SACDs - Weber

Sir Colin Davis conducts the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and a stellar cast of soloists in a concert performance of Weber’s eerily fantastical opera, 'Der Freischütz'.

'Der Freischütz' is heralded as one of the cornerstones of Romantic opera, drawing on traditional German folk tunes and elements of Romanticism for the first time in the history of opera. The evocative and colourful orchestration is particularly impressive in the '‘Wolf’s Glen’ scene: often considered the most gruesomely expressive rendering of evil to be found in a musical score!

All three main soloists are well established on LSO Live: Opera News declared the Verdi Requiem (LSO00683), featuring Christine Brewer, as "one of the finest recordings the work has ever received". Sally Matthews, who has performed regularly with Sir Colin Davis, was praised in her role in Haydn's 'Creation' (LSO0628). Simon O’Neill’s previous appearance on the label, in the title role of Verdi's 'Otello' (LSO0700) saw much critical acclaim, and confirmation that "he is the best heroic tenor to emerge over the last decade" The Telegraph.

The multi-award-winning Scottish Chamber Orchestra returns with Weber Wind Concertos, the sixteenth album in its celebrated series with Linn. This recording gives the internationally acclaimed principal musicians a chance to dazzle in Weber’s virtuosic and thrilling concertos.

The Clarinet Concerto is one of the cornerstones of the clarinet repertoire.

For this performance Peter Whelan has reconstructed a version of the 1822 Bassoon Concerto score rather than employing the commonly used 1865 version.

In a unique twist Alec Frank-Gemmill performs his own version of the cadenza in the virtuosic Horn Concertino famous for its chromatic pitches and the requirement of multiphonic chords.

The SCO has an impressive recording history including a Grammy-nominated set of Brahms Symphonies, winning the Orchestral category of the BBC Awards in 2009 and a 2011 ECHO Klassik Award for its Mozart recordings, in addition to much critical acclaim.

Spanish clarinettist Maximiliano Martin is rapidly establishing himself as one of the most exciting and charismatic musicians of his generation.

Peter Whelan, one of Europe’s leading exponents of historical and modern bassoon, won a Gramophone Award for his recording of Vivaldi bassoon concertos with La Serenissima.

Alec Frank-Gemmill is much in demand as a soloist and is also frequently invited to play principal horn with orchestras such as the London Philharmonic and the Philharmonia.

Martin Spangenberg’s performances reveal the genuine delicacy of this music.

His meticulous consideration of tempos reveals new aspects of this magnificent music.

Also included are the overtures to Beherrscher der Geister and Oberon.

The brilliant clarinettist Karl-Heinz Steffens has been a principal member of the Berliner Philharmoniker for many years. Here he performs exciting romantic repertoire with “soulful torrents of melody.” The Bamberg Symphony Orchestra’s recent Mahler cycle has received excellent reviews.

Although celebrated as the father of German Romantic opera, Carl Maria von Weber is today generally known for one opera alone: Der Freischütz. However the overtures of his other operas and music for stage plays have survived the test of time and are popular concert additions.

The present disc includes ten of these gems, from the overture to Weber’s first surviving opera Peter Schmoll und seine Nachbarn – composed at the age of fifteen – to that of Oberon, written in London for Covent Garden less than two months before his death from tuberculosis, aged 39.

The team of Jean-Jacques Kantorow and the Tapiola Sinfonietta have recorded numerous discs for BIS, by composers as diverse as Saint-Saëns, Mozart, Shostakovich and Rautavaara as well as Weber.