Brainwave Symphony CD 4

The release of Bernard Haitink's new cycle of the Beethoven symphonies was one of the most talked about classical events of 2006. Over recent years many people had questioned whether another complete set of Beethoven's symphonies would ever be recorded. But Haitink's revelatory recordings have demonstrated why fresh new interpretations of Beethoven's music are so important and why the composer's music is still so relevant today.

Conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler already enjoyed a worldwide legendary standing during his lifetime - he was considered the German conductor and performances were greeted with rapturous applause. Today, more than 50 years after his death, Wilhelm Furtwangler is still an icon and his work has become an integral part ofthe music scene.

Let's say your tastes usually run to the Austro-Germanic, but you already have all of Beethoven's and Brahms' symphonies, most of Bruckner's and Mahler's symphonies, and many of Mozart's and Haydn's symphonies, so now you're thinking about trying out Tchaikovsky's symphonies. The question is: how many should you get? Should you get just the famous last three symphonies? Should you get all six numbered symphonies? Should you get all six symphonies plus the Manfred Symphony. Or should you get all symphonies six plus Manfred plus the orchestral suites? The answer, of course, depends on how much of Tchaikovsky's richly melodic, fabulously colorful, and extravagantly emotional orchestral music you're up for.

2018 was branded as “Gewandhausjahr”: Gewandhausorchester celebrates its 275th birthday and the inauguration of Andris Nelsons as new Gewandhauskapellmeister.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra and their music director Andris Nelsons announce their upcoming album, on which they present their acclaimed Shostakovich symphony cycle to mark the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death in 1975.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra and their music director Andris Nelsons announce their upcoming album, on which they present their acclaimed Shostakovich symphony cycle to mark the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death in 1975.

Decca/London introduced Phase 4 Stereo in 1961. For classical music, the Phase 4 approach was based on miking every orchestra section individually, along with mics for selected instruments – up to a maximum of 20 channels, which were then mixed via a recording console. This resulted in a dynamic, in your face sound with relatively little hall ambience. The quality of the sound mostly depended on how skillfully the recording engineer balanced each channel – and the results were not always consistent. Thus, the Phase 4 sound was the antithesis of the minimally miked, “simplicity is wisdom” approach of the RCA’s early Living Stereo and Mercury’s Living Presence recordings, along with Telarc’s early digital recordings.

This set of recordings of Tchaikovsky's last three symphonies by Valery Gergiev leading the Vienna Philharmonic contains performances that are undeniably fire-breathing, undoubtedly heaven-storming, and inarguably heart-on-sleeve. Gergiev, one of the most exciting Russian conductors, leads the works with a combination of reckless passion, imperious command, and unbearable drama that is his hallmark, and the Vienna Philharmonic.

Continuing its excellent series of Guarnieri Symphonies, the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra under John Neschling presents another program of marvelous music that deserves the widest possible exposure outside of its native Brazil. Guarnieri's First Symphony was composed in 1944 and dedicated to Serge Koussevitsky. It's as fine an example of American (in the widest sense) neo-classicism as anything by Copland, Harris, or Piston, and it's worth pointing out that this confidently mature work actually precedes much of those composers' symphonic output, as it does, say, Tippett's, whose rhythmic complexity and contrapuntal business it in some ways resembles. The central slow movement, marked "Profundo", is particularly well sustained and supports the composer's claim to be regarded a major 20th century symphonist.