The London Symphony Orchestra's cycle of Brahms symphonies was Bernard Haitink's first set of recordings on the LSO Live label, originally released individually throughout 2004-05, and then as a boxed set in 2005. This collection of remastered recordings is now available on SACD, and digitally in spatial audio. Bernard Haitink's revelatory Brahms recordings with the LSO have demonstrated why fresh new interpretations of his major works are so important, and why the composer's music is still so relevant today. After struggling for years to come to terms with his fear of comparison to Beethoven, Brahms finally completed his First Symphony at the age of 43. It was hailed as a triumph and the remaining three symphonies followed relatively easily. His Symphony No.2 overflows with a relaxed, pastoral beauty, while the Third Symphony contains some of the most dramatic music Brahms was to compose. Finally, loaded with German Romanticism and including variations on a Bach cantata, Brahms' final symphony is a remarkable example of his mastery of symphonic composition. A rich, warm work that builds on a sense of movement and intensity right up to the final bars. Along with the symphonies, this release also includes Brahms' Double Concerto, Tragic Overture and Serenade No.2.
Melodious and charming, The Cunning Little Vixen is a work rooted in Czech history and folk music; a sentimental journey through the cycles of life. For Sir Simon Rattle, it's a deeply personal and emotional work. "It's the piece that made me want to become an opera conductor… and still one of the pieces that reduces me to tears more easily than any other," says the LSO's Music Director. Recorded with an outstanding cast during semi-staged performances, this recording is the second in an LSO Live series showcasing acclaimed collaborations between Rattle and the celebrated stage director Peter Sellars. Towering fanfares open Janácek's Sinfonietta, an ode to the composer's hometown of Brno in the now Czech Republic. It's a portrait composed for a national celebration of Slavic culture, with Janácek's love of musical tradition evident in dancing strings and celebratory brass.
International award-winning composer, Amanda Lee Falkenberg has composed a dynamic new work that merges music and science. The seven-movement symphony dramatizes past, present and future moon explorations, and highlights discoveries that have been made in our search for other worlds that could possibly sustain life. Through the persuasive and powerful forces of music, the symphony offers Earthlings a chance to contemplate who and where we are in the universe. In 42 minutes they will be taken on an emotional journey, marveling at the wonders of these moons, the beauty of our planet, and possibly even experience their own perspective shift as crew-mates aboard this spaceship we cruise, Earth. This is the story of THE MOONS SYMPHONY.
The London Symphony Orchestra and Queen Mary University of London launch collection of learning resources exploring the sound world of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. Today, the London Symphony Orchestra and Queen Mary University of London launch The Alice Sound – a collection of cross-curricular learning resources for young people, schools and teachers, opening up and exploring the sound world of the iconic books by Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. The resources are compiled on a dedicated website, thealicesound com.
Principal players of the London Symphony Orchestra display their virtuosic talents on this album of concertos for wind instruments by Mozart, recorded in concert with conductor Jaime Martín in the excellent acoustic of the Jerwood Hall at LSO St Luke’s.
A Classic Case is an album by Jethro Tull, playing with the London Symphony Orchestra, released in 1985. The music was arranged and conducted by David Palmer, who had been a member of the group from 1976 to 1980. The album features band members Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, Dave Pegg and Peter-John Vettese. The album was recorded during the summer of 1984 at the CBS Studios in London. It was released on 31 December 1985 in the United States, where it reached #93 in the charts.
While the symphonies of Ralph Vaughan Williams continue to enjoy performances in concert halls and recording studios, some of his lesser well-known works languish. Such is the case for the 'Concerto Grosso for String Orchestra', a magnificent work for large ensemble that probes the depths and heights of Vaughan Williams powerful orchestration skills as well as any of the symphonies.