A tale of two symphonies – one, Beethoven’s Third Symphony ‘Eroica’ changed the course of the symphony, and prepared the way for Brahms, Dvorák, Mahler & Bruckner’s symphonies. But it is also very much a work of its time – revolutionary France, violent upheavals in Europe – and the symphony’s amended dedication, ‘Eroica – to the memory of a great man’ (initially it was dedicated to Napoleon), saw Beethoven capture the drama and political tensions of the time in an electrifying way. Méhul’s edgy First Symphony from the very same period is another child of this revolutionary firmament. Maybe not genre defining, but a significant work in its own right, and Méhul strikes out in his own distinctive early romantic style.
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Reviews
Performance *** Recording ***
“… Carcano offers a strong vision of a thoughtful, deliberate Schumann: his rendition of the opening Humoreske is multi-layered, weighty; it’s perhaps not quite as eccentric as one might hope because of Carcano’s tendency to favour the sustaining pedal…Carcano’s performance left me deeply interested, if not wholly convinced.”
Natasha Loges – BBC Music magazine – January 2019
Performance **** Recording ***
“König and his Solistes Européens bring the Méhul persuasively to life. A similar approach – raw but with just enough subtlety – infuses their performance of the Eroica, which has a winning energy and the odd rough edges.”
Erica Jeal – BBC Music magazine – May 2018
“Beethoven would have been surprised by the eclipse of Méhul’s music...Yet Méhul’s First Symphony (1808) wilts beside the Eroica and its irresistible sense of direction, especially in a performance as powerful and rich in detail as this.”
The Sunday Times – 21 January 2018
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