Mariss Jansons conducts Beethoven Symphony No. 6
The Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks has already performed Beethoven symphony cycles on several occasions. Mariss Jansons has now extended the cycle concept in two respects: with works specially commissioned from contemporary composers, who have contributed their own musical reflections on Beethoven symphonies. In addition to the live recording of the “Pastorale” by Ludwig van Beethoven, the production includes a contribution from the Georgian composer Giya Kancheli (born 1935), whose work “Dixi” (“I have spoken”) for choir and orchestra is oriented towards Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
Order online now“Pastoral Symphony, or recollection of the life in the countryside” is the exact title of the Sixth Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, which he composed almost simultaneously with the Fifth and completed in 1808. It owes its great popularity not least to its easily accessible and generally comprehensible programme which, in five movements, describes “Pleasant and cheerful feelings that are awakened in people upon arrival in the countryside”, a peasant dance scene interrupted by a thunderstorm, all the way to a world-embracing hymn of gratitude. “More an expression of feeling than painting” was the phrase that Beethoven added to the “Pastorale”, probably realizing that overly onomatopoeic music with specific references would be negatively received.
This live recording of Beethoven’s “Pastorale” was made in 2012 as part of a Beethoven cycle over a sequence of evenings by chief conductor Mariss Jansons and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks in Munich. Following the excellent response from critics and audiences for the award-winning Complete Edition (BR-KLASSIK, 900119), BR-KLASSIK now presents the symphonies on individual CDs. Ever since they were written, Beethoven’s symphonies have posed a challenge to all subsequent generations of composers – and it was this that prompted Mariss Jansons to juxtapose them with works commissioned from living composers. They include the Georgian Giya Kancheli (born 1935), whose work “Dixi” (“I have spoken”) for chorus and orchestra is oriented towards Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and was first performed in 2009. Even Beethoven, says Kancheli, with his Ode to Joy from the Ninth Symphony and his ideas of universal brotherhood, failed to make earthly life more bearable; as a result, Kancheli’s intention with his work “Dixi” is at least to “point, remind, and warn”.
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 6 F major op. 68 “Pastorale“
Giya Kancheli
“Dixi“
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Mariss Jansons conductor
Booklet: in German / in English
1 CD highprice – jewelcase mit O-Card
Total Time: 64:15
Product-Number: 900136
- Exciting live atmosphere
- Exciting juxtaposition of the classical concert repertoire with a current, contemporary composition
