François Xavier Roth

Paris, early Twentieth Century: in the space of three ballets, a previously unknown Russian composer revolutionised the music of his time. With The Firebird and Petrushka, respectively fairytale and folktale, and of course The Rite of Spring, a telluric invocation with its insanely innovative harmonies and rhythms, Stravinsky dynamised the Late Romantic orchestra, taking it to literally unheard-of places.

Saint-Saëns's first opera, Le Timbre d'argent initially composed in 1864 need not fear comparison with some of the most celebrated works in the nineteenth-century French repertory. It depicts the nightmare of a man whose hallucinations anticipate by twenty years the fantastical apparitions of Offenbach's Les Contes d Hoffmann.

This release, part of harmonia mundi's series celebrating the Beethoven year, pairs the composer's iconic and much-loved Symphony No.5 with the far less well-known Symphony In 17 Parts by Francois-Joseph Gossec. The dramatic power and intensity of Beethoven stands in sharp contrast to to the cheerful and gallant music of Gossec. Les Siècles, led by François-Xavier Roth, apply their usual virtuosity and keen insight to both works in performances that are sure to delight.

Bizet & Chabrier - Orchestral Works - Les Siècles & François-Xavier Roth (2008) {Mirare Official Digital Download MIR036}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44kHz - Official Digital Download (prestoclassical.co.uk) -> 310 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 152 Mb
Full Artwork (jpg+pdf) ->7 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2008 Mirare | MIR 036
Classical / Romantic / Orchestral

The French conductor François-Xavier Roth was born in France in 1971 and studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique. In October 2000 he won joint first prize at the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition in London, following which he was appointed for two seasons assistant conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra. From 2000 to 2002 he was also assistant conductor with the Caen Orchestra. In 2003 François-Xavier Roth created the chamber orchestra Les Siècles (The Centuries), combining period and modern instruments, an orchestra which covers a vast repertoire from Baroque to contemporary music.

François-Xavier Roth and the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne explore the beginnings of Anton Bruckner‘s symphonic oeuvre on the way to the complete recording of the symphonies. Between Linz and Vienna, the organist from the modest provinces, „half genius and half fool“, as contemporaries described him, found his symphonic language.