Swedish act Råg I Ryggen released one of those nearly-forgotten seventies heavy prog albums whose somewhat mythical reputation causes the original vinyl to fetch too high prices today. As with most albums of this sort, there’s no need to spend that kind of money since it was reissued on CD a few years ago. The band lasted only two years, and you won’t find a whole lot of information about them from most internet or written sources. No matter, they’ve included pretty much their entire biography in the liner notes of the album, which along with the bonus concert tracks makes this CD release something of an anthology as well. Being young and new, it isn’t surprising the band shows evidence of many influences in their music…
Woldemar Bargiel was Clara Schumann's half-brother and Robert Schumann's brother-in-law. In the nineteenth century hardly any references failed to note these relational circumstances, surely more to Bargiel's disadvantage since it for many years led to his relegation to the 'second ranks'. It is only recently that the study of his private papers, which somehow miraculously managed to survive two world wars, has inspired increasing interest in his oeuvre. His papers include manuscripts as well as more than 1,500 letters demonstrating that he was a sought-after personality in the European music world. Moreover, in 2010 Dean Cáceres published a study based on analytic methods laying the foundation for what is an impressive demonstration of Bargiel's personal style – which the Orpheus Quartet now thoroughly confirms on its complete recording of the composer's string chamber music.
To celebrate the 60th birthday of the international renowned conductor, Christian Thielemann, Sony Classical is pleased to release this stunning new recording of Schumann’s complete symphonies performed by the world class Staatskapelle Dresden under the baton of Thielemann. This breathtaking release comes after the success of the critically acclaimed New Year’s concert which was conducted by Thielemann. An expert of romantic German repertoire, Thielemann‘s brilliant interpretation of Schumann’s Symphonies is performed wonderfully by the Staatskapelle Dresden. Robert Schumann (1810-1856) is considered one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. His four symphonies are considered masterpieces amongst German romantic symphonic works.