Beethoven in Triumphant Mood

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‘With first-rate recorded sound, the disc is strongly recommended’ BBC Music Magazine

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Beethoven’s unusual cantata Der glorreiche Augenblick (The Glorious Moment) is filled with patriotic praise for Vienna and tributes to the kings and princes of Europe after the defeat of Napoleon.

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The Choral Fantasy opens with a virtuosic, improvisatory Adagio for the piano – thrillingly rendered by Leon McCawley. The work’s main theme anticipates the famous Ode to Joy setting in Beethoven’s later Choral Symphony.

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BEETHOVEN
Der Glorreiche Augenblick
Fantasia in C minor for piano, chorus, and orchestra

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Hilary Davan Wetton, conductor
City of London Choir
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Westminster Boys’ Choir

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Leon McCawley, piano
Claire Rutter, soprano
Matilde Wallevik, mezzo-soprano
Peter Hoare, tenor
Stephen Gadd, baritone
Marta Fontanals-Simmons, mezzo-soprano
Julian Davies, tenor

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Recorded at Cadogan Hall, London. Released May 2012 (Naxos 8.572783)

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For further details, please see the Naxos site:
Disc information
Notes on the music

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REVIEWS

BBC Music Magazine, July 2012

Five stars

‘With first-rate recorded sound, the disc is strongly recommended.’

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The Guardian, 7th June 2012

Four stars

‘thrill-a-minute stuff that draws you in and sweeps away any scruples you may have. The filler is the Choral Fantasia with Leon McCawley as piano soloist, done in a very grand manner, though also with great panache.’

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International Record Review, May 2012
‘Davan Wetton rouses his forces to hymn the praises of Vienna and Emperor Franz of Austria, drawing from the City of London Choir the full-bodied outpouring that one expects at celebratory occasions. The Westminster Boys Choir adds pristine treble tones to the concluding chorus. The Royal Philharmonic plays with relish in both the cantata and the Fantasia.’

 

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