THE Symphonies

Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Robin Ticciati

As Robin Ticciati enters his final season with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Linn celebrates his memorable tenure as Principal Conductor with a recording of four of the most sublime orchestral masterpieces ever written. The recording legacy of these revolutionary and distinctive works serves to underscore the confidence Ticciati has, not only in his own vision for these symphonies, but also in his partnership with the SCO musicians, who relish Brahms’ highly virtuosic orchestral writing.

The SCO’s renowned recordings of Mozart Symphonies are a natural predecessor to Brahms, who advances the form’s classicism into the Romantic era.

Ahead of the SCO 15/16 season, in which all four symphonies were performed, Ticciati set out his aims: ‘The challenge...is to find a Brahms sound with the orchestra. To find something so unbelievably dark, autumnal, and yet steeped in counterpoint.’

By 2017, that Brahms sound was perfected; Ticciati’s interpretations are both muscular and energized, with detail and life in every line. Ticciati’s meticulous control of tempo, phrase shape and balance results in performances of extraordinary transparency and colour.

Brahms:
 Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68
 Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73
 Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90
 Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98

"Perhaps one of the most striking aspects of these performances is the sheer variety of colours and timbres Robin Ticciati manages to extract from the outstanding strings of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra…Throughout each work, Ticciati projects strongly defined phrase characterisation, coupled with a great sense of forward momentum…Exciting, revelatory performances that make you listen afresh to this wonderful life-enhancing music."
BBC Music Magazine - May 2018 *****

‘...the inner orchestral clarity was outstanding...the entire woodwind section bubbled and fizzed in a way that you would never normally associate with the Brahms sound of a full symphony orchestra.’
The Arts Desk

‘Ticciati wrought a compelling reading of sustained intensity; as ever, his tempo-setting and his phrasing were immaculate.’
Musical Criticism

‘...played with stunning responsiveness by an SCO in mind-bendingly innovatory mode...an altogether-fresh approach to one of classical music’s most familiar and taken-for-granted evergreens.’
The Herald