Beethoven: Symphony No. 2 & Brett Dean: Testament

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[Testament is] an evocative, powerful work, incisively played by the Bayerisches Staatsorchester under Vladimir Jurowski. Equally fresh in its impact, Symphony No. 2 is filled with vigorous vitality... — BBC Music Magazine, October 2022, 4 out of 5 stars (Performance) / 5 out of 5 stars (Recording) More…

Release Date: 15th Jul 2022
Catalogue No: BSOREC0002
Label: BSO Recordings
Length: 46 minutes

Presto Editor's Choice

July 2022
International Classical Music Awards

2023

Nominated - Symphonic Music

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Dean, B: Testament

Work length13:45

$3.00

$3.85

$5.25

Bayerisches Staatsorchester
Vladimir Jurowski

Beethoven: Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36

Work length32:25

$8.00

$10.30

$14.00

Bayerisches Staatsorchester
Vladimir Jurowski

I. Adagio molto - Allegro con brio (Live)

Track length12:04

$3.00

$3.85

$5.25

II. Larghetto (Live)

Track length10:07

$3.00

$3.85

$5.25

III. Scherzo. Allegro (Live)

Track length3:57

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

IV. Allegro molto (Live)

Track length6:17

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

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About

Those present at the Munich Nationaltheater for the 1st Academy Concert of the 20/21 season, will remember it as a special moment. Subsequent to concert venues being forced to close in March 2020, this was one of the first post-lockdown public performances anywhere, as well as being Vladimir Jurowski’s second concert with the Bayerisches Staatsorchester in his role as designated general music director. On the programme: Beethoven’s Second Symphony, which was also played during the opening concert of the Musikalische Akademie in 1811. Its conceptual magnitude and tonal vehemence make this symphony – listened to with an attentive ear – far more than simply a precursor of Eroica. It was preceded on this occasion by Brett Dean’s Testament, a contemporary orchestral piece which engages with Beethoven’s music, his thoughts and his emotional state. This live concert recording vividly captures the anticipation and excitement felt on the night, as well as the bold endeavour to offer a fresh perspective on a purportedly familiar work.

Reviews

October 2022

[Testament is] an evocative, powerful work, incisively played by the Bayerisches Staatsorchester under Vladimir Jurowski. Equally fresh in its impact, Symphony No. 2 is filled with vigorous vitality and the struggle against fate. The first movement’s Allegro is bright and incisive, the sound from the orchestra under Jurowski full of energy. The Larghetto has eminent spaciousness.

October 2022

In Vladimir Jurowski’s hands, the first movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No 2 is a study in contrasts...As he did in the Beethoven, Jurowski wrings quite a bit of drama from Dean’s score, too.

July 2022

Even if you're still experiencing Beethoven burnout in the wake of the partially delayed 250th anniversary celebrations, do make time for this: Jurowski delivers one of the most electrifying accounts of the Second Symphony I've heard in recent years, the propulsive energy of the outer movements barely held in check so that the transparent stillness of the Larghetto registers all the more keenly. Upscaled from its original twelve-viola version, Dean's Beethoven-inspired Testament exerts its own uncanny beauty.

23rd June 2022

Strings are agile, pinpointing every accent or dynamic, skittering madly but securely in the wild finale. Dean’s Testament, with its ghostly echoes of Beethoven, makes a striking and ideal match. Enough Beethoven symphonies out there already? Not when they are this good.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 2 & Brett Dean: Testament

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