Brainwave Symphony CD 4

Grechaninov’s long life (1864-1956) covered much, from birth in Moscow and training with Rimsky-Korsakov to exile when he was already old, and death in New York. His quiet Russian lyricism never left him, and his idiom did not range as wide as his experience. The Missa festiva is one of several attempts at reconciling Eastern and Western traditions, and to this Orthodox composer’s surprise it won a prize in 1937 for a setting of the Catholic liturgy. As in his subsequent Missa oecumenica, he tries to bring together different styles, making use of Gregorian-influenced melodies but avoiding the use of polyphony in favour of a more chordal, Russian manner; however, there is an important part for the organ. The most successful movements are the closing “Benedictus” and Agnus Dei, where his essential gentleness finds touching expression.

It makes an ideal coupling having the Symphony No. 4 alongside the ballet score from which Prokofiev drew most of the material. The 1947 revision of the symphony, now generally preferred, is richer in both structure and instrumentation. Kuchar’s readings are both powerful and idiomatic, with crisply disciplined playing from the Ukraine Orchestra bringing home the weight and violence of much of the writing. These are performances to mach and eve outshine current rivals at whatever price; the Naxos recording is satisfying full-bodied, not least in vivid brass and percussion sounds, with the piano both clear and well integrated in the Symphony.

After a period-instrument reading of the Symphony no.1 that received unanimous acclaim from the critics, François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles return to Mahler. Joined by the luminous voice of Sabine Devieilhe for the famous finale, they offer us their vision of the Fourth Symphony, which in its own way marks the composer’s transition to modernity, and reveal unsuspected colours and instrumental balances. We still have much to learn about the polyphonic transparency possible within Mahler’s big orchestra!

The Fourth is Sibelius's most difficult symphony. For some, it is his masterpiece. When the symphony was premiered on 3 April 1911 in Helsinki, one critic compared it to Barkbröd - tree bark eaten by the Finns in times of famine! It is fittingly a Finn, conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, who explores this symphony that lays bare our emotions. With his Göteborg Symphony Orchestra, he continues his cycle of the complete Sibelius symphonies, with the addition of the famous Valse Triste and the symphonic poem inspired by Swedish folklore called The Wood Nymph.

The Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks were linked by a long and intensive artistic collaboration, brought to an abrupt end by his death in October 2021. BR-KLASSIK now presents outstanding and as yet unreleased live recordings of concerts from the past years. This recording of Bruckner's Fourth Symphony documents concerts from January 2012 in Munich‘s Philharmonie im Gasteig.

The Fourth Symphony has acquired a rather special status in the last few decades. It is Shostakovich’s first really mature symphony (a distinction which used to be conferred on the Fifth), and though Shostakovich had not quite finished it when he was viciously attacked in the pages of Pravda, the general consensus has been that it represented the composer’s genuine artistic aims, unsullied by the pressures of official interference.

The Fourth is Sibelius's most difficult symphony. For some, it is his masterpiece. When the symphony was premiered on 3 April 1911 in Helsinki, one critic compared it to Barkbröd - tree bark eaten by the Finns in times of famine! It is fittingly a Finn, conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, who explores this symphony that lays bare our emotions. With his Göteborg Symphony Orchestra, he continues his cycle of the complete Sibelius symphonies, with the addition of the famous Valse Triste and the symphonic poem inspired by Swedish folklore called The Wood Nymph.

This Solti performance is the perfect balance between classical structure and clarity with expressive warmth. … Perhaps I'd rather hear Judith Raskin or Margaret Price singing "Das himmlische Leben, but Kiri Te Kanawa is just fine in the end. … This is truly a great performance from beginning to end.