Leonard Slatkinthe Six Symphonies (live)

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'.

Ondine's series of Erkki Melartin's (1875-1937) symphonies is an invaluable addition to the catalogue of recorded music (one of several invaluable projects from Ondine - think of their coverage of Raitio, Englund and Merikanto, for instance). Stylistically, the influence of Sibelius is clearly audible, but not oppressively so. Rather, Melartin's music (at least in the first four symphonies) strikes me as a lushly late-romantic, Mahlerian and Brucknerian take on Mendelssohn and Raff, fused with folkloristic elements ………Strongly recommended.

G.D. @ Amazon.com

Carl Friedrich Abel (b. December 22, 1723 in Cöthen) was one of the most renowned viola da gamba players of his day. It was probably for Carl's father, Christian Ferdinand Abel, that Johann Sebastian Bach composed his famous solo cello suites.
Following his education at the Thomasschule under J.S. Bach, he initially took a post under Johann Adolf Hasse in the Dresden court orchestra, and remained there for a decade before traveling to London 1759. There he met and eventually shared a room with Johann Christian Bach.

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.

A tremendous sense of energy and fulfillment. Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic gave a series of concerts of Beethoven's symphonies from April 12 to 16, 1966. Each day's programming was carefully planned by Karajan himself for maximum effect. The overture "Coriolan" at the beginning and "Leonore No. 3" before the final Ninth indicate that everything is leading up to the main Ninth. I was very interested in the full text of Mr. Nao Shibata's commentary in the booklet, in which he analyzed Karajan's intention. Except for the overture "Coriolan," this is the first time it has appeared.

Nach unserer erfolgreichen Erstveröffentlichung der Instrumentalkonzerte Georg Matthias Monns lassen wir nun noch eine CD des Komponisten mit sechs seiner Sinfonien folgen, nicht nur um dem Komponisten den ihm gebührenden Rang zu verschaffen, sondern auch, um Ihnen die Bekanntschaft mit diesen lebendigen Werken zu ermöglichen. Monn schrieb mehr als 20 Sinfonien, die leider nur noch zum Teil erhalten sind.