John Axelrod - Brahms Beloved: Symphonies 2 & 4 / Clara Schumann Lieder (2013) [TR24][OF]

John Axelrod has recorded unique Brahms symphonies + Clara Schumann Lieder cycle, exploring the symphonies as four sides of the woman with whom Brahms was obsessed. In a fascinating new concept, John Axelrod (2012 ICMA Award winner and winner of the ResMusica “Best Classical album of 2012”) is spearheading an exploration of the relationship between Brahms and the woman he loved, Clara Schumann, as depicted in their music. “If you listen to the Brahms symphonies,” says Axelrod, “each of them seems to inhabit a completely different, though connected, character. Then, if you listen to the songs of Clara Schumann, they also fall clearly into a very similar four moods. I believe that Clara’s own personality is in those songs, and so if that is true, it is also possible to think of the four Brahms symphonies as portraits of Clara – four different aspects of her.”
To explore this idea, this double album will – for the first time - pair a Brahms symphony with its ‘matching’ set of Clara’s Lieder. And to illustrate it further, there will be four different world-class singers as Clara, each a different voice-type. This album of Symphonies 2 & 4 will feature renowned sopranos Nicole Cabell and Indra Thomas singing the songs of Clara Schumann. As an American conductor, Axelrod believes strongly too in the universality of Brahms, so has chosen non-Germanic forces. In the symphonies he will conduct the Italian, Grammy Award-winning Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi. The producer for the recording is multiple Grammy Award-winner Michael Fine, and fellow Grammy-winner Wolf Dieter Karwatky is engineer.

TRACKLIST

CD1

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98
1 I. Allegro non troppo [13:16]
2 II. Andante moderato [12:33]
3 III. Allegro giocoso [6:26]
4 IV. Allegro energico e passionato [10:05]
John Axelrod, conductor | Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi

Clara Schumann (1819-1896)

5 Am Strande [2:53]
6 Ich stand in dunklen Träumen [2:27]
7 Der Abendstern [2:42]
8 Die stille Lotusblume [3:25]
9 Er ist gekommen in Sturm und Regen [2:40]
Indra Thomas, soprano | John Axelrod, piano

CD2

Johannes Brahms

Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73
1 I. Allegro non troppo [19:58]
2 II. Adagio non troppo [10:06]
3 III. Allegretto grazioso, quasi andantino [5:30]
4 IV. Allegretto con spirito [9:28]
John Axelrod, conductor | Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi

Clara Schumann

5 Liebst Du um Schönheit [2:37]
6 Liebeszauber [2:24]
7 Der Mond kommt still gegangen [2:11]
8 Auf einem grünen Hügel [3:10]
9 O Lust, O Lust [1:48]
Nicole Cabell, soprano | John Axelrod, piano

PERSONNEL
Indra Thomas, soprano
Nicole Cabell, soprano
Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi
John Axelrod, principal conductor and piano