Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6 Münchner Symphoniker & Kevin John Edusei

• Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828): Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat Major, D. 485:
• 1I. Allegro07:05
• 2II. Andante con moto08:45
• 3III. Menuetto. Allegro molto - Trio04:44
• 4IV. Allegro vivace07:31
• Symphony No. 6 in C Major, D. 589, "Little C Major":
• 5I. Adagio - Allegro08:50
• 6II. Andante05:51
• 7III. Scherzo. Presto - Trio. Più lento06:16
• 8IV. Allegro moderato09:46
• Total Runtime58:48

Info for Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6

The recording presented here is dedicated to the last two symphonies of Franz Schubert’s earlier compositional period. Both are united by their emergence in the atmosphere of the amateur orchestra founded by Otto Hatwig, in which Franz played the viola, and his brother Ferdinand the violin. This orchestra was a stroke of luck for the young Schubert, akin to a laboratory where he could thoroughly test his compositions against the works of composing contemporaries such as Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Méhul, and in real world conditions. Nevertheless, in their compositional intent, the symphonies are so fundamentally different that it is tempting to present these two dissimilar siblings on one album. Looking at the entire cycle of the Schubert symphonies, and the existential crisis in which Schubert found himself after 1818, this criticism seems in hindsight to be justified only to a certain extent. The creative chasm that opened up in front of Schubert is documented in his many symphonic drafts and abandoned works. In chamber music and in song composition, his productivity likewise decreased considerably. At that time, there was also the break with his father. Against this background, the Sixth seems like a charming “coming-of-age” work that demonstrated to the composer – with the utmost severity – the creative limits of youth-fuelled ardor.

Münchner Symphoniker
Kevin John Edusei, conductor

Kevin John Edusei
is one of today's most promising young conductors. He is known for his delicate, clear conducting which creates space for new nuances in a wide ranging repertoire from baroque to contemporary music.

Since the season 2014/2015 he brings exceptional new vision to the Münchner Symphoniker as their chiefconductor and has established a strong relationship with the audience.

Starting in the season 2015/16 he also acts as chiefconductor at the Konzert Theater Bern where he has led the productions Peter Grimes, Ariadne auf Naxos, Salome, Herzog Blaubarts Burg, Le nozze di Figaro, Tannhäuser and Symphonie imaginaire, a new concert format that he has developed.

He first attracted international attention in 2008 when he won the first prize of the "International Dimitris Mitropoulos Competition" in Athens. Since then he has been invited as guest conductor by many prestigious orchestras as the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Bamberger Symphoniker, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Tonkünstler-Orchester Wien, the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg and the Ensemble Modern. In the year 2017 he gave his USA debut with the Colorado Symphony and for the first time appeared with the Chineke! Orchestra at the BBC Proms.

Following his successful debut at the Semperoper Dresden with Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail in 2009 he took over Hindemith's Cardillac the year after. In 2013 he presented himself to the Viennese audience with Mozart's Magic Flute at the Volksoper Wien. At the Komische Oper Berlin Edusei took over the production of Don Giovanni. At the NTR ZaterdagMatinee at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam he led a spectacular concert performance of John Adams' Nixon in China in 2017.

Kevin collaborates closely with leading soloist as Jan Vogler, Albrecht Mayer, Christoph Prégardien, Arabella Steinbacher, Lauma Skride, Lise de la Salle, Edgar Moreau, David Orlowsky, Daniel Müller-Schott, Chen Reiss, Martin Stadtfeld, Nareh Arghamanyan, Anna Vinnitskaya and many others.

He was a prizewinner of the 2007 Lucerne Festival's conducting competition under the artistic direction of Pierre Boulez to conduct Stockhausens opus magnum Gruppen. During the Aspen Music Festival 2004 maestro David Zinman awarded him the fellowship for the American Academy of Conducting. Kevin John Edusei received important artistical guidance from maestros Jac van Steen, Kurt Masur, Jorma Panula, Sylvain Cambreling and Peter Eötvös.

Furthermore Kevin was awarded the "Dirigentenforum" stipend of the German Music Council, the fellowship of the International Ensemble Modern Academy and the stipend of the Deutsche Bank affiliated organization "Akademie Musiktheater heute".

Booklet for Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6