"This absorbing release on the Leipzig-based Accentus label is a reminder that the Royal Opera's new music director, Jakub Hrusa, has for the last nine years excelled in orchestral music as chief conductor of the Bamberg Symphony. The programme juxtaposes three works composed in the final decades of the 19th century, each reflecting in different ways on the notion of a hero, or what is meant by a hero's journey."
"A Hero's Song was Dvorak's final tone poem, a 20-minute micro-symphony in which intrepid determination gives way to mourning, martial conflict and finally hope. It's full of amiable melodies and, in Hrusa's hands, it packs a dramatic punch. It's followed by a compelling discovery: Glazunov's symphonic elegy To the Memory of a Hero, composed when he was 20. Advancing with sombre tread, and boasting a pair of instantly memorable themes, it is handsomely shaped by conductor and orchestra."
"Album cover for Strauss, Dvorak and Glazunov. Photograph: Accentus Music/BR Klassik Richard Strauss's ubiquitous Ein Heldenleben is no stranger on disc. Things get off to a slightly ponderous start, and the recording can feel congested when confronted with the full force of Strauss's orchestration. Nevertheless, Hrusa's flexible phrasing ensures the music's theatricality wins through, especially in the supple central portrait of the composer's wife and the hero's poignant final retirement. Released on 7 November"
Leipzig-based Accentus releases a recording led by Jakub Hrusa, who served nine years as chief conductor of the Bamberg Symphony and now is Royal Opera's music director. The program pairs three late-19th-century works examining heroism and the hero's journey. Dvorak's A Hero's Song is a 20-minute tone poem where determination yields to mourning, martial conflict and eventual hope, with amiable melodies and strong dramatic impact. Glazunov's To the Memory of a Hero, written at age 20, advances with sombre tread and two memorable themes, shaped gracefully by conductor and orchestra. Strauss's Ein Heldenleben can feel ponderous and congested, but flexible phrasing brings out theatricality and a poignant final retirement. Release date: 7 November.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]