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01. Symphony No. 4 in G Minor, Op. 27 I. Moderato. Allegro
02. Symphony No. 4 in G Minor, Op. 27 II. Adagio
03. Symphony No. 4 in G Minor, Op. 27 III. Scherzo. Allegro ben ritmato
04. Symphony No. 4 in G Minor, Op. 27 IV. Finale. Allegro molto
05. Capriccio for Piano & Chamber Orchestra, Op. 11 I. Meditazione I
06. Capriccio for Piano & Chamber Orchestra, Op. 11 II. Toccata
07. Capriccio for Piano & Chamber Orchestra, Op. 11 III. Capriccioso
08. Capriccio for Piano & Chamber Orchestra, Op. 11 IV. Meditazione II
09. Capriccio for Piano & Chamber Orchestra, Op. 11 V. Coda
Alexander Brincken, born in Leningrad in 1952 and Swiss-based since 1992, writes in an accessible and unashamedly late-Romantic language. His grandiose Fourth Symphony of 2014–15, written for a huge orchestra, has echoes of a number of earlier composers, among them Berlioz, Bruckner, Martinu, Wagner and, especially, Franz Schmidt and Richard Strauss, all assimilated into a big-hearted style that blends dignity, lyricism and power, with a strong sense of the Swiss landscapes in which he has made his home. The earlier Capriccio for piano and orchestra – a concerto in all but name – has, in turn, something of the sober strength and wiry energy of Frank Martin – curiously, since it was written seven years before Brincken moved to Switzerland. Rainer Held’s recent Sutermeister recording for Toccata Classics was a revelation, and here’s proof that he has not yet run out of symphonic surprises.