Symphony No.9/Nanie

Ludwig van Beethoven - the countdown is on for the big anniversary in 2020 (250th birthday). The composer still stands for independence of mind, for revolutionary ideas, for music that reaches far beyond his own time. This very interesting version with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra under the baton of its chief conductor James Gaffigan. with their "Beethoven Project" (complete piano concertos) from autumn 2017 will now be followed by a spectacular recording of the famous 9th symphony. The Lucerne Symphony Orchestra has been founded in 1806. Actually around this time, Beethoven's only opera "Fidelio" ("Leonore") had its first performance. Therefore the famous "Prisoners' Chorus" from this work has been included to this album. In addition, also "Nänie" by Johannes Brahms has been recorded, an unjustly rarely performed masterwork. Brahms composed the piece in 1881, in memory of his deceased friend Anselm Feuerbach. Nänie is a lamentation on the inevitability of death; the first sentence, "Auch das Schöne muß sterben", translates to "Even the beautiful must die". Highly original combination of one of Beethoven's best loved symphonies with a rarely performed choral work by Johanns Brahms. Exquisit soloists: Rachel Harnisch, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Mauro Peter and Hanno Müller-Brachmann. "Nänie" by Brahms is new to the Sony Classical catalogue.