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photo provided by Sherr Rase
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Ives, Brant, Copland CD cover
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On February 8, the San Francisco Symphony, under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, issued two dazzling recordings, each showing a very different aspect of this world class ensemble. The first, a Beethoven Suite including the charismatic Symphony No. 5 and Piano Concerto No. 4, featuring Emanuel Ax as soloist, was recorded live at Davies Symphony Hall, between December 9 and 12, 2009. Tilson Thomas says, “We believe in recordings that are state of the art,” and this CD sounds as good in your headphones as it does blasting on the car stereo on a road trip. For those of us who believe that Beethoven was the Supreme Architect of music, this pairing is sublime. The album is also available on high quality download via iTunes, Emusic, Rhapsody and more.
The second album features Charles Ives and Henry Brant’s “A Concord Symphony.” This piece has four movements, each named for a famous denizen, starting with Emerson and Hawthorne, then the Alcotts, and finishing with Thoreau. And a Thoreau treatment it is! The modern harmonies herald a change in thought and different melodies twine around one another in assonance and dissonance, finally resolving beautifully and with great power. Equally powerful, and a perfect sparring partner–I mean program pairing, is Aaron Copland’s “Organ Symphony,” featuring Paul Jacobs as soloist. Listening to it, you find there’s a quote from the traditional “Dies Irae” melody in the Allegro Moderato section and you can feel the power and the wrath pouring from the pipes of the organ at Davies Hall–it must have rattled the rafters. The Scherzo is also as active and powerful as the sweep of the dynamics and, if you are home on a tempestuous April afternoon, this will be the recording to help you achieve one-ness with your surroundings.
These recordings are available at now at the Symphony Store at Davies Hall, as well as online from www.sfsymphony.org/store, as well as from your favorite classical music retailer. Do you want to leave a smaller footprint? Earth Day is April 22, so give your loved ones these albums as downloads from your favorite digital outlet. CDs are available from Haromonia Mundi. These are must-haves for your collection.
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