NDR Radiophilharmonie & Israel Yinon - Ben-Haim: Symphony No. 2 & Concerto grosso (2017)

Shortly after the Nazis had seized power, Paul Frankenburger, like many other Jewish composers, left Germany for Palestine, which was then under British administration. In Palestine he resumed his creative work with Ben-Haim as his Hebrew name. He became one of the pioneers of classical music in Israel, both as a composer and as an admired composition teacher. His Concerto Grosso, his first work for symphony orchestra, is embedded in the spiritual and technical sound world of German late romanticism and French impressionism and related to the Baroque concerto grosso only insofar as it contains numerous solos and homogeneous orchestral segments. Ben-Haim concluded the score of his Symphony No. 2, his longest orchestral work, in October 1945. This work adheres to the four-movement structure of classical and romantic music. The autographic score has an epigraph by the Israeli poet Shin Shalom: »Awake with the morning, O my soul, on the summit of Carmel over the sea.« It indicates the hopeful, optimistic mood prevailing throughout most of the symphony. The conductor Israel Yinon (who unfortunately died in 2015) is once again our skilful guide through this second Ben-Haim production.

TRACKLIST

Paul Ben-Haïm (1897-1984)

01. Symphony No. 2: I. Molto moderato
02. Symphony No. 2: II. Allegretto vivace
03. Symphony No. 2: III. Andante affettuoso e languendo
04. Symphony No. 2: IV. Finale. Allegro deciso
05. Concerto grosso: I. Overture. Sostenuto molto e grave
06. Concerto grosso: II. Aria. Andante languendo
07. Concerto grosso: III. Chaconne (Variationen). Allegro feroce