Beethoven: Vocal Works Turku Philharmonic Orchestra & Leif Segerstam

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827):
• 1 Primo amore piacer del ciel, WoO 92 15:57
• 2 No, non turbarti, WoO 92a 06:54
• 3 Ah! Perfido, Op. 65 13:40
• 4 2 Arias for "Die schöne Schusterin", WoO 91: No. 2, Soll ein Schuh nicht drücken 05:58
• 5 Prüfung des Küssens, WoO 89 "Meine weise Mutter spricht" 05:38
• 6 Mit Mädeln sich vertragen, WoO 90 04:13
• 7 2 Arias for "Die schöne Schusterin", WoO 91: No. 1, O welch ein Leben, ein ganzes Meer 03:12
• 8 Ne' giorni tuoi felici, WoO 93, Hess 120 07:55
• 9 Tremate, empi, tremate, Op. 116 09:04
• Total Runtime 01:12:31

Info for Beethoven: Vocal Works

Ludwig van Beethoven’s only oratorio Christus am Ölberge (‘Christ on the Mount of Olives’) portrays Jesus’ emotional struggles in the garden of Gethsemane before being seized by soldiers and taken for crucifixion. The work has an Italianate form with recitatives, arias and choruses, and its operatic attributes show Christ as a very human figure, a dramatic precursor to the sufferings of Florestan in Beethoven’s Fidelio. The tender and beautiful Elegischer Gesang is a memorial to the young wife of one of Beethoven’s close friends.

"When I was born, in 1944, all the family’s friends in the choirs that my father conducted and in which my mother sang were saying: ‘Finally they got their Beethoven.’ They were referring to me and, yes, it wasn’t long before I was playing his symphonies, arranged for piano duet, either with one of my sisters or my father, taking turns at the different parts. I had learned to notate music by the age of 5, as well as writing and reading capital letters. So I was a wunderkind actually! and, when dinner was ready, the call that came through the window was the opening of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony whistled by my father.

As regards my professional conducting career, there was my memorable first marathon of all his symphonies one Sunday in Helsinki’s Finlandia Hall, using three orchestras but just me as the conductor. So, the Beethoven musical idiom got a special space between my ears. Consequently, I was delighted to receive Naxos’ invitation to record Beethoven’s choral works, following the successful release of my Sibelius series for the label with the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra." (Leif Segerstam)

Hanna-Leena Haapamäki, soprano
Jussi Myllys, tenor
Niklas Spångberg, bass
Chorus Cathedralis Aboensis
Turku Philharmonic Orchestra
Leif Segerstam, conductor

No biography found.

Booklet for Beethoven: Vocal Works