Composer: Karel Reiner
Performer: Sebastian Foron, Matti Raekallio
Orchestra: Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Zdenek Macal
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Toccata
Catalogue: TOCC0083
Release: 2012
Size: 280 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Cello Concerto
01. I. Allegro energico
02. II. (Cantabile ed espressivo)
Symphony of the Mysteries, I. Joyeux
03. Ave Maria (Chant)
Sonata brevis
04. I. Allegro moderato
05. II. Marcia funebre
06. III. Allegro con brio
Elegy and Capriccio
07. I. Elegy: Poco grave
08. II. Capriccio: Allegro
Sloky (Verses) [arr. For cello and piano]
09. I. Andante – Poco grave
10. II. Energico
11. III. Poco andante
12. IV. Allegro assai
Karel Reiner (1910–79) – a lost voice in Czech music – suffered under both the major tyrannies of twentieth-century Europe: he was imprisoned in Terezín and other concentration camps, including Auschwitz, but survived them all, only to have his music banned when he dared to criticise the Czechoslovak Communists after the War.
His Cello Concerto, recorded here for the first time, was written as an act of defiance under Nazi occupation, his last piece before he was deported: it was scored for a large orchestra when there was no chance of a performance. The most important Czech cello concerto after the Dvořák, it is a large and powerful piece, audibly in the Czech tradition.
The three chamber works on the CD – all also first recordings – reveal a mildly modernist voice, influenced by Martinů and Stravinsky. This is Toccata Classics’ first SACD recording.