Brian: Symphonies Nos. 7 & 16 New Russia State Symphony Orchestra & Alexander Walker

• Havergal Brian (1876 - 1972): The Tinker's Wedding:
• 1 The Tinker's Wedding: Comedy Overture No. 2 08:02
• Symphony No. 7 in C Major:
• 2 Symphony No. 7 in C Major: I. Allegro moderato 08:30
• 3 Symphony No. 7 in C Major: II. Allegro moderato ma maestoso 06:42
• 4 Symphony No. 7 in C Major: III. Adagio - Allegro moderato - Adagio 13:51
• 5 Symphony No. 7 in C Major: IV. Epilogue. Moderato "Once Upon a Time" 09:08
• Symphony No. 16:
• 6 Symphony No. 16 15:19
• Total Runtime 01:01:32

Info zu Brian: Symphonies Nos. 7 & 16

Havergal Brians late creativity is almost unparalleled in musical history in the last two decades of his life he wrote 25 symphonies. No. 7, the last of his truly large-scale symphonies, was inspired by Goethes autobiographical account of his time as a student in Strasbourg. Symphony No. 16 is a tough single-movement work, evoking Ancient Greece and the savagery of the Persian Wars. In bright contrast The Tinkers Wedding is a sparkling comedy overture based on the play by J.M. Synge.

"These are certainly the best performances these works have ever received and the disc is particularly interesting for the Sixteenth Symphony." (The Art Music Lounge)

New Russia State Symphony Orchestra
Alexander Walker, conductor

Alexander Walker
career has taken him all over the world. In the UK, he has conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in both concerts and the recording studio, conducting the prestigious Elgar Birthday concert with them in Malvern in 2011. He recently made a highly successful debut with the English Chamber Orchestra at London’s Cadogan Hall and he has also conducted the City of London Sinfonia, the BBC Philharmonic (with a concert broadcast on BBC Radio 3) and the New Queens Hall Orchestra in the UK.

In Moscow he is a regular guest conductor with the legendary Russian State Symphony Orchestra, as well as with Symphony Orchestra New Russia (Music Director: Yuri Bashmet), the Russian Philharmonic and Musica Viva, conducting concerts at Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Hall, International Performing Arts Centre and elsewhere. International appearances have included concerts with Prague Philharmonia in the Dvořák Hall of the Rudolfinum, the Belgrade Philharmonic, Belgrade Strings (broadcasting on National Television with them), the Georges Enescu Philharmonic, Bucharest, North Hungarian Symphony Orchestra and Wrocław State Symphony Orchestra. Highlights of recent seasons have included a performance of Britten’s War Requiem to mark the 70 years since the invasion of Poland in Lublin, Poland and the first ever production in Turkey of an Opera by Benjamin Britten, conducting The Turn of the Screw for the Istanbul State Opera. He also recently conducted the first production of Julian Grant’s new opera Prophet and Loss for Oundle International Festival. His pioneering recordings of orchestral music and music for violin and orchestra by Ignatz Waghalter and first two CDs of symphonies by Havergal Brian on Naxos with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra New Russia have won both critical and popular acclaim.

Alexander Walker studied with Ilya Musin at St. Petersburg Conservatoire and has since performed throughout the former Soviet Union where many of his concerts have been broadcast on National television and radio. He was Principal Guest Conductor of the Voronezh State Symphony Orchestra from 1999-2004. He is a regular guest conductor with the Mikkeli and Lappeenranta City Orchestras in Finland, and of the Esbjerg Ensemble and the Vestyjsk Sinfonieorkester in Denmark as well as many orchestras throughout Poland, the Balkans, Turkey and Romania.

He works regularly at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, touring with the Royal Ballet to the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theatres in Russia, throughout the USA including to the Metropolitan Opera and Kennedy Center, as well as to Singapore, Korea, Japan and Turkey. In addition to conducting performances at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, has conducted Swan Lake for Finnish National Opera, Cinderella for Scottish Ballet, Romeo and Juliet for Northern Ballet Theatre, and a production of The Nutcracker for the Norwegian National Opera in Oslo. His operatic repertoire includes the major operas of Verdi, Puccini and Mozart and Tchaikovsky as well as Tobias and the Angel, Carmen, Rusalka, Tristan und Isolde, Verbum Nobile (Moniuszko), A Life for the Tsar, Ariadne auf Naxos, and Gli Equivoci nel sembiante, Le Postillon de Lonjumeau (Adam), and Paradise Moscow. Companies he has worked for have included Opera North, Grange Park Opera, English Touring Opera, Oundle International Festival, Bampton Classical Opera, Chelsea Opera Group, European Chamber Opera, Opera de Baugé, London City Opera and the Ukrainian National Opera in Odessa.

He was awarded the Elgar Medal in 2017, the highest honour bestowed by the Elgar Society for the work to promote the British composer especially abroad. He teaches conducting at Trinity Laban Conservatoire and also teaches at the Royal Academy of Music.

New Russia State Symphony Orchestra
The Novaya Rossiya (New Russia) State Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1990. In 2002 Yuri Bashmet became its director, opening a new chapter in its history and bringing his own inimitable manner of interpretation, whereby each concert evokes the feeling that the music is being created anew.

Appearing with the orchestra have been soloists and conductors of the highest international distinction. Novaya Rossiya is a frequent guest at festivals in Russia and abroad, including the Moscow Easter Festival, the Alfred Schnittke Festival in Moscow, the Besançon Festival in France, the Elba Isola Musicale d’Europa in Italy, the Athens Festival in Greece and the Festival of Russian Art in Essen, Germany. Since 2008 the orchestra has taken part in the annual Bashmet Winter Music Festival in Sochi, and the International Yuri Bashmet Music Festival in Yaroslavl and Minsk.

The orchestra regularly plays a subscription series under the auspices of the Moscow Philharmonic Association, with varied programmes aimed at both adult and younger listeners. It has often toured abroad, notably to Finland, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Greece, Switzerland, Austria, Bulgaria, Holland, Spain, Japan, India and Turkey. It also tours at home. The orchestra boasts a wide repertoire and frequently gives premieres of contemporary works.

Booklet für Brian: Symphonies Nos. 7 & 16