BEETHOVEN MASS IN C

"Everything about Mariss Jansons exudes joy and sovereignty" — Süddeutsche Zeitung

This thrilling, varied concert was recorded in January 2018, with Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra demonstrating the close relationship which has developed between them over the past 15 years.

Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements was written in 1942–45, inspired in part by the Second World War and the "abhorrent pictures" of the war he would see in newsreel footage. The symphony's dramatic outer movements frame an enigmatic Andante. This complex but visceral composition receives a vivid rendering from Jansons, and the orchestra "sparkle" (Oberbayerisches Volksblatt).

In  its  very  different way,  Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto also sparkles. Written in 1803, the concerto is a brilliantly crafted showpiece for the recently invented keyed trumpet. Here the trumpeter is Martin Angerer, Principal Trumpet of the BRSO and "a splendid soloist" (Süddeutsche Zeitung) in warm rapport with Jansons and the orchestra.

Beethoven, one of the composers dearest to Jansons, rounds out the concert. The Mass in C, written in 1807, was his first Mass setting, but is a work of clear ambition. "I have treated the text in a manner in which it has rarely been treated", wrote  Beethoven of this work. Joining the Bavarian Radio Choir are soprano Genia Kühmeier, mezzo-soprano Gerhild Romberger, tenor Maxmilian Schmitt and bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni. A stellar quartet of soloists to partner one of the finest orchestras, playing under the conductor who, at 75, continues to inspire them to great artistic heights.