Mieczyslaw Weinberg Symphony No. 17, Op. 137, "memory" Weinberg Edition, Vol. 2 (fedoseyev)

Vytautas Bacevičius’s life was defined by exile and migration during the turbulent first half of the 20th century, but his impressive catalogue represents a remarkable creative spirit undimmed by adversity. Composed while studying in Paris, the youthful Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 represent Bacevičius’s nostalgia for his native Lithuania in their unselfconscious and spirited use of folk melodies, all of which contribute to their light and celebratory nature. Written not long after his arrival in the United States in 1944, the Third Symphony expresses an early optimism for the composer’s new home in its energetic, positive and confident tone, culminating in a citation of The Stars and Stripes Forever.

Vytautas Bacevičius’s life was defined by exile and migration during the turbulent first half of the 20th century, but his impressive catalogue represents a remarkable creative spirit undimmed by adversity. Composed while studying in Paris, the youthful Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 represent Bacevičius’s nostalgia for his native Lithuania in their unselfconscious and spirited use of folk melodies, all of which contribute to their light and celebratory nature. Written not long after his arrival in the United States in 1944, the Third Symphony expresses an early optimism for the composer’s new home in its energetic, positive and confident tone, culminating in a citation of The Stars and Stripes Forever.

Vytautas Bacevičius’s life was defined by exile and migration during the turbulent first half of the 20th century, but his impressive catalogue represents a remarkable creative spirit undimmed by adversity. Composed while studying in Paris, the youthful Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 represent Bacevičius’s nostalgia for his native Lithuania in their unselfconscious and spirited use of folk melodies, all of which contribute to their light and celebratory nature. Written not long after his arrival in the United States in 1944, the Third Symphony expresses an early optimism for the composer’s new home in its energetic, positive and confident tone, culminating in a citation of The Stars and Stripes Forever.

Volume 1 in a new collection of Charles-Marie Widor’s Organ Symphonies, performed by Joseph Nolan on the magnificent Cavaillé-Coll organ of L’église de la Madeleine, Paris. Bridging the generations from Mendelssohn to Messiaen, Empire to Republic, Widor was born to the organ. His Lyonnaise kinsfolk were organ-builders, he showed early talent for the instrument, and for decades was the embodiment of its might and splendour across the Gallic domain - his ‘Organ Symphonies’ were genre-defining in their influence.

Carl Nielsen’s cycle of six symphonies is one of the most original orchestral corpuses of the late Romantic-early Modern era, with its ever-changing tonality, rich orchestration putting emphasis on wind instruments, and constant inventiveness. The Inextinguishable and the Four Temperaments are masterpieces that would be well-worth being performed more often outside Scandinavia.

Sir Colin Davis was instrumental in the development and success of LSO Live, including the label’s first Grammy award. He also played a huge part in the pre-eminence of the LSO across the globe for more than 50 years. A ‘master Sibelian’ his landmark cycle of the complete symphonies on LSO Live has been described as possibly "the finest Sibelius cycle on disc" by The Observer.