Fridrich Bruk: Orchestral Music, Volume One
Fridrich Bruk – born in Kharkov in 1937 and a Finnish resident since 1974 – made his name as a composer of tangos. But the heart of his music lies in a series of eighteen symphonies, which have a strong narrative element, some reflecting Jewish themes, others inspired by Karelia and Finland. Symphony No. 17, Joy of Life (which Bruk also calls a ‘Concerto-Symphony for Orchestra and Piano’), has an autobiographical programme charting, in abstract terms, Bruk’s surmounting of the obstacles fate put in his path. Symphony No. 18 takes as its starting point a Latvian-Jewish folksong: it is premised on the deportation of his grandparents from their Latvian home, in an anti-Semitic campaign by Tsarist Russia that Bruk sees as a kind of prologue to the Holocaust.
Gertruda Jerjomenko, piano
Anda Eglīte, kokle (Tracks 4–11)
Liepāja Symphony Orchestra
Māris Kupčs, conductor
Listen To This Recording:
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Symphony No. 17, Joy of Life (2016)
- I Attempts: Andantino
- II Sorrow: Largamente
- III Strength: Robusto. Con spirito
- I Rose (Ruzena): Andante
- II Daugavpils 1915 – Banishment: Allegretto
- III Five Variations on an Own Theme: Theme – Pensieroso
- III Five Variations on an Own Theme: Var. 1
- III Five Variations on an Own Theme: Var. 2 – Lento
- III Five Variations on an Own Theme: Var. 3
- III Five Variations on an Own Theme: Var. 4 – Sostenuto
- III Five Variations on an Own Theme: Var. 5
Symphony No. 18, Daugavpils (2017)
FIRST RECORDINGS
Finnish Music Quarterly :
‘The Liepāja Symphony Orchestra and both soloists, pianist Gertruda Jerjomenko and kokle player Anda Eglīte perform laudably. A special thanks has to be given for the thorough and in-depth booklet texts.’
—Hanna Isolammi, Finnish Music Quarterly