Michael Hoffman

Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann was one of the most important figures of the Romantic movement, inspiring such later composers as Robert Schumann (Kreisleriana), Léo Delibes (Coppélia), Jacques Offenbach (The Tales of Hoffman), and Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (Nutcracker) through his fantastic tales. Yet Hoffmann was a composer in his own right, and he had modest success with his operas Undine and Aurora, along with his Symphony in E flat major, and various vocal and chamber pieces. Hoffmann's symphony, the Overture to Undine, and the Overture and March from Aurora are programmed on this 2015 CPO release with the Symphony in A major by Friedrich Witt, a contemporary of Hoffmann who focused his energies almost entirely on instrumental music.

Conductor Michael Hofstetter does a beautiful job bringing out the nuances from the Orchestra of Ludwigsburg Schlossfestspiele in Il Trovatore. This is evident from the thunderous roll of the timpani at the beginning of the opera, and the careful phrasing throughout the album. Every dynamic is observed, and the result is the high drama crucial to Verdi. The famous "Anvil Chorus" is another example of the orchestra's power to rouse the listener, as are the dark brass chords in the "Finale ultimo." The chorus, under the direction of Jan Hoffman, deserves equal praise.