Mozart: Symphonies / Schubert: Trout Quintet / Haydn: The Seasons / Mendelssohn: Elias / Orff: Antigonae

Mendelssohn, Felix;
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus;
Schubert, Franz;
Orff, Carl

Gambill, Robert;
Kuen, Paul;
Lipovsek, Marjana;
Mödl, Martha;
Muff, Alfred;
Rost, Andrea;
Uhl, Fritz;
Volle, Michael;
Ziesak, Ruth;
Böhme, Kurt;
Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks;
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks

PH 12041

The Profil label has rushed out this 8 CD box set to commemorate the death of conductor and pianist Wolfgang Sawallisch who died on 22 February 2013 aged eighty-nine. The set spans 43 years of his long and distinguished career with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks but includes examples of the great man’s other area of prowess, playing piano in a chamber recital. Renowned for his interpretations of Bruckner, Wagner and Richard Strauss, Sawallisch conducted extensively with the world famous Berliner Philharmoniker and held posts at the Bayreuth Festival, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg State Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the Philadelphia Orchestra in America. In Britain Sawallisch enjoyed a long association with the Philharmonia in London. For more than three decades Sawallisch also conducted annually with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo. Munich-born and bred, Sawallisch studied at the city’s Wittelsbacher-Gymnasium and the Hochschule für Musik. He is best known for his long association in Munich with the Bayerischen Staatsoper and also the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks that feature on all but one of the eight Profil discs. Sawallisch loved the Bavarian capital of Munich and there conducted most of the major Richard Strauss operas. It seems his lifetime total was around 1,200 opera performances in Munich, which included 32 complete Wagner Ring cycles. I understand that the only major work by Richard Strauss that he didn’t conducted was Salome. For much of his life Sawallisch lived on his country estate at Grassau, a region of the Bavarian Alps that he cherished so much; he also died there. During his extremely long and distinguished career Sawallisch made a large number of recordings. Sawallisch’s remarkable collection of Schubert’s Sacred Choral Works recorded with the Chor und Symphonieorchester des Bayerische Rundfunks for EMI is cherishable. His impressive list of soloists includes: Peter Schreier (tenor); Robert Tear (tenor); Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone); Helen Donath (soprano); Lucia Popp (soprano) and Brigitte Fassbaender (mezzo). This outstandingly performed and recorded set of 35 Schubert sacred scores was made in 1977 and 1979/83 at the Herkulessaal, Munich and can be found in a 7 disc box set on EMI Classics 5 86011 2. For the present commemorative release the Munich based Profil label has selected seven pieces that go some way to display the diversity of works that Sawallisch conducted. His approach is widely regarded as representing the best traditions of the Austro/German school. The booklet notes show the recording venues and performance dates but not the origin of the recordings. So I am not able to report which are new releases and which are reissues. In addition the set is let down by lack of texts and English translations.

Works:
• Haydn: The Seasons, Hob.XXI:3
• Mendelssohn: Elijah, Op. 70
• Mozart: Symphony No. 35 in D major, K385 'Haffner'
• Mozart: Symphony No. 41 in C major, K551 'Jupiter'
• Orff: Antigonae
• Schubert: Notturno in E flat major for piano trio, D897 (Op. post.148)
• Schubert: Piano Quintet in A major, D667 'The Trout'

CD x 8

Muzyka klasyczna

Profil Medien

24-03-2013

881488120417