Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Franz Joseph Haydn, Gustav Mahler, Dmitri Shostakovich, Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky, Edgard Varèse
Performer: Malin Hartelius, Judith Schmid, Christian Elsner, Franz-Josef Selig, Michaela Knab, Bernhard Schneider, Anja Harteros, Andreas Röhn, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Orchestra: Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Conductor: Mariss Jansons
Number of Discs: 5
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: BR Klassik
Catalogue: 900157
Release: 2017
Size: 3.43 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
CD 01
Haydn: Mass, Hob. XXII:14 in B flat major ‘Harmoniemesse’ (Live)
01. I. Kyrie
02. II. Gloria
03. III. Credo
04. IV. Sanctus
05. V. Benedictus
06. VI. Agnus Dei
Haydn: Symphony No. 88 in G major (Live)
07. III. Menuetto. Allegretto – Trio
CD 02
Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60 (Live)
01. I. Adagio – Allegro vivace
02. II. Adagio
03. III. Menuetto. Allegro molto e vivace – Trio. Un poco meno allegro
04. IV. Allegro ma non troppo
Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 (Live)
05. I. Allegro non troppo
06. II. Andante moderato
07. III. Allegro giocoso
08. IV. Allegro energico e passionato
CD 03
Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64 (Live)
01. No. 1, Nacht
02. No. 2, Sonnenaufgang
03. No. 3, Der Anstieg
04. No. 4, Eintritt in den Wald
05. No. 5, Wanderung neben dem Bache
06. No. 6, Am Wasserfall
07. No. 7, Erscheinung
08. No. 8, Auf blumigen Wiesen
09. No. 9, Auf der Alm
10. No. 10, Durch Dickicht und Gestrüpp auf Irrwegen
11. No. 11, Auf dem Gletscher
12. No. 12, Gefahrvolle Augenblicke
13. No. 13, Auf dem Gipfel
14. No. 14, Vision
15. No. 15, Nebel steigen auf
16. No. 16, Die Sonne verdüstert sich allmählich
17. No. 17, Elegie
18. No. 18, Stille vor dem Sturm
19. No. 19, Gewitter und Sturm, Abstieg
20. No. 20, Sonnenuntergang
21. No. 21, Ausklang
22. No. 22, Nacht
Strauss: Vier letzte Lieder (Live)
23. No. 1, Frühling
24. No. 2, September
25. No. 3, Beim Schlafengehen
26. No. 4, Im Abendrot
CD 04
Mahler: Symphony No. 9 (Live)
01. I. Andante comodo
02. II. Im Tempo eines gemächlichen Ländlers. Etwas täppisch und sehr derb
03. III. Rondo-Burleske. Allegro assai. Sehr trotzig
04. IV. Adagio. Sehr langsam und noch zurückhaltend
CD 05
Varèse: Amériques (Live)
01. Amériques (1922 Original Version)
Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms
02. I. Exaudi orationem meam
03. II. Expectans expectavi Dominum
04. III. Alleluja. Laudate Dominum
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 54 (Live)
05. I. Largo
06. II. Allegro
07. III. Presto
Mariss Janson’s 75th birthday: “He’s the best of all of us!” In an interview about great conductors with the newspaper Die Welt on April 2, 2015, that was the remarkable response from Sir Simon Rattle when he was asked about Mariss Jansons. Numerous music fans the world over are in complete agreement with Rattle’s statement, and what better way to congratulate Mariss Jansons on his 75th birthday (the 14th of January, 2018)? The Maestro’s birthday was also the inspiration for this 5CD set from BR-KLASSIK.
Mariss Jansons played a decisive part in the decision by the Bayerische Rundfunk to establish a special CD label for its two orchestras and the Chor. As the chief conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, he had already appreciated the advantages of an orchestra having its own label: artistic freedom in deciding which musicians to collaborate with and which recordings to release, sovereignty over layout and design, reliable releases timed to coincide with international tours, and much more.
By now, following his tenacious and therefore ultimately successful commitment to a new concert hall in Munich, the music world is certainly aware of the Maestro’s persistence, and not only where musical quality is concerned. So it was that in 2009, the Bayerischer Rundfunk released its first 9 CDs with recordings of the Chor and Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and of the Munich Rundfunkorchester, on its new label BR-KLASSIK. The year 2017 saw the one hundredth production since that time – of Richard Strauss’ ‘An Alpine Symphony’ with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks conducted by Mariss Jansons. (Stefan Piendl)
This box set contains a total of 5 CDs offering a representative cross-section of the classical symphonic repertoire – as well as a cross-section of the repertoire for which the chief conductor of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks has been highly praised again and again for his outstanding interpretative qualities. The works range from music of the First Viennese School to early 20th-century Late Romanticism; from Haydn’s “Harmoniemesse” (with soloists Malin Hartelius, Michaela Knab, Judith Schmid, Christian Elsner, Bernhard Schneider, Franz-Josef Selig and the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks) to the Minuet from Haydn’s Symphony Hob. I:88; from Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony, Brahms’s Fourth Symphony and Mahler’s Ninth Symphony to Strauss’ Eine Alpensinfonie” op. 64, and also his “Vier letzte Lieder” (“Four Last Songs”, with the excellent soloist Anja Harteros). And the fifth CD offers several impressive masterpieces of the twentieth century including Stravinsky’s “Symphony of Psalms” (with the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks), Varèse’s symphonic poem “Amériques” – both recordings first time released on CD – and Shostakovich’s Sixth Symphony.
Celebrating Mariss Jansons’ 75th birthday, BR Klassik has reissued several of his outstanding performances in a five-CD box set that demonstrates his range of repertoire, energy, and versatility. The set includes live performances from 2008 to 2016, outlining the conductor’s prolific output with representative works by Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, Richard Strauss, Mahler, Varèse, Stravinsky, and Shostakovich, though the selections are not the usual “greatest hits” one finds in such tributes. Instead, the Mass in B flat major, “Harmoniemesse” and the minuet from the Symphony No. 88 in G major of Haydn are a bit off the well-worn path, as are Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Varèse’s Amériques, and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 6 in B minor, in contrast to the extremely popular Symphony No. 4 in E minor of Brahms, Strauss’ Eine Alpensinfonie and Vier letzte Lieder, Mahler’s Symphony No. 9, and the Symphony of Psalms by Stravinsky. Jansons’ thoughtful interpretations are consistently clear and often profoundly insightful, and the playing of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra is impressive, whether in purely orchestral performances or with the Bavarian Radio Chorus in the Haydn and the Stravinsky. Considering Jansons’ high productivity, this set can only give a small sample of his many recordings, but fans who have yet to delve into his full repertoire will appreciate this package.