Swedish Chamber Orchestra & Thomas Dausgaard - Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73 (2018)

Tracklist
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01. Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73: I. Allegro non troppo
02. Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73: II. Adagio non troppo-L'istesso tempo, ma grazioso
03. Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73: III. Allegretto grazioso (Quasi andantino)-Presto ma non assai-Tempo I
04. Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73: IV. Allegro con spirito
05. Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a "St. Anthony Variations": Theme. Andante
06. Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a "St. Anthony Variations": Var. 1, Poco più animato
07. Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a "St. Anthony Variations": Var. 2, Più vivace
08. Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a "St. Anthony Variations": Var. 3, Con moto
09. Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a "St. Anthony Variations": Var. 4, Andante con moto
10. Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a "St. Anthony Variations": Var. 5, Vivace
11. Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a "St. Anthony Variations": Var. 6, Vivace
12. Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a "St. Anthony Variations": Var. 7, Grazioso
13. Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a "St. Anthony Variations": Var. 8, Presto non troppo
14. Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a "St. Anthony Variations": Finale. Andante
15. 21 Hungarian Dances, WoO 1 (Orch. T. Dausgaard): No. 6 in D-Flat Major
16. 21 Hungarian Dances, WoO 1 (Orch. T. Dausgaard): No. 7 in F Major [Performed in A Major]
17. 21 Hungarian Dances, WoO 1 (Orch. T. Dausgaard): No. 5 in F-Sharp Minor
18. Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
On a number of previous recordings, the 40-odd members of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Thomas Dausgaard have shed a new light on the Romantic symphonic repertoire, with performances described as 'tight', 'invigorating', 'transparent' and 'thrilling'. Complete cycles of the symphonies of Schumann and Schubert have appeared alongside individual discs with music by Dvorák, Bruckner and Tchaikovsky, as well as a recording of Johannes Brahms's First Symphony, released in 2012. The disc was named Recommendation of the Month in the German magazine Fono Forum, while the reviewer in International Record Review described it as 'an account to make one hope a complete traversal is in the offing'. Five years later that hope is nearing fulfilment, as the team's recording of Symphony No. 2 is released. Composed during the summer of 1877, which Brahms spent at the idyllic Wörthersee, it is one of his sunniest works, often compared to Beethoven's Pastoral symphony. It's followed by the Haydn Variations, in which Brahms was able to combine one of his favourite musical forms - that of theme and variations - with his deep admiration for Joseph Haydn. (Fortunately, the discovery that the theme in question, known as the 'St Antoni Chorale', wasn't by Haydn after all was made long after Brahms's death.) The programme continues with other favourites in Brahms's production, including his greatest commercial success in the form of three of the hugely popular set of Hungarian Dances for piano, here in orchestrations by Thomas Dausgaard. The disc ends in similarly high spirits, with the Academic Festival Overture and its rousing and jubilant C major coda.