Album

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Lovro von Matačić

Beethoven 3 - Tchaikovsky 5/6 - Bruckner 5/7/9 - Wagner - Korte

Catalogue Number: SU 4354-2
Published: 28th February 2025
Genre: Orchestral
Format: 6 CD
The first complete edition of Supraphon recordings made by the legendary conductor Lovro von Matačić with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra

This set contains unique historical recordings of six great symphonies of the Romantic era with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and the conductor Lovro von Matačić. These recordings were made between 1959 and 1980 by one of the most remarkable conductors of his generation. Matačić was born in Croatia when it was still part of Austria-Hungary. He studied in Vienna, where the great world of music revealed itself to him, and opera especially. The difficult path he had to follow led him through two world wars, but in the end he became a charismatic figure capable of inspiring and galvanising any orchestra. He repeatedly conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden Staatskapelle, the Munich Philharmonic, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, and the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Japan, and he stood at the helm of the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra. The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and the Czech public always welcomed him as a special guest, and Supraphon enabled him to record first Beethoven’s Eroica and two great symphonies by Tchaikovsky. Especially rare are the three symphonies by Anton Bruckner with the best-known Seventh, the grandiose Fifth, and the concluding Ninth representing Late Romanticism at its zenith. This one-of-a-kind creation shows the orchestra of Ančerl’s and Neumann’s era in a different light. Around the world, Matačić is better known for his opera recordings, so this Supraphon set of orchestral recordings is unique.

Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 3 in E flat major ‘Eroica’, Op. 55 (1959). Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 (1960), Symphony No. 6 in B minor ‘Pathétique‘, Op. 74 (1968). Anton Bruckner – Symphony No. 7 in E major (1967), Symphony No. 5 in B flat major (1970), Symphony No. 9 in D minor (1980). Richard Wagner – Götterdämmerung. Orchestral Suite from the Opera (1967). Oldřich František Korte – Flutes’ Story (1968)

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Lovro von Matačić

CD 1

Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Eroica, Op. 55
1. Allegro con brio 15:09
2. Marcia funebre - Adagio assai 16:11
3. Scherzo - Allegro vivace 05:37
4. Finale - Allegro molto 12:05
Richard Wagner
Götterdämmerung. Orchestral Suite from Opera
5. Nacht - Morgendämmerung - Siegfried und Brünnhilde - Rheinfahrt 17:06
6. Der Götter Ende 07:37

CD 2

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64
1. Andante - Allegro con animo 13:15
2. Andante cantabile 12:05
3. Allegro moderato 05:40
4. Finale - Andante maestoso - Allegro vivace 11:46

CD 3

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 “Pathétique”
1. Adagio - Allegro non troppo 18:18
2. Allegro con grazia 07:36
3. Allegro molto vivace 08:42
4. Finale - Adagio lamentoso 09:46
Oldřich František Korte
5. The Story of the Flutes 18:42

CD 4

Anton Bruckner
Symphony No. 5 in B flat major
1. Adagio. Allegro 19:27
2. Adagio 18:21
3. Scherzo. Molto vivace 11:53
4. Finale. Adagio. Allegro moderato 20:29

CD 5

Anton Bruckner
Symphony No. 7 in E major
1. Allegro moderato 21:38
2. Adagio. Sehr feierlich und langsam 24:00
3. Scherzo. Sehr schnell 10:46
4. Finale. Bewegt, doch nicht schnell 12:47

CD 6

Anton Bruckner
Symphony No. 9 in D minor
1. Feierlich, misterioso 23:36
2. Scherzo. Bewegt, lebhaft. Trio. Schnell 10:17
3. Adagio. Langsam, feierlich 26:35