Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber

Orchestral showpieces such as those grouped here were among the most obvious beneficiaries of the advances in recording technique pioneered by Decca from the late 1950s onwards. Works which may have seemed dauntingly complex to an earlier generation of gramophone collectors could now be captured with startling clarity, due in no small part to the improved acoustic spread, and it was at this time that the great twentieth-century classics began to win a larger audience.

When the young Claudio Abbado came to make these recordings in London in the 1960s (he was 32 at the time of his very first Decca session on 11 February 1966 at which the recordings of Prokofiev’s Chout and Romeo and Juliet were begun), he had already begun to demonstrate his commitment to contemporary Italian music, and so it is perhaps not too surprising that he should have been contracted to record these classic works from the twentieth-century orchestral repertoire. This release is also interesting as an early document of Abbado’s relationship with the LSO in 1966, eventually becoming its principal conductor in 1979.

The three orchestral scores gathered here are certainly among Paul Hindemith’s most well-loved works If his style in the 1920’s at times had struck listeners as sparse and utilitarian, in Mathis der Maler (from 1934) the musical language is more dramatic and more lyrically approachable than some of his earlier works, as well as more concerned with colour and light.

Some years later the frescoes on the life of St Francis of Assisi by another Renaissance painter, Giotto, became the inspiration for Nobilissima Visione.

In the final work on this disc, the musical quotes are more overt – and less distant in time. In the Symphonic Metamorphosis – probably his most often performed orchestral work today – Hindemith uses themes by Carl Maria von Weber, but treats them entirely in his own mature manner, producing a largely good-humoured orchestral showpiece.

The various qualities in these scores are brought out with typical the flair by the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and John Neschling. The team's numerous recordings of Villa-Lobos have met with universal acclaim, and their recently released disc of music by Respighi was called 'the best Roman Trilogy of recent times' in Classic FM Magazine.

The debut recording by the remarkable Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra and their young Austrian music director Sascha Goetzel. The programme showcases this young orchestra to maximum effect and contains works that all have links with either Turkey or the Orient.

Respighi’s vibrant and superbly orchestrated ballet Belkis, Queen of Sheba depicts belkis at the court of King Solomon. The frenzied war dance, complete with Arab percussion is an orchestral tour de force. Hindemith visited Istanbul many times, and his Symphonic Metamorphoses on themes by Weber uses themes that Weber had composed for his incidental music to a play on the subject of Turandot, the Persian princess. Florent Schmitt’s opulent late romantic ballet The Tragedy of Salome (1907) was praised by Stravinsky ‘God, how fine it is! It is one of the greatest masterpieces of modern music’ praise indeed from the composer of Firebird.

The Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic will be opening one of the world’s major music festivals in 2010 – more information to follow, and also plays a major role at the international Istanbul Festival, performing with artists such as Juan Diego Florez, and Elina Garanca and Maxim Vengerov.

Sascha Goetzel was for many years a member of the Wiener Philharmoniker.

This 2-CD compilation contains 147 minutes of music by leading American orchestras and conductors including the Cleveland Orchestra with Lorin Maazel, the Boston Baroque with Martin Pearlman, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra with Leonard Slatkin, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra with Robert Shaw & Andrew Litton and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra with Robert Spano & David Zinman. They perform works by Copland, Holst, Vaughan Williams, Hindemith, Berlioz, Shostakovich, Enescu and Handel.

Guild Historical starts the New Year 2012 with an issue of the greatest importance to admirers of the finest conductors of the past. Here we have six performances conducted by the incomparable German master Fritz Busch during his time as conductor in Stockholm, including an exceptionally rare account of the Alban Berg Violin Concerto, in which the soloist is the violinist who gave the world premiere and who later made the first ever commercial recording of the work. This is a true collector's item, and we also include Hindemith's brilliant Symphonic Metamorphoses on themes by Carl Maria von Weber - a true 'orchestral showpiece' if ever there was one - and quite dazzlingly performed under Busch, who knew the composer very well indeed. Also included is the Overture to Mozart's 'Cosi fan tutte', and three other rarely-heard gems: a movement from Lars-Erik Larsson's Second Symphony, an orchestration by Busch himself of a wonderful organ piece by Max Reger and an overture by Franz Berwald. All-in-all, this is a wholly exceptional disc of major significance.