Knecht: Le Portrait musical de la nature / Philidor: Overtures Torino Philharmonic Orchestra

• 1 I. Une belle contree ou le soleil luit - 09:38
• 2 II. Le ciel commence a devenir soudain sombre - 02:58
• 3 III. L'orage accompagne des vents - 06:03
• 4 IV. L'orage s'appaise peu a peu - 02:25
• 5 V. La nature transportee de la joie 07:05
• 6 I. Allegro 04:24
• 7 II. Andante 04:13
• 8 III. Allegro 03:03
• 9 Allegro 08:14
• 10 Allegro assai 07:19
• 11 I. Allegro 05:28
• 12 II. Andante con spirito 03:34
• 13 III. Presto 03:03
• Total Runtime 01:07:27

Info for Knecht: Le Portrait musical de la nature / Philidor: Overtures

Though he wrote a great deal of church music, and also composed for the theatre, Justin Heinrich Knecht is best remembered for his Grande Simphonie 'Le Portrait musical de la Nature'. Elegantly scored and completed in 1785, the depiction of nature in this eventful five-movement symphonic work predates Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony by almost a quarter of a century. Knecht's older French contemporary Philidor was the leading chess player of his time in addition to being a popular stage composer, whose overtures reveal the influence of the Italian school in their sparkling drama.

“There is no doubting that the Knecht symphony is a gracious piece and one that gives off a Mozartean glow. This is intensified by an extremely warm and radiant acoustic closely recorded...This is not all-conquering music but it is very pleasant and with more than a few flashes of freshness. If you enjoy tracking the contemporaries of Mozart and Beethoven do not pass up this opportunity.”

Turin Philharmonic Orchestra
Prague Sinfonia Orchestra of the Velvet Revolution
Christian Benda, conductor

Recorded at the Sala Concerti del Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi, Torino, Italy, on 15th January, 2013 (tracks 1-5), and at Studio Domovina, Prague, Czech Republic, on 17th March, 2012 (tracks 6-13)
Engineered by Silvio Germano Ricci (tracks 1-5)
Produced by Silvio Germano Ricci (tracks 1-5)
Engineered by Michael Rast (tracks 6-13)
Produced by Kateřina Chobotová (tracks 6-13)

No biography found.

Booklet for Knecht: Le Portrait musical de la nature / Philidor: Overtures