Emil Tabakov: Complete Symphonies, Volume Four
Symphony Orchestra of Bulgarian National Radio, Emil Tabakov
Tabakov’s Fifth stands in the same lineage as the epic-scale symphonies of the Soviet era: Shostakovich’s Fourth and Seventh, Khachaturian’s Second, Schnittke’s First. Besides scope, Tabakov’s...
Emil Tabakov: Complete Symphonies, Volume Four
Symphony Orchestra of Bulgarian National Radio, Emil Tabakov
Purchase product
Tabakov’s Fifth stands in the same lineage as the epic-scale symphonies of the Soviet era: Shostakovich’s Fourth and Seventh, Khachaturian’s Second, Schnittke’s First. Besides scope, Tabakov’s...
About
Emil Tabakov first took to the podium at the age of seventeen and won the Nikolai Malko Young Conductors Competition in Copenhagen in 1977. At the head of a number of Bulgarian orchestras and as guest conductor of many orchestras elsewhere he has performed all over the world. Beginning to compose at the age of fourteen, he has been always drawn towards the big symphonic forms and numbers Shostakovich, Brahms, Skryabin and Richard Strauss among his foremost influences. He has now written ten symphonies and an impressive series of concertos.
The Symphony Orchestra of Bulgarian National Radio has acquired a leading position in Bulgarian musical culture and among the community of radio formations of Europe. The extensive development of the Orchestra to reach the standards of a prominent professional ensemble began under the Vassil Stefanov (1913–91), who took up his position in 1954 and worked with the Orchestra for over thirty years, during which time the SOBNR turned into one of the leading cultural institutions of Bulgaria. From late 2008 until early 2016 the principal conductor was Emil Tabakov. Since then the position has been occupied first by Rossen Gergov and now by Mark Kadin.
Contents and tracklist
- Entcho Radoukanov (double bass)
- Symphony Orchestra of Bulgarian National Radio
- Emil Tabakov
- Symphony Orchestra of Bulgarian National Radio
- Emil Tabakov
Awards and reviews
March/April 2020
Tabakov’s Fifth stands in the same lineage as the epic-scale symphonies of the Soviet era: Shostakovich’s Fourth and Seventh, Khachaturian’s Second, Schnittke’s First. Besides scope, Tabakov’s shares the same edginess and wry humor, and contains more than a touch of the black-as-night bleakness of his predecessors...A very satisfying disc showcases the talents of a composer-conductor whose output is worthy of exploration. This is the fourth in a series of Tabakov’s recordings of his own symphonies—check it out!
October 2019
The performance [of the Double Bass Concerto] by Entcho Radoukanov is splendidly vivid, and the studio recording from 1982 is very fine. Altogether a worth addition to the 20th-century double bass repertoire…The Fifth Symphony is a somewhat thornier prospect…There’s no doubting, however, the commitment of the orchestral playing under Tabakov in this 2011 recording.
September 2019
Tabakov’s 5th Symphony is thus a very characteristic work that has a lasting effect on the listener. It is played effectively by the Bulgarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of the composer.
Pizzicato September 2019
Performances surely are authoritative, audio quality not state-of-the-art but good enough to convey these important scores. I look forward to future releases in the series.
