí, a three-movement work which is the largest that the composer has written for orchestra to date. The three ‘paintings’ have the titles The Colossus of Rhodes, Shades of Night Descending and Dawn, and given the association with Salvador Dali, it is not surprising that Pulkkis in this work again changes direction, bathing the music in a Mediterranean light of Ravellian stamp. With these three highly varied works, the program forms a kaleidoscopic picture of a highly interesting young composer. The concertante works are championed by soloists Jaakko Kuusisto and Sharon Bezaly, both of whom played the respective first performances. They are supported by Susanna Mälkki, conducting the Norwegian Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, whose previous recordings of the music of Harald Sæverud and Geirr Tveitt have been highly acclaimed, and who here steps across the border to neighboring Finland.

Label: BIS SACD 1391
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Sigurd Jorsalfar, incidental music for baritone, male choir and orchestra, Op. 22; Landkjenning, Op. 31, for baritone, male choir and orchestra; Bergliot, Op. 42, melodrama for declamation and orchestra; Sorgemarsj over Rikard Nordraak, EG 117 (arranged by Johan Halvorsen) for orchestra; Den Bergtekne, Op. 32, for baritone and orchestra

Hakan Hagegard, baritone; Gorild Mauseth, narrator;
Male-voice choir from the Bergen Philharmonic Choir/Seim Songkor & Kor Vest;
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Ole Kristian Ruud

Previous CDs in our ongoing Grieg series have, loosely speaking, had themes such as “pure” orchestral music BIS SACD 1191 with the Piano Concerto and the Symphony) and dances BIS SACD 1291, including the Norwegian and Symphonic Dances). This time, the theme is music inspired by the composer’s countryman, the poet Bjornstjerne Bjornson (1832-1910), himself greatly inspired by ancient Norwegian heroic poetry. Most well-known of the present works is probably Sigurd Jorsalfar, mainly because of the – purely instrumental – suite later arranged by Grieg. Sigurd Jorsalfar (‘Sigurd the Crusader’) was a play set in the 12th century, and the incidental music composed by Grieg includes two movements with vocal settings of Bjornson’s texts, here interpreted by Hakan Hagegard – the Swedish baritone whose impressive international career started with the role of Papageno in Ingmar Bergman’s filmed version of The Magic Flute. Hagegard is soloist on two more works on the disc, of which Landkjenning (Land Sighting) also employs a Bjornson text based on an incident in the life of Viking king Olav Trygvason, who on returning by ship from England in 995, decides to build the great cathedral of Nidaros (the present Trondheim). The third Bjornson-Grieg collaboration is Bergliot, a “melodrama for declamation and orchestra”. Again, the theme is historical with Bergliot (interpreted by leading Norwegian actress Gorild Mauseth) leading a peasant uprising against the king Harald Hardrade in order to revenge the slaying of her husband and son. Between musically independent climaxes the listener hears Bergliot’s various emotions, ranging from impassioned pride to profound despair and resignation. Den bergtekne (‘The Mountain Thrall’) for baritone and orchestra, is another highly emotionally charged work, based on an ancient folk ballad. Grieg mentioned the work in a letter: ‘Here I have striven to achieve in music the sturdy concision of style that is expressed with such a moving effect in ancient Norwegian poetry.’ Accompanying Hagegard and Mauseth is, as on previous discs, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra – once Grieg’s ‘own’ orchestra – and Ole Kristian Ruud, a team whose performances has been highly acclaimed on previous discs – as has the BIS sound, available on this hybrid SACD disc in both stereo and surround sound versions. SUPER AUDIO/HYBRID

Label: BIS SACD 1441/2
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play by Henrik Ibsen in a concert version prepared by Svein Sturla Hungnes; complete incidental music by Edvard Grieg
Actors: Svein Sturla Hungnes (Peer Gynt); Kari Simonsen (Åse); Andrea Br'in Hovig (Anitra); Bjørn Willberg Andersen; Ståle Bjørnhaug
Singers: Håkan Hagegård, baritone; Marita Solberg, soprano (Solveig); Ingebjørg Kosmo, mezzo-soprano; Kari Postma, soprano; Hilde Haraldsen Sveen, soprano; Iikka Leppänen, bass-baritone and Torbjørn Gulbrandsøy, baritone; KorVest (Bergen Vocal Ensemble) Arve Moen Bergset, Hardanger fiddle; Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Ole Kristian Ruud

130 years ago, in July 1875, in a letter to playwright Henrik Ibsen, Edvard Grieg announced the completion of his incidental music to the play Peer Gynt. Six months later the première took place, and with it of one of the world’s most widely performed plays was launched. Without belittling Ibsen’s genius, it is a fact that Grieg’s contribution was decisive for Peer Gynt’s immediate success: evocative music helping to transport the audience instantly from an icy fjord to the sands of Egypt, from voluptuous milkmaids at the summer farm to a mountain cave full of troublesome trolls. In the Hall of the Mountain King, Åse’s Death, Solveig’s Song and Morning Mood belong to some of the most beloved of Grieg’s works, either in concerts – in the shape of the two Peer Gynt Suites – or in the theatre. The present production is unique in that it presents Peer Gynt viewed both through the music and through Ibsen's own verbal imagination. Based on a concert version by acclaimed Norwegian actor and director Svein Sturla Hungnes, this recording is in fact a two-hour mini-Peer Gynt, performed by leading Norwegian actors, as well as singers and Grieg’s own Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Ole Kristian Ruud – a team which has shown what they are capable of in previous, highly acclaimed installments of the ongoing series of Grieg’s orchestral music on BIS. Reviewers have remarked upon the superb interpretations and performances, as well as the recordings themselves, which have been described as being “of demonstration quality, both in stereo and SACD multi-channel formats”. Few works cry out for a multi-channel approach in the way that Peer Gynt does, and the Surround Sound version available on these hybrid discs add greatly to the dramatic qualities of the performance, making the trolls’ hunting of Peer Gynt, among many other scenes, into an intensely theatrical moment. Packed in a luxurious box, this release includes a 120-page booklet with a full libretto in Norwegian and English, as well as an essay and a synopsis in four languages. As an added bonus there is a separate, full-color booklet with photographs from stage performances of Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, from the end of the 19th century until the 2005 production by acclaimed director Robert Wilson, conceived as part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Norway’s independence. (2 SACDs)

Label: BIS SACD 1452
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LEIF KARLSSON: Tango; Un sens de cirque gitane; GEORGE HAMILTON GREEN: Chromatic Foxtrot; Jovial Jasper; The Humming Bird
FELIX ARNDT: Nola. Trad. (arr: Holdar): Bulgarisk 7-taktare; JOHAN SILVMARK: Vitabergssången
WILHELM PETERSON-BERGER: Böljebyvals; ANDERS LOGUIN: Utan Titel
TORBJORN ENGSTROM: Rispolska; HUGO ALFVEN: Skogen sover
ANDERS HOLDAR: Fest i stan; CHARLES JOHNSON/ALFRED BRYAN: Dill Pickles; JOHN ERIKSSON: Nattskärra

Kroumata Percussion Ensemble
Ziya Aytekin, kaval, mey, darabucka & zurna; Håkan Hagegård, baritone; Kerstin Frödin, recorder
The percussion ensemble Kroumata has been astounding audiences around the world for over 25 years. The concert halls that they have visited during their tours of over 35 countries include the Lincoln Center in New York, Berliner Philharmonie and Wiener Konzerthaus as well as less conventional venues such as a quarry in Northern Sweden and their own headquarters, a former cinema in central Stockholm. Many audiences – and buyers of their several BIS recordings – have met Kroumata as soloists with symphony orchestra, others perhaps as an integral part in a performance of modern dance, performing works by composers as diverse as Sofia Gubaidulina, John Cage, Iannis Xenakis, Steve Reich, Toru Takemitsu and Sven David Sandström. On this disc we meet a different Kroumata, as the ensemble performs some of their favourite encores, ranging from a Bulgarian dance to foxtrot, from the lyricism of Alfvén’s Skogen sover to the sultriness of a tango. Most of the pieces have been composed or arranged by members of Kroumata, and fully exploit all the colors, nuances and spectacular effects of this colourful and spectacular ensemble, supported by guest artists such as baritone Håkan Hagegård and the folk musician Ziya Aytekin, who adds his Turkish flutes to the palette. The multi-channel recording is being released as a hybrid SACD, offering the possibility of enjoying these irresistible pieces in Surround Sound.

Label: BIS SACD 1491
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Holberg Suite, Op.40; Two Elegiac Melodies, Op.34; Two Melodies, Op.53; Two Nordic Melodies, Op.63; Two Lyric Pieces, Op.68

Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Ole Kristian Ruud
Gathered on this disc are all of Grieg's works for string orchestra, together with Evening in the Mountains from Op. 68, which also features an oboe and a horn. All of them are the composer's own arrangements, of some of his most popular songs or piano pieces. At the time, they functioned as vehicles for Grieg himself as a conductor - the role he usually filled on his many international concert appearances. As other similar works from the same period, they weren't necessarily composed for small ensembles - in many cases the number of divisi parts presupposes a fairly large string orchestra in order to get a full sound. Here it is the strings of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra who amply fulfill any expectations that the orchestra's previous Grieg recordings will have given rise to: the full-bodied sound of a large orchestra's string section combined with the fleetness and rhythmic flexibility of a chamber ensemble. This is especially clear in movements such as the Rigaudon of the Holberg Suite, Grieg's paraphrase on the 18th century dance suite and one of his most well-loved pieces. About our recently released Peer Gynt, MusicWeb International wrote ‘these discs provide a wonderfully refreshing view of Grieg’s music, in fine idiomatic performances’ while Sigurd Jorsalfar, an earlier disc in the series, earned the following words from the reviewer from Classics Today.com: ‘I can't imagine finer interpretations than those offered by conductor Ole Kristian Ruud and a clearly energized Bergen Philharmonic.

Label: BIS SACD 1531
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Olav Trygvason, opera fragment, Op.50; Foran Sydens Kloster (At the Cloister Gate), Op.20; Six Songs with Orchestra (Solveig’s Song; Solveig’s Cradle Song; From Monte Pincio; A Swan; Last Spring; Henrik Wergeland); Ved Rondane (In the Hills), Op.33 No.9 (arr. Johan Halvorsen)

Solveig Kringelborn, soprano; Ingebjørg Kosmo, mezzo-soprano; Trond Halstein Moe, baritone; Marita Solberg, soprano
Bergen Philharmonic Choir; Kor Vest (Bergen Vocal Ensemble); Voci nobili
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Ole Kristian Ruud
Grieg is mainly thought of as one of the great lyrical composers, but for a long time he struggled to develop a dramatic side to his music. One result was the three scenes from the projected opera Olav Trygvason, a collaboration with the poet Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. Grieg and Bjørnson wanted to develop a national, Norwegian opera, avoiding the Wagnerian influences predominant at the time. Nevertheless, as the Olav Trygvason fragment shows and as Grieg himself admitted, Wagner's pull was too strong to be entirely resisted; perhaps understandably, given that the subject matter - the struggle of the old Norse Gods and their followers against the Christian faith - is rather Wagnerian in itself. Another Bjørnson collaboration, At the Cloister Gate, is also operatic in conception, but in a musical language more clearly Grieg's own. The disc continues with the Six Orchestral Songs, in which the composer is firmly back on familiar ground. These were orchestrated by Grieg himself, not with the intent to form a cycle, but simply because he himself rated them highly: from Solveig's two intensely moving songs from Peer Gynt to Last Spring, sometimes regarded as one of Grieg’s finest songs. The songs - including Johan Halvorsen's orchestration of Ved Rondane - are interpreted by soprano Marita Solberg, one of Norway's most promising young singers. Other eminent soloists include Solveig Kringelborn and Ingebjørg Kosmo, who join the Bergen PO and Ole Kristian Ruud on this the final disc in the team's acclaimed Grieg survey. Reviewers have focused on the familiarity of the interpreters with the music (Gramophone: 'Bergen musicians have lived with these scores since their creation and all the performances here have a relaxed, idiomatic naturalness in their virtuosity’) as well as the superior recordings, all done in surround sound and released as Hybrid SACDs (BBC Music Magazine: 'The engineering, whether heard via SACD (surround and stereo options) or CD stereo, is exemplary in every way, conveying the warm acoustic of Bergen's Grieg Hall with thrilling presence.')

Label: BIS SACD 1591
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Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Op.46; Peer Gynt Suite No.2, Op.55; Funeral March in Memory of Rikard Nordraak (version for wind band); Old Norwegian Melody with Variations, Op.51; Bell Ringing, Op.54 No.6
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Ole Kristian Ruud
Since the release of the first volume, (Piano Concerto & Symphony, BIS-SACD-1191), in February 2003, this series has been gathering the most extravagant praise, both for the committed performances of Ole Kristian Ruud and the Bergen Philharmonic - Grieg's 'own' orchestra - and for the sound quality, which has been held up as a model for all labels making orchestral Surround Sound recordings. With this, the fifth, installment the turn has come to the Peer Gynt Suites, possibly the best-loved of all Grieg's orchestral music. It is anyway a fact that the instant popularity of Morning Mood, In the Hall of the Mountain King and Solveig's Song has contributed to Ibsen's drama becoming one of the most widely played. The music that makes up the Suites has already been released in the series as part of the 2-disc set BIS-SACD-1441/42 which consists of a concert version of the play, including the complete incidental music as well as excerpts from the spoken text. The critical response was overwhelming, as exemplified by the reviewer on MusicWeb International who wrote: 'The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra give exemplary performances under Ole Kristian Ruud, making even the most hackneyed of movements sound new-minted... these discs provide a wonderfully refreshing view of Grieg’s music, in fine idiomatic performances.' This music has now been re-recorded for this issue - in performances every bit as idiomatic and refreshing - and is coupled with three works that Grieg originally composed for the piano, but later orchestrated. One of these is Bell Ringing, which for a long time used to open the Bergen Festival, and in which Grieg is at his most forward-looking, exploring harmonic innovations and effects that were to be used by the impressionists.

Label: BIS SACD 1661
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Ved Rondane (At Rondane); Jeg lagde mig så sildig (I Lay Down So Late); To religiøse kor (Two Religious Choral Songs) [Blegnet, segnet; Ave, Maris Stella]; Margrethes vuggesang (Margaret’s Cradle Song); Kveldssang for Blakken (Goodnight Song for Dobbin); Landkjenning (Land-Sighting); Våren (Last Spring); I Folketone (In the Folk Style – based on Det var engang from Lyric Pieces, Op.71); Fire Salmer (Four Psalms)

Det Norske Solistkor (The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir)/Grete Pedersen
In this year of the Grieg centenary, this disc brings to light an aspect of the master’s music that is less known outside of his native Norway. While his orchestral works, songs and piano music have conquered the world, Grieg’s choral music has to a certain extent remained a national concern. Actually he wrote quite a number of choral pieces, reflecting the fact that choral singing was particularly important in Norway at the time – principally as a contribution to developing a sense of national identity. The present selection includes examples of pieces for both male-voice and mixed choir, some of them original compositions, and some of them arrangements for choir – by Grieg and others – of his songs, such as Last Spring. By his own account, Grieg’s foremost source of inspiration was the folk music of Norway, something which is brought out on this disc by the music itself as well as in the performances. The Op.74 Psalms, one of Grieg’s very last works, are a case in point: discovering them in a collection of Norwegian folk songs, Grieg was taken in by the tunes, writing in his diary: ‘These melodies are so lovely that they deserve to be preserved in an artistic costume.’ Indeed, his refusal to compromise the characteristics of these folk melodies brought Grieg further ahead musically than ever before. Four Psalms points to things to come, and with this leap into the future Grieg ended his creative endeavors.

Label: COVIELLO SACD 40801
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Rundfunkchor Berlin/Stefan Parkman
The distinguished German composer and pedagogue, Ernst Pepping, began to study composition at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik with Walter Gmeindl. In 1934 Ernst Pepping was appointed professor of music theory and composition at the Protestant Kirchenmusikschule of the Johannes-Stift in Berlin-Spandau. From 1935 to 1938 he lectured at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik. In 1947 (or 1953) he was nominated Professor for Church Music and, being appointed as professor of composition at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik, held his lectures until 1968. Ernst Pepping is regarded as one of the most important Protestant composers mainly for sacred music of our time. By virtue of his lifelong association with Lutheran Church culture, Pepping acquired a profound understanding of German polyphonic music, both sacred and secular. He wrote a-cappella masses and motets. He was a significant composer of German chorales (for example the Spandauer Chorbuch) but also selected secular vocal works, a considerable quantity of organ music as well as compositions for orchestra (including 3 notable symphonies) and chamber music works. A neo-Baroque penchant is discernible in all of his works.

Label: CYBELE SACD 160403
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Six Bagatelles, Op. 5 (1938); Huit inventions pour piano (1937); Ciaccona dei tempi di guerra (1943); Short piano piece (1951); Fünf Bagatellen für Klavier

Thomas Gunther, piano

Erich Itor Kahn was born on July 23, 1905 in Rimbach (Odenwald). He went to the piano pedagogue Paul Franzen in Frankfurt, first privately and then as his pupil at the Hoch'schen Conservatory, where he also received instruction in composition from Waldemar von Bausznern and subsequently from Bernard Sekles. Starting in 1919, Erich Itor Kahn began to give piano recitals in which he played the works of Bach, Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms as well as contemporary composers such as Debussy and Ravel and also later his own compositions. In 1928, after concluding his studies, he was engaged by Hans Rosbaud as pianist, harpsichordist, composer and arranger at Southwest German Radio Service, i.e. Radio Frankfurt. Kahn became Rosbaud's most important employee and among the various duties he assumed was attending to the needs of the composers who Rosbaud invited to attend performances of their works, such as for example Igor Stravinsky, Anton Webern, Bela Bartók, Albert Roussel and in particular Arnold Schoenberg. On January 29, 1930, Kahn played Schoenberg's Klavierstücke op. 23 and the premiere of op. 33a, as well as accompanying the singer Anna Valle in "The Book of Hanging Gardens". Schoenberg gave the performance enthusiastic applaus. When Schoenberg held a lecture on his Variations for Orchestra, op. 31 at Radio Frankfurt, it was Kahn who played the musical examples at the piano.

Label: GLOSSA SACD 922204
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Symphony No. 1 in A flat major, Op. 55; The Kingdom, Op. 51: Prelude

Flemish Radio Orchestra/Martyn Brabbins
Elgar on Glossa? And why not, when it brings together one of the UK’s leading conducting talents in Romantic music, Martyn Brabbins with the committed advocacy of an orchestra rising superbly to the technical challenges of the First Symphony with both spontaneity and energy: the Flemish Radio Orchestra, who here make there second appearance on the label. Brabbins is an ideal director to be at the helm of a work that sits comfortably in the Late Romantic European tradition of orchestral music and for marshalling the forces which can shed new light on a work from outside the grand performing practice of the British orchestras. In this 150th anniversary year of Edward Elgar’s birth it is surely right – as well as artistically exciting – to hear how musicians from outside the UK approach one of the masterpieces of the composer, the son of a piano-tuner and born in the village of Broadheath outside Worcester in England. Indeed, Colin Anderson’s perceptive booklet article has more to say on the positioning of Elgar in the general scheme of European musical history. To accompany the First Symphony conductor and orchestra have added an engaging rendition of the Prelude to The Kingdom, Elgar’s oratorio, completed in 1906, two years before he finished his First Symphony; both mature statements from Britain’s finest.

Label: MUSICAPHON SACD 56886
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WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: Bassoon Concerto in B flat major KV 191; Violin Concerto No. 1 in B flat major KV 207
JOSEPH HAYDN: Symphony A (Hob.I:107); Symphony B (Hob.I:108)

Sergio Azzolini, bassoon; Freidemann Wezel, violin and director
Ensemble “Il capriccio”
The works selected for inclusion here each share a common feature; they represent the earliest efforts by two foremost masters of the Classical period in the genre of Concerto and Symphony. We have here two of Mozart’s earliest essays in solo concerto form, while from Haydn, whose prodigious output of symphonies number from 1 to 104, there are an additional early pair that have come to light in comparatively recent times. A special feature of these performances is that a bassoon has been used to double the bass-line throughout – and that uniquely it is from this instrument that they are all directed. These days many recordings that purport to have been made on ‘original instruments’ have in fact been made on modern reproductions. On this record we can savour the sound of an authentic ‘period’ instrument built around the turn of the 18th and 19th century by Kaspar Tauber (1758 - 1831), a distinguished maker active in Vienna from before 1794; some thirty of his bassoons and contrabassoons are preserved today. These performances will be found to demonstrate how the addition of a ‘period’ bassoon to the orchestral tutti will unobtrusively lend a subtle element of body and clarity to the bass line.