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Cover: Ludwig van Beethoven – The 9 Symphonies

Ludwig van Beethoven

The 9 Symphonies

Malmö Symphony Orchestra
Robert Trevino, conductor
Kate Royal, soprano
Christine Rice, mezzo-soprano
Tuomas Katajala, tenor
Derek Welton, bass
MSO Festival Chorus
Alexander Einarsson, chorus master

ODE 1348-5Q · June 2020

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Track listing

37 tracks · 347:09

Listen to samples on selected tracks.

CD/SACD 1

Ludwig van Beethoven

  1. Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21 25:32
  2. 1 I. Adagio molto ? Allegro con brio 8:54
  3. 2 II. Andante cantabile con moto 7:45
  4. 3 III. Menuetto: Allegro molto vivace 3:21
  5. 4 IV. Adagio ? Allegro molto e vivace 5:25
  6. Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36 33:01
  7. 5 I. Adagio molto ? Allegro con brio 11:41
  8. 6 II. Larghetto 11.51
  9. 7 III. Scherzo: Allegro 3:23
  10. 8 IV. Allegro molto 5:59

CD/SACD 2

Ludwig van Beethoven

  1. Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 55 'Eroica' 50:47
  2. 1 I. Allegro con brio 17:27
  3. 2 II. Marcia funebre: Adagio assai 15:43
  4. 3 III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace 5:42
  5. 4 IV. Finale: Allegro molto 11:51
  6. Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60 33:48
  7. 5 I. Adagio ? Allegro vivace 11:30
  8. 6 II. Adagio 10:00
  9. 7 III. Allegro vivace 5:23
  10. 8 IV. Allegro ma non troppo 6:48

CD/SACD 3

Ludwig van Beethoven

  1. Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 31:17
  2. 1 I. Allegro con brio 6:43
  3. 2 II. Andante con moto 9:40
  4. 3 III. Scherzo: Allegro - Trio 4:49
  5. 4 IV. Allegro 10:05
  6. Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 ?Pastoral? 43:02
  7. 5 I. Erwachen heiterer Empfindungen bei der Ankunft auf dem Lande: Allegro ma non troppo 12:01
  8. 6 II. Szene am Bach: Andante molto 12:54
  9. 7 III: Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute: 5:03
  10. 8 IV. Gewitter. Sturm: Allegro 3:35
  11. 9 V. Hirtengesang. Frohe und dankbare Gefühle nach dem Sturm: Allegretto 9:24

CD/SACD 4

Ludwig van Beethoven

  1. Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92 39:16
  2. 1 I. Poco sostenuto ? Vivace 13:16
  3. 2 II. Allegretto 8:41
  4. 3 III. Presto - Assai meno presto 9:10
  5. 4 IV. Allegro con brio 8:06
  6. Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93 24:58
  7. 5 I. Allegro vivace e con brio 9:18
  8. 6 II. Allegretto scherzando 3:58
  9. 7 III. Tempo di Menuetto 4:31
  10. 8 IV. Allegro vivace 7:06

CD/SACD 5

Ludwig van Beethoven

  1. Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 ?Choral? 66:28
  2. 1 I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso 14:28
  3. 2 II. Scherzo. Molto vivace - Presto 13:25
  4. 3 III. Adagio molto e cantabile ? Andante moderato 14:31
  5. 4 IV. Finale: Presto - Allegro assai 23:42

About this recording

This new Beethoven symphony cycle with Malmö Symphony Orchestra is conductor Robert Trevino’s debut release on Ondine. Trevino is one of the fastest rising young conductors and known for his fresh and vivid interpretations of both standard repertoire as well as contemporary works. Currently Trevino is holding the tenure as chief conductor of the Malmö Symphony Orchestra and as music director of the Basque National Orchestra. After studies with conductors David Zinman, Seiji Ozawa and Michael Tilson Thomas, Trevino worked closely as Leif Segerstam’s assistant before making his debuts with a number of leading symphony orchestras worldwide. These Beethoven symphonies were recorded in connection with a Beethoven festival which was arranged in Malmö, Sweden in October, 2019.

Beethoven’s symphonies, premiered within a span of 24 years, from 1800 to 1824, are among the landmarks of Western civilization. More than any other composer’s orchestral output, Beethoven’s symphonies are a journey into an unanticipated, uncharted and altogether unknown destination. The first two symphonies are solidly and often charmingly rooted in the previous generation dominated by Franz Joseph Haydn. Symphony No. 3 (‘Eroica’) explodes into being with movements that come from four different worlds but somehow belong together. In Symphony No. 4 it is as if the composer was gathering strength for the onslaught that is heard in Symphony No. 5. The congenial nature studies in the Symphony No. 6 (‘Pastoral’) can be initially puzzling to performers and listeners, the simple chord progressions and graphic depictions of birdsong hardly come from the same composer as the previous symphony. In some ways, this is Beethoven’s most innovative symphony before the 9th. The Symphony No. 7 is back to the unfiltered world of the 5th but with far higher spirits and more classical proportions. Symphony No. 8 retreats to the past, but tries out ideas that would return in more gargantuan form in the 9th, which climbs and reaches a musical summit that nobody previous knew it existed.

Robert Trevino’s star has risen rapidly among American conductors. The past three years have seen his appointments as Music Director of the Basque National Orchestra and Chief Conductor of the Malmö Symphony Orchestra. Trevino burst into the international spotlight at the Bolshoi Theater in December 2013, leading a new production of Verdi’s Don Carlo. He was nominated for a Golden Mask award, and one reviewer wrote, “There has not been an American success of this magnitude in Moscow since Van Cliburn.” Recent seasons have seen an ever-growing number of major debuts – among them the London Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Tonhalle Zurich, San Francisco Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Sao Paulo Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Dresden Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Vienna Symphony, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia, Orchestre Nationale de France, Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, and Helsinki Philharmonic. The 2019/20 season sees Robert Trevino lead European tours with the Basque National Orchestra, Malmö Symphony Orchestra and Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. Debuts include the Orchestre de Paris, the Royal Philharmonic, the Oregon Symphony and, in an emotional visit to his hometown, the Fort Worth Symphony. Return appearances include the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Sao Paulo Symphony, Vienna Symphony, Bamberg Symphony, SWR Symphony, RAI Torino. On the opera front, he follows the previous season’s Evgeny Onegin in Washington DC, with a much-anticipated Carmen in Zurich.

Features

Sleeve notes and interview with Robert Trevino in English. Lyrics of Symphony No. 9 in original German and in English translation.

The artists

Malmö Symphony Orchestra

The Malmö Symphony Orchestra (MSO) was founded in Malmö in 1925 and has been operating as purely a symphony orchestra since 1991. Prior to this, it occupied the dual role of being both the city's opera and symphony orchestra. At Malmö Live Concert Hall the MSO presents a rich and varied selection of concerts that are enjoyed by a large and enthusiastic audience. The MSO consists of approximately 90 full-time professional musicians from around 17 different countries (as of 2017). The orchestra performs at a high international level, and with a new concert every week it excels in providing a rich and varied selection of concerts. International opera stars such as Juan Diego Flórez and Dmitri Hvorostovksy have performed highly praised concerts together with MSO at Malmö Live.

Full biography

Robert Trevino

Mexican-American conductor Robert Treviño has rapidly emerged as one of the most exciting maestros of the younger generation performing today. He serves as the Music Director of the Basque National Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI.

Full biography

Kate Royal

Born in London, Kate Royal studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the National Opera Studio. Awards include the 2004 Kathleen Ferrier Award, the 2004 John Christie Award, and the 2007 Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artist Award. In concert she has appeared with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Sir Simon Rattle (BBC Proms and Festspielhaus Baden-Baden), at the Edinburgh Festival with Sir Charles Mackerras, the National Symphony Orchestra (Washington) with Helmuth Rilling, the Orchestra of La Scala Milan with Myung-Whun Chung, the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Pablo Heras-Casado, the Boston Symphony with Thomas Adès, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra with Alan Gilbert, Cleveland Orchestra with Franz Welser-Möst, the Philharmonia with Esa-Pekka Salonen, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra with Daniel Harding at the Baltic Sea Festival with the BBC Proms, and both the Berlin Philharmonic and the Orchestra of Bavarian Radio under Rattle.

Full biography