100 Symphonies

Kate Nash's new album 9 Sad Symphonies is her first signed to the legendary Kill Rock Stars label - The album was produced and mixed by Grammy winning Danish producer Frederik Thaae (K Flay, Jada, Crown The Empire) - Marking a new chapter in Kate's illustrious career, the album's lyrical scope is both deeply personal and achingly relatable, whilst its orchestral arrangements and melodies draw from Kate's experience in the world of musical theatre.

Libor Pešek, born in Prague, recorded this rich collection of works by Dvořák with two orchestras that are closely linked with his name: the Czech Philharmonic, a natural choice for this repertoire, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Pešek, who spent 11 years as Music Director in Liverpool, voiced his admiration for the British players’ “immense interest in Czech music”, their “dedication to the score” and their capacity for playing “in the Czech manner”.

George Tintner's sudden, untimely death in the fall of 1999 coincided with the completion of his Naxos cycle devoted to Bruckner's complete symphonies. In nearly every case where more than one Bruckner version exists, Tintner favors the composer's first thoughts. Thus we have the first recording of Symphony No. 1 in its unrevised 1866 version, the original 1872 Second, plus the seldom heard 1873 Third and 1887 Eighth. By contrast, Tintner preferred Bruckner's revised Fourth of 1878/80, with its new and beloved "hunting" Scherzo.

Glazunov’s symphonies hover on the edge of the repertoire. You almost never see them programmed in live concerts, but every couple of decades a complete cycle comes out. Curiously, none of the Russian recordings are very good. The performances are uniformly heavy and dull, whereas Glazunov’s music, symphonic or not, demands a balletic lilt and a light touch. His symphonies are full of good tunes and are beautifully crafted, but despite exciting moments they aren’t terribly dramatic and so need to played swiftly and vivaciously.

Charles Ives – Complete Symphonies offers fresh insights into the music of a radical thinker, creator of what Leonard Bernstein called “his own private musical revolution.” The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s performances of these works at Walt Disney Concert Hall, conducted by Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, received rave reviews. With their restless energy, myriad colors and textures, irresistible references to popular American melodies and impulsive changes of mood, these symphonies reveal the heart of “a man full of ideas [who] was trying to create something unique,” according to Dudamel. “When you see calm and contemplation, maybe in a moment it’s complete chaos. At the end, what Ives was doing was opening the door to the texture and the personality of music created in the United States. His symphonies are a great gift to the world.”