Schumann: Scenes from Goethe's Faust

"…Harnoncourt…music, but he's in unusually fluent form here, with airy orchestral and choral textures… Christian Gerhaher is an intellectual, strong-toned Faust, relishing Goethe's robust language…" BBC Music Magazine, November 2009 ****

"What Harnoncourt does particularly superbly is steer away from the slightest hint of anything saccharine: the chorus of blessed boys being a case in point. He's aided by the outstanding Christian Gerhaher, who is moving not only as Faust but in the Dr Marianus music too. Franz-Josef Selig and Alastair Miles are also great assets... Harnoncourt's... never less than compelling, and his vision of this great work is consistently enlightening." Gramophone Magazine, January 2010

"there are good performances from Alistair Miles, Werner Güra and Mojca Erdmann in smaller roles, as well as matchless orchestral playing from the Royal Concertgebouw. Harnoncourt's admiration for what is one of Schumann's greatest scores constantly shines through"
(The Guardian)

In April 2008 Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra executed a series of performances of Schumann's rarely heard masterpiece Szenen aus Goethes Faust.These successful performances were recorded live and edited into the release that you have before you. Nikolaus Harnoncourt made his debut with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1975, where his St John and St Matthew Passions opened a whole new chapter in the Amsterdam tradition of performing these works. With the RCO, he directed a number of impressive opera productions, including the Mozart operas by librettist Da Ponte and Strauss' Die Fledermaus, and a great number of symphonic concerts, including symphonies by Haydn, Mozart, Schubert and Dvorák. Much of the repertoire Harnoncourt conducted with the Concertgebouw Orchestra has been recorded and has also received many awards. He was made a Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion in 2006. Nikolaus Harnoncourt was appointed honorary guest conductor in October 2000.