Kurt Weill - Symphony No 2; Violin Concerto; Mahagonny Suite (Mariss Janson)

Kurt Weill (1900-1950) has been enjoying a good deal of reappraisal, not least for the important non-stage works he wrote in the 1920s.

The "Violin Concerto" is undoubtedly the strongest of these - a vivid, acerbic piece with wind and brass only, very much in the spirit of the "new classicism" then in vogue. It's not lyrical music, but it does have real expressive force, and Frank-Peter Zimmermann rises to the challenge on all fronts.

The suite from "The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny" (1928) gives a fair idea of the strengths of this distinctly uneven collaboration with Bertold Brecht: Weill was happy to lambast the capitalist system, without quite believing in its demise.

From his "transitional" years in Paris, the "Second Symphony" (1933) is still a too little known masterpiece, its classical poise and restraint shot through with irony and a deeply felt melancholy. Jansons brings out these contrasting emotions in his perceptive reading, rounding out a well-conceived and superbly played disc.

Tracklist:

		Symphony No. 2
1		I. Sostenuto -	1:31
2		[I.] Allegro Molto	7:53
3		II. Largo	11:11
4		III. Allegro Vivace	6:33
		Concerto For Violin And Wind Orchestra, Op. 12
5		I. Andante Con Moto	9:29
6		II. Notturno: Allegro Un Poco Tenuto -	3:13
7		[II.] Cadenza: Moderato -	3:02
8		[II.] Serenata: Allegretto	3:35
9		III. Allegro Molto, Un Poco Agitato	6:47
		Rise And Fall Of The City Of Mahagonny - Suite From The Opera
10		I. Allegro Giusto	1:15
11		II. Moderato Assai	2:19
12		III.	1:34
13		IV. Lento	1:57
14		V. Molto Vivace	2:11
15		VI.	3:22
16		VII. Largo	4:34

Credits:
Arranged By - Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg (tracks: 10 to 16)
Composed By - Kurt Weill
Conductor - Mariss Jansons
Orchestra - Berliner Philharmoniker
Violin - Frank Peter Zimmermann (tracks: 5 to 9)

Recorded: II. & III.1997, Philharmonie, Berlin
(5-9: Live recording)

Kurt Weill - Symphony No.2; Violin Concerto; Mahagonny Suite (Mariss Jansons)
(192 kbps, front cover included)