Complete Symphonic, Concertante & Sacred Music Recordings (CD27)

CD1 ROMANCE

1. ALEXANDER GLAZUNOV -  Mélodie, Op. 20 No. 1
2. CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS - Allegro appassionato, Op. 43
3. ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK - Rondo in G minor, Op. 94
4. PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY - Andante cantabile
5. ÉDOUARD LALO - Cello Concerto in D minor, I. Prélude: Lento – Allegro maestoso – Tempo I
6. ÉDOUARD LALO - Cello Concerto in D minor, II. Intermezzo: Andantino con moto – Allegro presto
7. ÉDOUARD LALO - Cello Concerto in D minor, III. Introduction: Andante – Allegro vivace
8. PABLO CASALS - El cant dels ocells

CD2 PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

1. Francesca da Rimini – Symphonic fantasia after Dante, Op. 32, Andante lugubre – Allegro vivo – Andante cantabile non troppo – Allegro vivo
2. Romeo and Juliet – Fantasy Overture (1880 version), Andante non tanto quasi moderato – Allegro giusto
3. Eugene Onegin, Waltz (Act II)
4. Polonaise (Act III)
5. ‘1812’ Overture, Op. 49 (original version with chorus), Largo – Andante – Allegro giusto – Largo

CD3 PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

1. Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36, I. Andante sostenuto – Moderato con anima
2. Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36, II. Andantino in modo di canzona
3. Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36, III. Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato. Allegro – Meno mosso – Tempo I
4. Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36, IV. Finale: Allegro con fuoco
5. Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 (beginning), I. Andante – Allegro con anima
6. Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 (beginning), II. Andante cantabile, con alcuna licenza

CD4 PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

1. Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 (conclusion), III. Valse: Allegro moderato
2. Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 (conclusion), IV. Finale: Andante maestoso – Allegro vivace
3. Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 ‘Pathétique’, I. Adagio – Allegro non troppo – Andante – Moderato mosso – Andante – Allegro vivo – Andante come prima
4. Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 ‘Pathétique’, II. Allegro con grazia
5. Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 ‘Pathétique’, III. Allegro molto vivace
6. Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 ‘Pathétique’, IV. Finale: Adagio lamentoso – Andante

CD5 OTTORINO RESPIGHI

1. Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome), La fontana di Valle Giulia all’alba (The Fountain of Valle Giulia at Dawn)
2. Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome), La fontana del Tritone al mattino (The Triton Fountain in the Morning)
3. Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome), La fontana di Trevi al meriggio (The Trevi Fountain at Midday)
4. Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome), La fontana di Villa Medici al tramonto (The Villa Medici Fountain at Sunset)
5. Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome), I pini di Villa Borghese (The Pines of the Villa Borghese)
6. Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome), Pini presso una catacomba (Pines Near a Catacomb)
7. Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome), I pini del Gianicolo (The Pines of the Janiculum)
8. Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome), I pini della Via Appia (The Pines of the Appian Way)
9. 9 Il tramonto (‘The Sunset’ words by Shelley)
10. Feste Romane (Roman Festivals), Circenses (Circuses)
11. Feste Romane (Roman Festivals), Giubileo (Jubilee)
12. Feste Romane (Roman Festivals), L’Ottobrata (October Harvest Festival)
13. Feste Romane (Roman Festivals), La Befana (Epiphany)

CD6 GIOACHINO ROSSINI

1. Overtures, La scala di seta
2. Overtures, Il signor Bruschino
3. Overtures, Il barbiere di Siviglia
4. Overtures, La Cenerentola
5. Overtures, Semiramide
6. Overtures, Le Siège de Corinthe
7. Overtures, Guillaume Tell
8. Andante e tema con variazioni

CD7 GIUSEPPE VERDI

1. Messa da Requiem (beginning), Requiem, Requiem
2. Messa da Requiem (beginning), Requiem, Kyrie eleison
3. Messa da Requiem (beginning), Sequenza, Dies irae
4. Messa da Requiem (beginning), Sequenza, Tuba mirum
5. Messa da Requiem (beginning), Sequenza, Mors stupebit
6. Messa da Requiem (beginning), Sequenza, Liber scriptus
7. Messa da Requiem (beginning), Sequenza, Quid sum miser
8. Messa da Requiem (beginning), Sequenza, Rex tremendae
9. Messa da Requiem (beginning), Sequenza, Recordare
10. Messa da Requiem (beginning), Sequenza, Ingemisco
11. Messa da Requiem (beginning), Sequenza, Confutatis
12. Messa da Requiem (beginning), Sequenza, Lacrimosa

CD8 GIUSEPPE VERDI

1. Messa da Requiem (conclusion), Offertorio, Domine Jesu Christe
2. Messa da Requiem (conclusion), Offertorio, Hostias
3. Messa da Requiem (conclusion), Sanctus
4. Messa da Requiem (conclusion), Agnus Dei
5. Messa da Requiem (conclusion), Lux aeterna
6. Messa da Requiem (conclusion), Libera me, Libera me, Domine
7. Messa da Requiem (conclusion), Libera me, Dies irae
8. Messa da Requiem (conclusion), Libera me, Requiem aeternam
9. Messa da Requiem (conclusion), Libera me, Libera me, Domine

CD9

1. ANATOLY LYADOV - The Enchanted Lake, Op. 62
2. SERGEI RACHMANINOV - Symphony No.2 in E minor, Op. 27, I. Largo – Allegro moderato
3. SERGEI RACHMANINOV - Symphony No.2 in E minor, Op. 27, II. Scherzo: Allegro molto – Trio: Meno mosso
4. SERGEI RACHMANINOV - Symphony No.2 in E minor, Op. 27, III. Adagio
5. SERGEI RACHMANINOV - Symphony No.2 in E minor, Op. 27, IV. Finale: Allegro vivace

CD10 GIOACHINO ROSSINI

1. Stabat Mater, Introduzione: Stabat Mater dolorosa (chorus, quartet)
2. Stabat Mater, Aria: Cujus animam gementem (tenor)
3. Stabat Mater, Duetto: Quis est homo (soprano, mezzo-soprano)
4. Stabat Mater, Aria: Pro peccatis suae gentis (bass)
5. Stabat Mater, Coro e Recitativo: Eja, Mater, fons amoris (chorus, bass)
6. Stabat Mater, Quartetto: Sancta mater, istud agas (quartet)
7. Stabat Mater, Cavatina: Fac, ut portem Christi mortem (mezzo-soprano)
8. Stabat Mater, Aria e Coro: Inflammatus et accensus (chorus, soprano)
9. Stabat Mater, Quartetto: Quando corpus morietur (quartet)
10. Stabat Mater, Finale: Amen. In sempiterna saecula (chorus, quartet)

CD11 GUSTAV MAHLER

1. Symphony No. 6 in A minor (beginning), I. Allegro energico, ma non troppo. Heftig, aber markig
2. Symphony No. 6 in A minor (beginning), II. Scherzo: Wuchtig

CD12 GUSTAV MAHLER

1. Symphony No. 6 in A minor (conclusion), III. Andante moderato
2. Symphony No. 6 in A minor (conclusion), IV. Finale: Allegro moderato

CD13 ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK

1. Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 ‘From the New World’, I. Adagio – Allegro molto
2. Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 ‘From the New World’, II. Largo
3. Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 ‘From the New World’, III. Scherzo: Molto vivace – Poco sostenuto
4. Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 ‘From the New World’, IV. Allegro con fuoco

CD14 ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK

1. Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, I. Allegro
2. Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, II. Adagio, ma non troppo
3. Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, III. Finale: Allegro moderato – Andante – Allegro vivo

CD15 GIOACHINO ROSSINI

1. Petite messe solennelle (beginning), Kyrie eleison
2. Petite messe solennelle (beginning), Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison
3. Petite messe solennelle (beginning), Gloria, Gloria in excelsis Deo
4. Petite messe solennelle (beginning), Gloria, Gratias agimus tibi
5. Petite messe solennelle (beginning), Gloria, Domine Deus
6. Petite messe solennelle (beginning), Gloria, Qui tollis peccata mundi
7. Petite messe solennelle (beginning), Gloria, Quoniam tu solus Sanctus
8. Petite messe solennelle (beginning), Gloria, Cum Sancto Spiritu
9. Petite messe solennelle (beginning), Credo, Credo in unum Deum
10. Petite messe solennelle (beginning), Credo, Crucifixus
11. Petite messe solennelle (beginning), Credo, Et resurrexit
12. Petite messe solennelle (beginning), Credo, Et vitam venturi saeculi

CD16 GIOACHINO ROSSINI

1. Petite messe solennelle (conclusion), Prélude religieux pendant l’Offertoire – Ritournelle
2. Petite messe solennelle (conclusion), Sanctus – Benedictus
3. Petite messe solennelle (conclusion), O salutaris Hostia
4. Petite messe solennelle (conclusion), Agnus Dei

CD17 GIUSEPPE VERDI

1. Quattro pezzi sacri, Ave Maria
2. Quattro pezzi sacri, Stabat Mater
3. Quattro pezzi sacri, Laudi alla Vergine Maria
4. Quattro pezzi sacri, Te Deum
5. Ave Maria
6. Libera me from Messa per Rossini

CD18 BENJAMIN BRITTEN

1. War Requiem, Op. 66, I. Requiem aeternam, Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine (chorus, boys)
2. War Requiem, Op. 66, I. Requiem aeternam, What passing bells for these who die as cattle? (tenor) – Kyrie eleison (chorus)
3. War Requiem, Op. 66, II. Dies irae, Dies irae, dies illa (chorus)
4. War Requiem, Op. 66, II. Dies irae, Bugles sang, saddening the evening air (baritone)
5. War Requiem, Op. 66, II. Dies irae, Liber scriptus proferetur (soprano, semi-chorus)
6. War Requiem, Op. 66, II. Dies irae, Out there, we’ve walked quite friendly up to Death (tenor, baritone)
7. War Requiem, Op. 66, II. Dies irae, Recordare Jesu pie (women’s chorus)
8. War Requiem, Op. 66, II. Dies irae, Confutatis maledictis (men’s chorus)
9. War Requiem, Op. 66, II. Dies irae, Be slowly lifted up, thou long black arm (baritone) – Dies irae, dies illa (chorus)
10. War Requiem, Op. 66, II. Dies irae, Lacrimosa dies illa (soprano, chorus) – Move him into the sun (tenor, soprano, chorus)... Pie Jesu (chorus)
11. War Requiem, Op. 66, III. Offertorium, Domine Jesu Christe (boys, chorus)
12. War Requiem, Op. 66, III. Offertorium, Quam olim Abrahae (chorus)
13. War Requiem, Op. 66, III. Offertorium, So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went (tenor, baritone) – Hostias et preces tibi (boys)
14. War Requiem, Op. 66, III. Offertorium, Reprise of Quam olim Abrahae (chorus)
15. War Requiem, Op. 66, IV. Sanctus, Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus (soprano, chorus) – Benedictus qui venit in nomine domini (soprano, chorus)
16. War Requiem, Op. 66, IV. Sanctus, After the blast of lightning from the East (baritone)
17. War Requiem, Op. 66, V. Agnus Dei, One ever hangs where shelled roads part... Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi (tenor, chorus)
18. War Requiem, Op. 66, VI. Libera me, Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna (soprano, chorus)
19. War Requiem, Op. 66, VI. Libera me, It seemed that out of battle I escaped (tenor)
20. War Requiem, Op. 66, VI. Libera me, ‘None’ said the other ‘Save the undone years’ (baritone)
21. War Requiem, Op. 66, VI. Libera me, Let us sleep now... In paradisum deducant angeli (tutti)

CD19

1. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade, Op. 35, I. The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship
2. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade, Op. 35, II. The Story of the Kalendar Prince
3. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade, Op. 35, III. The Young Prince and Princess
4. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade, Op. 35, IV. Festival at Baghdad. The Sea. Shipwreck. Conclusion
5. Modest Mussorgsky - Night on Bald Mountain (1867, original orchestral version)
6. Modest Mussorgsky - Night on Bald Mountain (1880, version for chorus, children’s chorus, bass and orchestra - “The Dream of Gric’ko”, from the opera “Sorocincy Fair”, adaptation by Vissarion Shebalin)

CD20

1. SERGEI PROKOFIEV - Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16, I. Andantino – Allegretto
2. SERGEI PROKOFIEV - Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16, II. Scherzo: Vivace
3. SERGEI PROKOFIEV - Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16, III. Intermezzo: Allegro moderato
4. SERGEI PROKOFIEV - Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16, IV. Finale: Allegro tempestoso
5. PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY - Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23, I. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso – Allegro con spirito
6. PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY - Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23, II. Andantino semplice – Prestissimo – Tempo I
7. PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY - Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23, III. Allegro con fuoco

CD21 CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS

1. Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78 ’Organ Symphony’, I. Adagio – Allegro Moderato
2. Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78 ’Organ Symphony’, I. Adagio – Allegro Moderato – Poco adagio
3. Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78 ’Organ Symphony’, II. Allegro moderato – Presto
4. Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78 ’Organ Symphony’, II. Allegro moderato – Presto – Maestoso – Allegro
5. Le Carnaval des animaux (Grande fantaisie zoologique for 2 pianos & ensemble), I. Introduction et marche royale du lion
6. Le Carnaval des animaux (Grande fantaisie zoologique for 2 pianos & ensemble), II. Poules et coqs
7. Le Carnaval des animaux (Grande fantaisie zoologique for 2 pianos & ensemble), III. Hémiones 
8. Le Carnaval des animaux (Grande fantaisie zoologique for 2 pianos & ensemble), IV. Tortues
9. Le Carnaval des animaux (Grande fantaisie zoologique for 2 pianos & ensemble), V. L’Éléphant
10. Le Carnaval des animaux (Grande fantaisie zoologique for 2 pianos & ensemble), VI. Kangourous
11. Le Carnaval des animaux (Grande fantaisie zoologique for 2 pianos & ensemble), VII. Aquarium
12. Le Carnaval des animaux (Grande fantaisie zoologique for 2 pianos & ensemble), VIII. Personnages à longues oreilles
13. Le Carnaval des animaux (Grande fantaisie zoologique for 2 pianos & ensemble), IX. Le Coucou au fond des bois
14. Le Carnaval des animaux (Grande fantaisie zoologique for 2 pianos & ensemble), X. Volière
15. Le Carnaval des animaux (Grande fantaisie zoologique for 2 pianos & ensemble), XI. Pianistes
16. Le Carnaval des animaux (Grande fantaisie zoologique for 2 pianos & ensemble), XII. Fossiles
17. Le Carnaval des animaux (Grande fantaisie zoologique for 2 pianos & ensemble), XIII. Le Cygne  
18. Le Carnaval des animaux (Grande fantaisie zoologique for 2 pianos & ensemble), XIV. Final

CD22 RICHARD STRAUSS

1. Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40, TrV 190, I. “Der Held” (The Hero)
2. Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40, TrV 190, II. “Des Helden Widersacher” (The Hero’s Adversaries)
3. Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40, TrV 190, III. “Des Helden Gefährtin” (The Hero’s Companion)
4. Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40, TrV 190, IV. “Des Helden Walstatt” (The Hero at Battle)
5. Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40, TrV 190, V. “Des Helden Friedenswerke” (The Hero’s Works of Peace)
6. Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40, TrV 190, VI. “Des Helden Weltflucht und Vollendung” (The Hero’s Withdrawal from the World)
7. Burleske in D minor for piano and orchestra, TrV 145

CD23 LEONARD BERNSTEIN

1. Symphony No. 1 “Jeremiah”, I. Prophecy: Largamente
2. Symphony No. 1 “Jeremiah”, II. Profanation: Vivace con brio
3. Symphony No. 1 “Jeremiah”, III. Lamentation: Lento
4. Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety”, Part I, The Prologue: Lento moderato
5. Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety”, Part I, The Seven Ages, Variation 1: L’istesso tempo
6. Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety”, Part I, The Seven Ages, Variation 2: Poco più mosso
7. Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety”, Part I, The Seven Ages, Variation 3: Largamente, ma mosso
8. Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety”, Part I, The Seven Ages, Variation 4: Più mosso
9. Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety”, Part I, The Seven Ages, Variation 5: Agitato
10. Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety”, Part I, The Seven Ages, Variation 6: Poco meno mosso
11. Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety”, Part I, The Seven Ages, Variation 7: L’istesso tempo
12. Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety”, Part I, The Seven Stages, Variation 8: Molto moderato, ma movendo
13. Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety”, Part I, The Seven Stages, Variation 9: Più mosso (Tempo di valse)
14. Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety”, Part I, The Seven Stages, Variation 10: Più mosso
15. Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety”, Part I, The Seven Stages, Variation 11: L’istesso tempo
16. Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety”, Part I, The Seven Stages, Variation 12: Poco più vivace
17. Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety”, Part I, The Seven Stages, Variation 13: L’istesso tempo
18. Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety”, Part I, The Seven Stages, Variation 14: Poco più vivace
19. Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety”, Part II, The Dirge: Largo
20. Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety”, Part II, The Masque: Extremely fast
21. Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety”, Part II, The Epilogue: L’istesso tempo

CD24 LEONARD BERNSTEIN

1. Symphony No. 3 “Kaddish” (Revised speaker’s text by Leonard Bernstein - 1977), I. a. Invocation: Adagio
2. Symphony No. 3 “Kaddish” (Revised speaker’s text by Leonard Bernstein - 1977), I. b. Kaddish 1: L’istesso tempo — Allegro molto
3. Symphony No. 3 “Kaddish” (Revised speaker’s text by Leonard Bernstein - 1977), II. a. Din-Torah: Di nuovo adagio
4. Symphony No. 3 “Kaddish” (Revised speaker’s text by Leonard Bernstein - 1977), II. b. Kaddish 2: Andante con tenerezza
5. Symphony No. 3 “Kaddish” (Revised speaker’s text by Leonard Bernstein - 1977), III. a. Scherzo: Presto scherzando, sempre pianissimo
6. Symphony No. 3 “Kaddish” (Revised speaker’s text by Leonard Bernstein - 1977), III. b. Kaddish 3
7. Symphony No. 3 “Kaddish” (Revised speaker’s text by Leonard Bernstein - 1977), III. c. Finale: Adagio come nel “Din-Torah”
8. Symphony No. 3 “Kaddish” (Revised speaker’s text by Leonard Bernstein - 1977), III. Fuga: Allegro vivo con gioia
9. Prelude, Fugue and Riffs for clarinet and jazz ensemble (original version), Prelude for the Brass
10. Prelude, Fugue and Riffs for clarinet and jazz ensemble (original version), Fugue for the Saxes
11. Prelude, Fugue and Riffs for clarinet and jazz ensemble (original version), Riffs for Everyone

CD25 GIOACHINO ROSSINI

1. Messa di Gloria (for soloists, chorus and orchestra), I. a) Kyrie, eleison (chorus)
2. Messa di Gloria (for soloists, chorus and orchestra), I. b) Christe, eleison (2 tenors)
3. Messa di Gloria (for soloists, chorus and orchestra), I. c) Kyrie, eleison (chorus)
4. Messa di Gloria (for soloists, chorus and orchestra), II. Gloria in excelsis Deo (soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass, chorus)
5. Messa di Gloria (for soloists, chorus and orchestra), III. Laudamus te (soprano)
6. Messa di Gloria (for soloists, chorus and orchestra), IV. Gratias agimus tibi (tenor, solo, cor anglais)
7. Messa di Gloria (for soloists, chorus and orchestra), V. Domine Deus (soprano, mezzo-soprano, bass)
8. Messa di Gloria (for soloists, chorus and orchestra), VI. a) Qui tollis peccata mundi (chorus, tenor)
9. Messa di Gloria (for soloists, chorus and orchestra), VI. b) Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris (tenor, chorus)
10. Messa di Gloria (for soloists, chorus and orchestra), VII. Quoniam tu solus Sanctus (bass, solo clarinet)
11. Messa di Gloria (for soloists, chorus and orchestra), VIII. Cum Sancto Spiritu (chorus)

CD26 CINEMA

1. MICHEL LEGRAND - Summer of ‘42 · Un Été 42 Concertino
2. JOHN WILLIAMS - E.T. Over the Moon
3. PHILIPPE SARDE - Les Choses de la Vie Main Theme
4. CLAUDE BOLLING - Borsalino Main Theme
5. GEORGES DELERUE - Le Mépris · Contempt Camille
6. WOJCIECH KILAR - Le Roi et l’oiseau Générique
7. MICHEL LEGRAND - The Thomas Crown Affair · L’Affaire Thomas Crown The Windmills of Your Mind · Les Moulins de mon cœur
8. ANDREA & ENNIO MORRICONE - Cinema Paradiso Main Theme
9. MICHEL LEGRAND - La Vie de château Main Theme
10. FRANCIS LAI - Un Homme qui me plaît Concerto pour la fin d’un amour - Finale
11. ANONYMOUS - Jeux interdits · Forbidden Games Romance Anónimo
12. VLADIMIR COSMA - L’As des as Final
13. MICHEL LEGRAND - The Thomas Crown Affair · L’Affaire Thomas Crown His Eyes, Her Eyes
14. VLADIMIR COSMA - Un éléphant ça trompe énormément Chère Marylin · Hello Marylin
15. VLADIMIR COSMA - Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire Sirba
16. GABRIEL YARED - L’Amant · The Lover L’Amant
17. MICHEL LEGRAND - Les Demoiselles de Rochefort Concerto
18. MARVIN HAMLISCH - The Way We Were · Nos Plus Belles Années The Way We Were
19. JOHN WILLIAMS - Sabrina Main Theme
20. RYŪICHI SAKAMOTO - Tacones Lejanos · Talons aiguilles Main Theme
21. FRANCIS LAI - Emmanuelle 2 Emmanuelle’s Theme
22. ENNIO MORRICONE & MARIA TRAVIA - La disubbidienza · La Désobéissance Il colore dei suoi occhi
23. PHILIPPE SARDE - Le Chat Main Theme

CD27 ANTON BRUCKNER

1. Symphony No. 8 in C minor, WAB 108 (Haas version), I. Allegro moderato
2. Symphony No. 8 in C minor, WAB 108 (Haas version), II. Scherzo: Allegro moderato – Trio: Langsam
3. Symphony No. 8 in C minor, WAB 108 (Haas version), III. Adagio: Feierlich langsam, doch nicht schleppend
4. Symphony No. 8 in C minor, WAB 108 (Haas version), IV. Finale: Feierlich, nicht schnell

SIR ANTONIO PAPPANO – A SPECTACULAR STORY

“Through these recordings we have a mirror in which we can look and gauge our progress.” – Sir Antonio Pappano

“Progress” has been a spectacular story. During the last two decades, Maestro Sir Antonio Pappano has been highly extolled as an electrifying and inspirational force in his simultaneous music-directorships of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Orchestra e Coro dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He has also exhilarated orchestras and opera houses further afield in other European countries and in the United States of America. In all these places the results he has obtained working with orchestras, solo singers, solo instrumentalists, and choruses have made a very powerful impression on his audiences and on music critics. They have been strongly struck by the subtle artistry, thrilling virtuosity, and compellingly wide range of expression, drama, and characterisation he has conjured up both in the opera house and the concert hall. These very qualities have also been preserved in Sir Antonio’s large legacy of acclaimed recordings for Warner Classics, which began when EMI Classics signed him up in 1995, and which especially grew in size and scope during his 18 years at the helm of the Orchestra e Coro dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, from 2005 to 2023. These recordings have aroused widespread high admiration – and excitement. And for the Santa Cecilia Orchestra and Chorus they have opened a new door to worldwide recognition as a great international group of performers. Their audiences in Rome have had the additional delight of bespoke events Maestro Pappano has given them in the manner of what has brought him a further fervent and very wide following on television and YouTube: as with his captivatingly colourful and ingeniously enlightening introductions to operas he has conducted at Covent Garden, in “Caro pubblico” he has engrossed and fascinated concert-goers with his informal introductions to a wide range of music that he conducts.

The box set of CDs that Warner Classics is presenting here has been compiled as a memento of Sir Antonio’s art at a benchmark time in his life. After truly iconic success leading both the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Santa Cecilia Orchestra and Chorus to uniquely lauded heights for prolonged periods – 22 years at Covent Garden and, as mentioned, 18 years at Santa Cecilia – the Maestro has decided on a change. He has accepted the prestigious invitation from the London Symphony Orchestra to be their eagerly anticipated Chief Conductor from September of the year that this box set is appearing: 2024. And simultaneously with the change in his life and also the release of this box set comes a publication of major magnitude: Sir Antonio has written a memoir “Sir Antonio Pappano – My Life in Music”, published by Faber and Faber, and it is panoramically illuminating in the vivid spirit of this great artist’s inspiring passion.

Readers of the book will gain insights into why it is that Sir Antonio achieves such exceptionally outstanding results in his performances and also recordings when they discover the intensive and fastidious application that he gives both to his own absorption of music scores and to the rehearsing and discussion of them with the musicians he conducts. This is borne out by the former concertmaster of the Santa Cecilia Orchestra Roberto Gonzalez-Monjas, who is now a conductor in his own right. He comments:

In Sir Antonio I saw someone who has this extraordinary intelligence and amazing intuition and manages to have control of everything. He brings everyone around him together in such a way that they all believe in the same vision, and this he does better than anyone else.

All that needs to be added to that succinct and discerning analysis is that Maestro Pappano also possesses a gift that is both easy and yet elusive to define in the make-up of the very greatest conductors of history: flair. Easy to describe in the distinct and detailed physical communication of his movements, elusive to define in the atmosphere and inspiration that he palpably ignites. As with most of the finest master conductors who have obtained exceptional artistic and virtuosic results, it is a mix of tangible technical command and magnetic charismatic communication.

The results that we hear in this box set are drawn from Antonio Pappano’s catalogue of recordings conducting the Orchestra and Chorus of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and as well as previously released discs they include an important new first release of a symphony by Bruckner – his No. 8 – and also a very recent new issue of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade and two versions of Mussorgsky’s Night on the Bare Mountain: Mussorgsky’s original score and the subsequent arrangement by Rimsky-Korsakov. The complete set stands as a summation of Maestro Pappano’s devoted and enormously successful era with these artists. The Orchestra has long been a celebrated body, and after its foundation in 1908 as the first Italian orchestra to perform just orchestral and symphonic music, it over the years has been conducted by especially renowned names: Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky, Arturo Toscanini, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Victor de Sabata, Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Abbado, Leonard Bernstein, and Giuseppe Sinopoli. However – Maestro Pappano has brought the Orchestra a new international prestige: both in the brilliant quality of its playing and in the breadth of its repertoire. And for him, as he tells us, it has been a deeply rewarding experience.

Santa Cecilia was my first music directorship of a symphony orchestra. I was very excited about the appointment because I felt that I had to take this step to grow and continue my education as a musician. One of the big draws was the prowess of the Chorus, and I am very happy that this box includes several collaborations with them in works that I think are very important: Verdi’s Requiem Mass and also his Quattro Pezzi Sacri (Four Sacred Pieces), the Rossini choral works, Britten’s War Requiem, and Bernstein’s Third Symphony. The War Requiem might be surprising for an Italian institution, but it was an important event for us. That we made recordings of these pieces was due to the enthusiasm of Alain Lanceron, now the President of Warner Classics. This gave a crucial new opportunity for the Orchestra: although it had played on many famous opera recordings before, especially in the 1950’s, it had made very few symphonic recordings, at least not since the 1940s when Victor de Sabata had conducted some. There certainly was no recorded legacy, and now we can see from this box set how that changed through the association with EMI and then Warner Classics: very important symphonic and orchestral works of Tchaikovsky, Dvořák, Saint-Saëns, Rachmaninov, Bruckner, Mahler, Strauss, Respighi and Bernstein give a good picture of the Orchestra’s abilities and illustrate an Italian orchestra as an international ensemble. That’s what the Orchestra has certainly become – for a variety of reasons, including my relationship with them, yes, but this was because I had an opportunity to be with them over a long period of time, for eighteen years, and that included many tours. I think it’s only through a long collaboration that you can make something meaningful – and so through these recordings we have a mirror in which we can look and gauge our progress.

The progress was internationally eulogised as dynamic and radical – dynamic in the new level of virtuosity, both in corporate ensemble and also in individual solo instrumentalism – and radical in a cutting-edge expansion of the Orchestra’s and Chorus’s repertoire. A large number of contemporary new works were performed, including new commissions, and Sir Antonio also conducted music that was not usually associated in worldwide audiences’ minds with this Orchestra: but now it is. For instance, as afore-mentioned, this box set includes a brand-new recording of Bruckner’s 8th Symphony:

Bruckner’s 8th Symphony has been at the heart of my relationship with the Santa Cecilia orchestra. It has been an inspiration, a valuable teaching resource and being that we are in Rome, it somehow became for us a striking symbol for our collective Catholic faith. To reach illumination Bruckner’s symphonic trajectory is replete with struggles and obstacles of every kind, but never loses sight of the ultimate goal of building a magnificent cathedral in sound.

And the box also contains Maestro Pappano’s recent recording of Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben, for which the Orchestra has widely received accolades and been ranked alongside celebrated readings by ensembles more famously known in this music.

Ein Heldenleben wasn’t one of the Orchestra’s visiting cards, shall we say, and I wanted to focus in on it. It’s a fascinating piece because of the story line, and because theatrical elements abound: that’s my world. Another work in the box set that has been very important for us is Mahler’s 6th Symphony, and especially as we took it on tour quite a lot. Although the Orchestra had played it before, it wasn’t a piece that had featured often in its programmes, and certainly it had never been performed on one of the tours. With the touring, firstly there was the advantage that repeating it several times the Orchestra became more profoundly knowledgeable of it, and it entered the players’ artistic blood. And secondly there was the challenge that we were playing this symphony to audiences in Germany and Austria where the audiences are very familiar with it. Touring this music made us up our game over the years and I think it enriched the Orchestra’s grip of the Austro-German repertoire. Of course, the large majority of symphonic music, certainly the bulk of the classics, is made up of Austrian or German repertoire, but I think the inherent qualities of an Italian orchestra – their dramatic flair and their heart, their singing quality – lend themselves very well to the melodies of this world, as they also do to the very different melodic character of Tchaikovsky. So, I was really fortunate that EMI/Warner Classics followed the trajectory of my music-directorship in Rome and therefore hence the development of the Orchestra and also the Chorus, and that is reflected in this box set.

That trajectory and development was equally vital in music of the Orchestra’s and Chorus’s patrimony. Their performances and recordings of works by Rossini, Verdi and Puccini under Maestro Pappano have been an epiphany to many people, including most certainly this writer. In Rossini – a very demanding composer to perform really excellently, and considerably more so than is sometimes recognised – Sir Antonio is graciously commending of his musicians.

The players provided me with an instrument, so to speak, that was ideal for Rossini – a clarity and a zest but also lyricism. Importantly too, the technically virtuosic side of Rossini is second nature to them. This combination of ingredients significantly helped me learn how to bring Rossini off the page, and for me this was a revelation. In the theatre I had previously only conducted one opera of Rossini, Il barbiere di Siviglia, and now through my relationship with Rossini through the Santa Cecilia Orchestra I went on to conduct Semiramide and Guillaume Tell in the opera house at Covent Garden. It was the Rossini inspiration in Rome that made that happen.

And it has been the Verdi inspiration in Rome when Sir Antonio Pappano has conducted both the Requiem Mass and the Quattro Pezzi Sacri that has truly astounded audiences and also listeners to the recordings of these deeply powerful and profoundly moving works. Connoisseurs have agreed with me that Maestro Pappano has achieved astonishing results from both the Orchestra and the Chorus – and this has in no small way been as a result of his intensely meticulous demands that all Verdi’s multiplicity of detailed markings for the performers are fastidiously observed. Take the very opening of the Requiem, where the entry of the chorus is marked “sotto voce” (in an undertone), but then immediately afterwards “il più piano possibile” (even as much as possible quieter). The distinction is breathtaking in this performance.

It’s very difficult conducting Verdi because the technical demands are so enormous on the singers and the chorus, and it is also unfortunate that over many years in opera houses a very generalised idea of dynamics in Verdi has developed. Dynamics crucially render more vivid what Verdi has written in response to the text – the extreme elements in the Requiem of death, torture, fire, judgement, fear, despair, love, all these fundamentals that are in his sacred works.

The Requiem was a live recording, as was our recording of the Quattro Pezzi Sacri – and a live performance has an inner rhythm of its own that I think is interesting a priori. As with all recordings, it’s an audio photograph of a time and place. I do have to say that being who I am, I can’t wait to do the Requiem again so that I can do it all differently!

Staying in Italy, Antonio Pappano has conducted many extremely highly praised recordings of the music of Puccini, especially including another great master achievement with Madama Butterfly, also set down in Rome with the Orchestra e Coro dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Additionally for Warner Classics he has also conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in Puccini recordings, once again to great acclaim, and it was in the recording of La rondine that he and this orchestra first met each other, immediately sparking a close chemistry that has developed consistently strongly since then. Their relationship has been mutually inspirational all along, and the Orchestra are particularly galvanised by the way he elucidates the music at rehearsal.

It has become almost an obsession with me to guarantee that the musicians are aware certainly of any dramaturgy that might be present in any given work. This is of course most especially the case in the sacred and operatic works but also the symphonic programme music. I think a conductor must also be able to explain cause and effect. You are there as a teacher, not just to reproduce the score but also to make it come alive – and therefore one has to inspire the players, whether through imagery or through explanation of musical detail. How to achieve that through imparting understanding and also through achieving the balancing of instruments is part and parcel of a conductor’s job. The conductor has to have thought about and understood the difficulties and challenges each of the musicians are facing – and of course the score is the bringing together of disparate elements and making sense of them: creating a very clear diagram of who belongs where in the musical hierarchy. If you can do that and not make it sound dry but interesting, that’s key in a relationship between conductor and musicians. After having made opera recordings with the LSO many years ago, it’s interesting that I now go to them as a symphony conductor – it’s come full circle. So, it’s a very exciting period for me.

As it is for his audiences – and for anyone who reads his autobiography, published, as mentioned before, simultaneously both with his farewell to his legendary era at Covent Garden, a unique golden period in its history, and the release of this CD boxset.

It seems that I have had a book lurking inside me – and now it has come out. In this book my aim was not to fake being a writer, but to talk to the reader – about my life, my development as a musician, about music itself, the profession and industry of music; also to talk about the inspiration of my parents and their immigrant tenacity, which I felt needed to be given its due; and I wanted to talk about my work with orchestras, with singers, with stage directors; also my work at the piano, my work in the recording studio. This book has given me a chance to speak about that and all the many incredible people I’ve been honoured to work with. I wanted to share all this, and I hope I am communicating my motivations and my preoccupations clearly – and I hope I have done the music that I speak about justice.

He has done the music justice on a panoramic scale – in the way that he has done with all the artists and musicians he has conducted and all the audiences who have been thrilled by his performances. These recordings in this box set are a glorious affirmation of precisely that.

Jon Tolansky, 2024