When Naxos released the first disc of two in its series devoted to Allan Badley's edition of Franz Xaver Richter's Grandes Symphonies of 1744, featuring Aapo Häkkinen and the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, it was predicted that if the follow-up was anywhere near as interesting as this first volume that it would be, by its very nature, self-recommending. The second Naxos disc, Franz Xaver Richter: Grandes Symphonies Nos. 7-12 (Set 2), has arrived, not only fulfilling that prophecy but in some ways exceeding its promise. The ...
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When Naxos released the first disc of two in its series devoted to Allan Badley's edition of Franz Xaver Richter's Grandes Symphonies of 1744, featuring Aapo Häkkinen and the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, it was predicted that if the follow-up was anywhere near as interesting as this first volume that it would be, by its very nature, self-recommending. The second Naxos disc, Franz Xaver Richter: Grandes Symphonies Nos. 7-12 (Set 2), has arrived, not only fulfilling that prophecy but in some ways exceeding its promise. The later symphonies in the set are vibrant, extremely dramatic, and rife with bold contrasts; especially extraordinary when one considers that when they first appeared in print in 1744 the Baroque era was not quite done and the symphony still officially functioned as an opera overture. Perhaps that's what Richter had in mind when he titled his set of 12 "Grande Symphonies," meaning something substantially larger than the typical Baroque sinfonia, and whereas the first disc was a startling...
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