Fridrich Bruk: Orchestral Music, Volume Two
Toccata Classics TOCC0543
Liepāja Symphony Orchestra Tracks 1-3, 7-8)
Arvydas Kazlauskas, baritone saxophone (Tracks 1-3)
Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra (Tracks 4-6)
Māris Kupčs, conductor

 

 

 

  • Symphony No. 19, Tunes from Ghettoes (2018)
    1. I. Our little town is burning
    2. II. Ele-bele
    3. III. O, hammer, hammer, knock!
  • Symphony No. 20 (2018)
    1. I. Allegro energico
    2. II. Adagietto
    3. III. Lesto
  • Symphony No. 21, Presentiment: In memory of Anne Frank (1929–1945)  (2018)
    1. I. Presentiment I
    2. II. Presentiment II

    • First recordings

    Fridrich Bruk – born in Kharkov in 1937 and a Finnish resident since 1974 – made his name as a composer of tangos. But the heart of his music lies in a series of (to date)
    21 symphonies, which have a strong narrative element, some reflecting Jewish themes, others inspired by Karelia and Finland.
    The three most recent together form a kind of meta-symphony premised on the persecution of the Jews in the first half of the twentieth century. Bruk’s kaleidoscopic use of orchestral colour,
    his angular but expressive melodies and his dramatic musical language reflect this urge to chronicle the outrage visited on his fellow Jews – and which directly impinged on his own life.