Composer: Fridrich Bruk
Performer: Arvydas Kazlauskas
Orchestra: Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Māris Kupčs
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Toccata
Catalogue: TOCC0543
Release: 2020
Size: 1.29 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Symphony No. 19 ‘Tunes from Ghettoes’
01. I. Our Little Town Is Burning
02. II. Ele-bele
03. III. O, Hammer, Hammer, Knock!
Symphony No. 20
04. I. Allegro energico
05. II. Adagietto
06. III. Lesto
Symphony No. 21 ‘Presentiment. In Memory of Anne Frank’
07. I. Presentiment No. 1
08. II. Presentiment No. 2
Fridrich Bruk – born in Kharkov in 1937 and a Finnish resident since 1974 – made his name as a composer of tangos. But the heart of his music lies in a series of (to date) 21 symphonies, which have a strong narrative element, some reflecting Jewish themes, others inspired by Karelia and Finland. The three most recent together form a kind of meta-symphony premised on the persecution of the Jews in the first half of the twentieth century. Bruk’s kaleidoscopic use of orchestral colour, his angular but expressive melodies and his dramatic musical language reflect this urge to chronicle the outrage visited on his fellow Jews – and which directly impinged on his own life.