Alexander Brincken: Orchestral Music, Volume Two

Alexander Brincken, born in Leningrad in 1952 and Swiss-based since 1992, writes in an accessible, expansive and unashamedly late-Romantic language. His grandiose Second Symphony of 1984–89, written for a huge orchestra of 114 musicians, has echoes of a number of earlier composers, among them Bruckner, Mahler, Richard Strauss and, especially, Franz Schmidt, whose walking basses help power Brincken’s sense of momentum – all assimilated into a big-hearted style that blends dignity, lyricism and power. Written in Leningrad as the Soviet system began its death throes, a time when Brincken was also experiencing personal trauma, this Symphony employs an epic canvas in its unhurried articulation of a message of hope.

Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Rainer Held, conductor