New Arts International

- The Oslo Philharmonic, Vasily Petrenko, Richard Strauss, Tone Poems, “Eine Alpensinfonie”, “Tod und Verklärung”.

Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and Vasily Petrenko offer here the third and final release in a series of recordings of Richard Strauss’s orchestral music. On this CD the listener is presented with the tone poems “Eine Alpensinfonie” and “Tod und Verklärung”, works that long have been part of the Oslo Philharmonic’s repertoire.

Vasily Petrenko, who has been the orchestra’s chief conductor since 2013, takes full advantage of the Philharmonic’s distinctive style in the performance of this exciting and virtuosic music.

The Oslo Philharmonic, under the baton of chief conductor Petrenko, reaped glowing reviews in Norway and abroad for its first and second recording in this Strauss series (LWC1166, “Also Sprach Zarathustra / Ein Heldenleben” and LWC1184, “Don Quixote, Op. 35 / Don Juan, Op. 20 / Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Op. 28”). The first release was also selected as “Editor’s Choice” by Gramophone Magazine.

Vasily Petrenko is one of the most significant figures on the classical music scene today, and he has won numerous accolades for his recordings of the Russian repertoire, including two Gramophone Awards. With Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra he has recorded works of Shostakovich, Szymanowski, Strauss and Prokofiev, as well as a large cycle of orchestral works of Alexander Scriabin.

Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra first saw the light of day in 1919, and over the next half-century the orchestra’s reputation grew steadily. In 1979 the conductor’s baton passed to Mariss Jansons, and under his leadership Oslo Philharmonic achieved its full potential and became a rival to the great philharmonic orchestras of Vienna, Berlin and New York.

Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64 / Tod und Verklärung, Op. 24