Robin Ticciati & Scottish Chamber Orchestra - Brahms: The Symphonies (2018) [Official Digital Download 24/192]

As Robin Ticciati enters his final season with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Linn celebrates his memorable tenure as Principal Conductor with a recording of four of the most sublime orchestral masterpieces ever written.

The recording legacy of these revolutionary and distinctive works serves to underscore the confidence Ticciati has, not only in his own vision for these symphonies, but also in his partnership with the SCO musicians, who relish Brahms’ highly virtuosic orchestral writing.

The SCO’s renowned recordings of Mozart Symphonies are a natural predecessor to Brahms, who advances the form’s classicism into the Romantic era.

Ahead of the SCO 15/16 season, in which all four symphonies were performed, Ticciati set out his aims: ‘The challenge…is to find a Brahms sound with the orchestra. To find something so unbelievably dark, autumnal, and yet steeped in counterpoint.’

By 2017, that Brahms sound was perfected; Ticciati’s interpretations are both muscular and energized, with detail and life in every line.

Ticciati’s meticulous control of tempo, phrase shape and balance results in performances of extraordinary transparency and colour.

‘…the inner orchestral clarity was outstanding…the entire woodwind section bubbled and fizzed in a way that you would never normally associate with the Brahms sound of a full symphony orchestra.’

The Arts Desk

‘Ticciati wrought a compelling reading of sustained intensity; as ever, his tempo-setting and his phrasing were immaculate.’ Musical Criticism

‘…played with stunning responsiveness by an SCO in mind-bendingly innovatory mode…an altogether-fresh approach to one of classical music’s most familiar and taken-for-granted evergreens.’ The Herald

Tracklist:

Disc 1 (01:18:03)
1. Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68: I. Un poco sostenuto – Allegro (12:03)
2. Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68: II. Andante sostenuto (08:32)
3. Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68: III. Un poco allegretto e grazioso (04:29)
4. Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68: IV. Adagio – Allegro non troppo, ma con brio (15:51)
5. Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73: I. Allegro non troppo (14:03)
6. Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73: II. Adagio non troppo (09:09)
7. Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73: III. Allegretto grazioso (quasi andantino) (04:56)
8. Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73: IV. Allegro con spirito (09:00)

Disc 2 (01:14:02)
1. Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90: I. Allegro con brio (12:18)
2. Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90: II. Andante (08:32)
3. Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90: III. Poco allegretto (06:18)
4. Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90: IV. Allegro (08:23)
5. Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98: I. Allegro non troppo (12:09)
6. Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98: II. Andante moderato (10:42)
7. Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98: III. Allegro giocoso (06:01)
8. Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98: IV. Allegro energico e passionato (09:39)