Howard Shelley: Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana - Spohr: Symphonies Nos 4 & 5

In this second volume of Spohr�s symphonies, Howard Shelley and the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana continue their exploration of this enjoyable and little-known repertoire. Formerly one of the most significant personalities in nineteenth-century German music, Spohr�s symphonies were as popular as those of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven until he fell from fashion in the later part of the nineteenth century.Symphony No 4 was quickly acclaimed as the composer�s symphonic masterpiece after its first performance. It is a forward-looking, programmatic work based on a poem by Carl Pfeiffer, �The Consecration of Sounds�. Unusually, it features a slow finale, and in this way was an important example to future composers including Tchaikovsky and Mahler. Symphony No 5 is a deeply felt work, pouring out pent-up emotions from dramatic events in the composer�s life at the time of writing with real expressive power.The disc also features the overture to a cantata Das befreite Deutschland (�Germany liberated�), composed following Napoleon�s disastrous defeat at the battle of Leipzig in October 1813.