Special offer. Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3
London Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 28th February 2020
Now in his late 70s, John Eliot Gardiner seems to have embarked on a second spring rather than an Indian summer. The Schumann symphonies on his second instalment of the cycle are bottled sunshine…you...
Special offer. Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3
London Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Purchase product
Awards:
-
Presto Recording of the Week, 28th February 2020
Now in his late 70s, John Eliot Gardiner seems to have embarked on a second spring rather than an Indian summer. The Schumann symphonies on his second instalment of the cycle are bottled sunshine…you...
About
The second album in Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s Schumann series with the London Symphony Orchestra travels from glorious fanfare to dream-like passages with the lively Spring and Rhenish symphonies.
From the dramatic first trumpet-call which awakens the frozen landscape, the First Symphony is a celebration of spring. It moves through the season and a gruff folksong Scherzo until finally a jubilant conclusion dances into summer.
Desperate, heartfelt and elegant, the Manfred Overture opens with an urgent impetus that only increases through the work, displaying the intense strife which lies ahead for its protagonist. Schumann’s Third is one of the composer’s most impressive, painting a euphoric picture of the German Rhineland in broad Beethovenian style and closing with an exhilarating finale.
“... a perfectly sprung ‘Spring’ Symphony, Schumann’s pulsing rhythms so bracingly defined, the melodies singing out.” - The Arts Desk
“A sweet finale to Gardiner's memorable Schumann cycle.” - Bachtrack
“Gardiner remains one of the great Schumann interpreters, wonderfully alert to the music’s volatility and rigour” - The Guardian
Contents and tracklist
Spotlight on this release
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John Eliot Gardiner concludes his cycle of Schumann symphonies with the LSO
28th Feb 2020
With sparkling, joyous performances of the Spring and Rhenish symphonies, John Eliot Gardiner and the LSO bring their Schumann cycle to an exuberant conclusion.
Awards and reviews
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Presto Recording of the Week28th February 2020
May 2020
Now in his late 70s, John Eliot Gardiner seems to have embarked on a second spring rather than an Indian summer. The Schumann symphonies on his second instalment of the cycle are bottled sunshine…you can appreciate a buoyancy and lightness, as well as a contradiction of the incorrect cliché that Schumann couldn’t orchestrate…A fine, clear sonic spectrum means that the dryish Barbican acoustics don’t lessen the pleasure of the listening experience.
9th February 2020
He brings the values of his period- instrument performances to both works and to the grandiose Manfred Overture, a Byronic tone poem in all but name. The LSO players respond with verve and elan to his impulsive baton.
