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MAHLER: Symphony No. 8 – Utah Symphony/ Thierry Fischer – Reference Recordings

MAHLER: Symphony No. 8 – Utah Symphony/ Thierry Fischer – Reference Recordings

by | Jan 9, 2018 | Classical CD Reviews

Spectacular, moving, and, well, what else do you need? MAHLER: Symphony No. 8 in E-flat – Orla Boylan, sop./ Celena Shafer, sop./ Amy Owens, sop./ Charlotte Hellekant, mezzo/ Tamara Mumford, mezzo/ Barry Banks, ten./ Markus Werba, bar./ Jordan Bisch, bass/ Mormon Tabernacle Choir/ Choristers of the Madeleine Choir School/ Utah Symphony/ Thierry Fischer – Reference Recordings multichannel SACD FR-725SACD (2 Discs), 79:41 [Distr. by Naxos] *****: One of the highlights of my concert attending career was in the 1980s when Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony presented Mahler’s gargantuan Eighth Symphony. The performance was immaculate, the orchestra top notch, and the choral work spectacular. Add to that an all-star set of singers, and even the acoustics of Symphony Hall in Atlanta could not mar the experience, a sonic marvel that all who were there will never forget. Mahler’s opus is also one of those that conductors not especially noted for Mahlerian expertise like to tackle. Colin Davis made a wonderful SACD with the Bavarian Radio Symphony that still holds its own, and he was hardly known for this repertory. Shaw, who never shied away from anything big and choral, had a firm grasp on this work, which really is different […]

“Dawn to Dust” – Music of THOMAS, MUHLY, and NORMAN – Utah Sym. Orch. / Thierry Fischer – Reference Recordings

“Dawn to Dust” – Music of THOMAS, MUHLY, and NORMAN – Utah Sym. Orch. / Thierry Fischer – Reference Recordings

by | Apr 17, 2016 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

“Dawn to Dust” – Music of THOMAS, MUHLY, and NORMAN – Utah Sym. Orch. / Thierry Fischer – Reference Recordings multichannel SACD FR-719, 69:31 (4/8/16) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: Notable contemporary music from Utah in a lovely recording. Dawn To Dust contains live recordings of three significant and interesting works by leading composers Augusta Read Thomas, Nico Muhly, and Andrew Norman. Each of the three compositions is performed by the Utah Symphony under the baton of Thierry Fischer. All are world premiere recordings. The first work on the disc is a lovely and dynamic contemporary ballet for orchestra by Ms. Thomas, called EOS – Goddess of the Dawn. It has a rich palette of orchestra sounds, The piece is in seven parts and presents musical depictions of the dawn against a background of Greek mythology. The next work is by Muhly called Control – Five Landscapes for Orchestra. The landscapes in question are from Utah, and are inspired by the spectacular geography the state offers. I’ve just returned from a photo shoot in St. George and Bryce Canyon, Utah, so the disc came to me at an appropriate time. Here again, there are very rich orchestrations, and evocations of the […]