Smetana: Commemoration Symphony, etc.

[Machine Translation] Conductor Darrell Ahn captivated audiences with his dashing appearance and high level of musicianship during his 2017 visit to Japan. His repertoire is wide-ranging, and NAXOS has released recordings of rare works, including symphonies by Dutilleux, works by Chinese composers Zhou Long and Chen Yi, and overtures by Maierbeer and Offenbach. This time, he has also recorded Smetana's "Festive Symphony," an unusual work that Smetana intended to dedicate to the wedding in 1854 of Franz Joseph I, emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which ruled Bohemia at the time. Unfortunately, his work was rejected as "not suitable for a Bohemian wedding," and his "Imperial Hymn," which appears frequently in the work, failed to win the sympathy of the Bohemian people, so Smetana put the work away. In 1881, however, Smetana revised the work, and it was finally included in the catalog as Smetana's only symphony. Please enjoy the young composer's ambitious and gorgeous symphony.

Note: This is an import edition (manufactured outside of Japan).

2017年来日、颯爽とした姿と高い音楽性で聴衆を魅了した指揮者ダレル・アン。レパートリーも幅広く、これまでNAXOSからはデュティユーの交響曲と中国の作曲家、周龍と陳怡の作品集、マイアベーア、オッフェンバックの序曲集など、珍しい作品の録音をリリースしている。今回彼が取り組んだのは、やはり珍しいスメタナの「祝典交響曲」。1854年、当時のボヘミアを支配していたオーストリア=ハンガリー帝国の皇帝フランツ=ヨーゼフ1世の婚礼が挙行された際、スメタナはこれを祝して交響曲を作曲し献呈しようと目論んだ。しかし残念なことに"(被支配民族である)ボヘミア人の作品は婚礼にふさわしくない"と却下されてしまい、また、作品中に頻繁に現れる「皇帝賛歌」はボヘミアの人々の共感を得ることができず、結局、スメタナは作品をしまい込んでしまう。しかし1881年に作品を改訂、スメタナの唯一の交響曲として作品はようやくカタログに残ることになった。若き作曲家の意欲溢れる華やかな交響曲をどうぞお楽しみください。