This is the first CD in a project titled ‘The Sound of Weimar’ which is being released to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Franz Liszt. The two works are ‘A symphony to Dante‘s Divina Commedia’ and ‘Évocation à la Chapelle Sixtine’. The series will include world premier recordings of concert performances of all of Franz Liszt’s orchestral music in their original versions played on original instruments of the 19th Century. The Orchestra of The Vienna Academy is conducted by Martin Haselböck.

The renowned Austrian conductor Martin Haselböck is the musical director of Musica Angelica in Santa Monica, California, and the musical director and founder of the Vienna Academy Orchestra. He is also a professor at the University of Vienna, where he teaches organ.

Liszt’s Dante Symphony is based on Dante Alighieri's journey through Hell and Purgatory as depicted in The Divine Comedy. It was premiered in Dresden in November 1857, with Liszt himself conducting, and was unofficially dedicated to the composer's friend and future son-in-law Richard Wagner. It is a symphony with a distinct programme and is written in a high romantic style.

“The orchestral version (of A la Chapelle Sixtine) is among the most moving of Liszt’s compositions, and Haselböck offers a most beautiful performance of it. An auspicious start then to what should prove an important new series…” Gramophone, August 2011