Leonard Slatkinthe Six Symphonies (live)

The symphonies of Tchaikovsky are richly scored and very demanding technically, as well as displaying a remarkable and highly individual amalgam of Russian characteristics and Western symphonic structure. In the case of his first three symphonies, we find many unusual features, a desire on his part for affirmation from his teachers and mentors, and an unease on their part due to what they expected him to compose and what he actually did. There is, of course, the question of an influence of native folk music in his output. About this, he once wrote: “…as far as the Russian element in my music is concerned, i.e. the relationship between the national songs and my melodies and harmonies, this is because I grew up in the backwoods, from earliest childhood saturated with the indescribable beauty of the characteristic traits of Russian folk music.”

Carl August Nielsen (Danish: ; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish musician, conductor and violinist, widely recognized as his country's greatest composer. Brought up by poor but musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he demonstrated his musical abilities at an early age. He initially played in a military band before attending the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen from 1884 until December 1886. He premiered his Op. 1, Suite for Strings, in 1888, at the age of 23. The following year, Nielsen began a 16-year stint as a second violinist in the prestigious Royal Danish Orchestra under the conductor Johan Svendsen, during which he played in 's Falstaff and Otello at their Danish premieres. In 1916, he took a post teaching at the Royal Academy and continued to work there until his death.

Whether he had to leave Germany because of a fatal duel, whether he had to leave Italy because he married his teacher's daughter, whether he settled in France because he wanted to protect his publishing rights, whether any of the many rumors about Franz Ignaz Beck (1734-1809) are true or false, it is good to have his set of Six Symphonies, Op. 1, available on disc. Composed sometime in the 1750s and published in 1758, Beck's three-movement symphonies are strongly imagined and successfully realized essays in a form that had only just come into musical existence.

Little is known about the Italian Antonio Brioschi (ca. 1700-ca. 1750), other than he was a prolific composer. With about fifty symphonies to his credit, he apparently was active near Milan during the same time as Giovanni Sammartini. During his lifetime, his popularity was widespread as copies of his instrumental works can be found in libraries from Moscow to the United States, with about half of his symphonic output neatly preserved in the Parisian `Bibliotheque nationale de France'.

Although the two were not related, we do have Frank Zappa (1940-1993) to thank for rediscovering his namesake, Francesco Zappa (1717?-1805?). These 6 symphonies were written during the early Classical era composer's active period between 1763-1788, all in major keys and all following the 3 movement `fast-slow-fast' structure. The opening of `Allegro' of No. 1 in E Flat bursts forth with sparkling verve, driven by the numerous rising crescendos, classic examples of the Mannheim rocket. A measured `Larghetto' follows, dominated by the violins as the winds fall silent, and the lower strings and the harpsichord continuo offer a simple, but effective pulsing accompaniment. The final triple metered `Presto' begins with a stirring horn call and gallops to a rousing conclusion.