Premiere Gal

Woods and OOTS continue their cycle which pairs these two composers, with the world-premiere of Gál’s Fourth and Schumann’s Second. Written in his ninth decade and premiered in 1975, Gál’s Fourth and final Symphony is scored for chamber orchestra and akin to a concerto grosso. The music exhibits Gál’s trademark pastoral and lyrical style, yet inwardly this is music of intense rigor and deep concentration. While Gál’s compositional pedigree is strongly linked to the Austro-German tradition of the Viennese classical masters, Schumann’s Second looks to an earlier era, taking much inspiration from the spirit of J.S. Bach with its contrapuntal textures and chorale themes.

Avie continues to bring to light the music of Hans Gál – “music well worth championing,” according to The Sunday Times (London) – with the world premiere recording of the Third Symphony conducted by committed advocate, American conductor Kenneth Woods with the enterprising Stratford-upon-Avon based Orchestra of the Swan. Written in the post-war years, after the “continental Briton” had settled in Edinburgh, the work ranges from lyrical tranquillity to a densely contrapuntal and rhythmically complex style….

Kenneth Woods, Principal Guest Conductor of Stratford-upon-Avon based Orchestra of the Swan, has made international headlines for his ongoing cycle of world-premiere recordings of Hans Gál’s Symphonies. The set, paired with the symphonies of Robert Schumann, has been featured on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and Performance Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post, in Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine, and dozens of other newspaper and online reviews, introducing a new generation to Gál’s wide-ranging and extensive oeuvre. Woods and OOTS continue the cycle with Gál’s Second and Schumann’s Fourth….

Internationally celebrated conductor Thomas Zehetmair, Music Director of Northern Sinfonia, presents the world-premiere recording of Hans Gál’s Symphony No. 1, a bold and approachable orchestral statement, alongside Schubert’s Symphony No. 6. Gál’s Symphony No.1 was not in fact his first - an earlier symphony had won the Austrian State prize in 1915, but it was later discarded, as …..

Hans Gál was born just outside Vienna in 1890. His talent for music was first noticed by his aunt, Jenny Fleischer-Alt, who had sung under Richard Strauss in Weimar. With his aunt’s encouragement, Gál began studying piano with Richard Robert, one of the foremost teachers in Vienna at the time, whose students included Rudolf Serkin, Clara Haskil, and Georg Szell. Through Robert, Gál met, and subsequently studied with, Eusebius Mandyczewski who had been a member of Brahms’s closest circle of friends. Under the guidance of the eminent music historian, Guido Adler, Gál earned his doctorate from the University of Vienna in 1913. Gál was drafted into the army in 1915; however, he managed to find time to compose throughout the war. Works from this period include the Serbische Weisen (Serbian Dances) for piano duet, the First Quartet, and Der Arzt der Sobeide (Sobeide’s Doctor), Gál’s first opera. The opera’s successful première in Breslau in 1919 won Gál widespread recognition.