Bavarian State Orchestra Announces First Recording Under Kent Nagano | Playbill

Related Articles
Classic Arts Features Bavarian State Orchestra Announces First Recording Under Kent Nagano Bruckner's 4th Symphony, to be released under the Sony BMG label in the autumn of 2008, marks the Bavarian State Orchestra's first CD under Music Director Kent Nagano.


The announcement was made in the following recent press statement:

"The Bavarian State Orchestra is not only Germany's oldest opera orchestra, it has a tradition as a symphony orchestra dating back to 1811. In the almost 200 years since the founding of the Musical Academy, such artistic personalities as Johannes Brahms, Felix Mottl, Hermann Levi and Bruno Walter all the way to Wolfgang Sawallisch, Zubin Mehta, and now Kent Nagano, in short the most significant conductors of their time, have presided over the orchestra from the conductor's podium.

The orchestra's own special sound has come about from an intensive involvement with operatic literature, in which the emotional and acoustical emphases of the music much more decisively develop than they do in purely symphonic ensembles. Concurrently the Bavarian State Orchestra is in a stage of constant stylistic flux, toward the goal of further developing tradition while enabling audiences to experience something new. Each generation must make its own contribution, to keep the interest in tradition and the orchestra alive. Toward this end, an occupation with the symphonic repertoire is an indispensable component of any orchestra's work.

In the two years of his collaboration with the orchestra to date, Kent Nagano has already added his own note to the kaleidoscope of the Bavarian State Orchestra's sonic history. His intellectual clarity and high precision in relation to musical structure and texture has combined with the orchestra's own, very emotionally oriented approach to form a new mix.

For this reason as well, the original version of Bruckner's Fourth Symphony was selected for the first joint CD project. In comparison to the usually performed later version, this one is not only more technically demanding in terms of ensemble performance, it is also characterized by much harsher and more complex structures. Bruckner not only makes a totally different overall statement in the original version of the two final movements of the work, which he later almost completely recomposed, but also in the two opening movements, which he considerably reworked in the later version.

This presents a sizable challenge to the producer Felix Gargerle: the translation of sound and emotion from the studio to two (or four) loudspeakers is always a demanding and creative process. Beyond this, the complex structures of this symphony have to be brought into a transparent and understandable version for the listener at home.

On this new CD, which is scheduled for release by Sony BMG in the autumn of 2008, we experience the Bavarian State Orchestra with a synthesis of its various lines between tradition and the present day. Thanks for this presentation are due to Kent Nagano for his untiring work and to the Bankhaus Sal. Oppenheim, which. through its commitment as partner of the Bavarian State Orchestra, made this project possible in the first place. This release marks the beginning of a new CD series with the Bavarian State Orchestra and Kent Nagano.

The Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. private bank is a new partner and main sponsor of the Bavarian State Orchestra under General Music Director Kent Nagano. For an initial three years, the bank will serve as a partner of the orchestra, and plans a number of activities for this period to bring cultural values to the most widespread audience possible. This effort also includes the sponsorship of concerts in regions where the orchestra has thus far not been seen and heard. In this context, for example, appearances in the Saarland and northern Germany are planned along with international tours. Beyond this, each year Sal. Oppenheim will support the production of a music recording on CD.

Joachim Graf von Arnim, head of the Bavarian subsidiary of the Bankhaus Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. in Munich, is looking eagerly forward to the partnership with this renowned orchestra and sees many parallels and similarities between the two institutions: 'Both the bank and the orchestra pursue their goals with absolute passion and great expertise _ one in an artistic sense, the other in a commercial one _ and apply the same high quality standards to their own performance. In addition, both Sal Oppenheim as a family-owned institution and the Bavarian State Orchestra feel that the preservation of tradition goes hand in hand with ongoing innovation and entrepreneurial thinking," says Graf Arnim. "These are the best prerequisites for a successful and creative collaboration. We look eagerly forward to joining forces with the Bavarian State Orchestra in the coming years.'"

For further information in English, visit the Bavarian State Orchestra's home on the web.

 
RELATED:
Today’s Most Popular News:
 X

Blocking belongs
on the stage,
not on websites.

Our website is made possible by
displaying online advertisements to our visitors.

Please consider supporting us by
whitelisting playbill.com with your ad blocker.
Thank you!