New Album: MTT Leads San Francisco Symphony in Beethoven with Emanuel Ax
Nov 5, 2015
On November 13, Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony release a new album spotlighting two iconic works by Beethoven. They perform the rarely heard Mass in C minor and are joined by Emanuel Ax for the Third Piano Concerto. The new SFS Media recording captures live performances at Davies Symphony Hall.
Add the album to your library right now.
The new recording sees Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony in performances with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, directed by Ragnar Bohlin, and soprano Joélle Harvey, mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor, tenor William Burden, and bass-baritone Shenyang.
“One of the selling points of the splendid release by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony is that the performances here — of the Third Piano Concerto and the Mass in C — are not only beautifully done but cast both pieces in a comparatively different light,” writes Joshua Kosman in his review. “The result is one of the finest recent additions to the Symphony discography.”
The release continues an exploration of the music of Beethoven by MTT and the San Francisco Symphony. Included in their catalogue are recordings of the composer’s Piano Concerto No. 4 with Emanuel Ax, Symphony No. 5, Symphony No. 9, Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II, and Leonore Overture No. 3. They have also released the documentary “Keeping Score: Beethoven’s Eroica.”
