Description
Hans Gal-
Symphony no. 2 in F, opus 53
Robert Schumann-
Symphony no. 4 in D minor, opus 120
Orchestra of the Swan- Kenneth Woods
Recording December 5-6, 2012, Civic Hall, Stratford-upon-Avon
Produced, engineered and edited by Simon Fox-Gal
Released April 2, 2013
Avie Records
AV2232
For more details, please go to the Bobby and Hans home page.
“Kenneth Woods draws crisply alert playing for the splendid Orchestra of the Swan… He is particularly good at controlling tempo changes precisely… highly recommendable.. He is just as sympathetic in the Gál symphony, making this a highly recommendable offering in this Avie series, beautifully recorded to bring out the benefits of performances on chamber scale”
Edward Greenfield, Gramophone
“Under Woods, the Orchestra of the Swan plays with magnetic conviction and unwavering technical assurance. There’s an ardour and resolve here which leaves the listener in no doubt that these musicians and their conductor believe in the worth of every bar of this music and it would be hard not to remain gripped throughout this traversal. Plangent string textures and solo wind contributions of character and distinction show just how far the Orchestra of the Swan has progressed during the relatively short period of its existence and it plays with more involvement, commitment and individuality than some of its better known rivals. That includes the Northern Sinfonia under Zehetmair, whose more dutiful approach suggests that neither conductor nor players have much faith in the music. Beside the sharp-edged and ever-insightful conducting of Woods, who brings Gál’s music fully to life with unfailing vividness and lucidity…”
Michael Jameson, International Record Review
“Above all, Gál develops his memorable material with the natural resourcefulness and sureness of purpose that are the hallmarks of a true symphonist. Kenneth Woods and the Orchestra of the Swan (which is based in Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon) lend this radiant and substantial score the most eloquent and affecting advocacy, and go on to give a comparably accomplished and invigorating account of Schumann’s masterly Fourth Symphony – a strikingly fresh-faced, spontaneous-sounding display, full of illuminating touches, personable warmth and genuine freshness of new discovery. Do investigate this bold, enormously rewarding coupling.”
–Andrew Achenbach, Classical Ear
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