Michsel Sanderling

With the violin concertos by Jean Sibelius and Igor Stravinsky, Zhi-Jong Wang and the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Thomas Sanderling, dedicate themselves to two works from the beginning of the 20th century. Although the two works were composed only thirty years apart from each other, they could not be any more contrasting: minor against major, dark, mystical and introverted against exciting, suspenseful and sometimes ironic. And yet, in the contrasts of these two concertos, the virtuoso and inspiring interpretation of the Chinese violinist reveals something amazingly unifying. Recorded at Abbey Road, July 2017.

Karl Weigl’s music demonstrates once again that the great Austrian/German symphonic tradition did not die with Mahler, but continued to thrive well into the 20th century. Weigl (1881-1949) worked under Mahler in Vienna and enjoyed a fine reputation until, as we’ve heard often by now, the Nazi seizure of power, which forced his emigration to America where he died in comparative obscurity. He nevertheless composed a substantial body of orchestral and chamber music, including six symphonies. If this one is typical, it’s a legacy that urgently calls out for wider exposure. Composed in 1945 and dedicated to the memory of President Roosevelt, the “Apocalyptic Symphony” received its premiere in 1968 under Stokowski.

Matthias Kirschnereit and the hr-Sinfonieorchester under Michael Sanderling have compiled a compelling, captivating programme of music from the last days of the Classical era, on the cusp of the Romantic. This “half-way house” – in the best possible sense – accommodates the compositions of Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Carl Maria von Weber and Felix Mendelssohn.

Known to Tchaikovsky as the ‘Russian Brahms’ and to Rachmaninov as ‘a master composer [and] a pinnacle of musical Moscow’, Sergey Taneyev was one of the most highly regarded and influential musical figures of his time. His unfinished Symphony No. 2, begun while Taneyev was a student at the Moscow Conservatoire, was recognised by his teacher, Tchaikovsky, as a work of considerable promise. It is heard here in Vladimir Blok’s edition, first performed in 1977. Taneyev’s Symphony No. 4, composed twenty years later, is a large-scale masterpiece considered by many to be his finest orchestral work.

A pupil of Rubinstein and Tchaikovsky, and a teacher of Rachmaninov and Scriabin, Sergey Taneyev was a monumental figure in Russian music of the second half of the nineteenth century. Although highly independent as a mature artist, Taneyev was understandably under Tchaikovsky's influence during the early years of his career. His First Symphony, which can be compared to Tchaikovsky's Second, impresses with its seriousness, skilful orchestration, and a complete absence of virtuosity for its own sake. Written ten years later, the Third Symphony is a large four movement cycle. Its crowning glory, a scintillating Finale, shows Taneyev's contrapuntal prowess at it best.

The latest high quality recording of the profound "Bull 3" recorded with LGO in 1963, for the 10th anniversary of Sanderling's death! A masterful performance full of the German spirit of yesteryear. New reissue from the original ETERNA analog tape. World's first SACD release! Mastered only in the analog domain and directly converted to DSD! The 11th SACD hybridization of the latest reissue project of ETERNA's original analog tapes in Japan, the latest SACD release of Kurt Sanderling's (1912.9.19-2011.9.18) early session recording of Bruckner's Symphony No. 3, which was made 10 years after his death. This piece was a specialty of Sanderling's, which he conducted many times during his life, and several later live recordings of the piece are available in addition to this recording.

Stefan Sanderling, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland - Tchaikovsky: Suites for Orchestra Nos. 3 & 4.

The playing of the excellent National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland - another Naxos discovery - is polished and sympathetic to the Tchaikovskian ardour… A fine, super bargain.