Sutermeister: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bruno Cathomas & Rainer Held

• Heinrich Sutermeister (1910 - 1995): Romeo and Juliet Suite:
• 1Romeo and Juliet Suite: I. Fanfares Summon the Guests to a Feast at the Capulets. Presto vivace00:23
• 2Romeo and Juliet Suite: II. Music of the Feast. Più mosso01:11
• 3Romeo and Juliet Suite: III. Juliet Dances with Paris. Andante con grazia02:42
• 4Romeo and Juliet Suite: IV. Climax of the Masked Ball. Allegro molto03:30
• 5Romeo and Juliet Suite: V. Sarabande. Andante molto sostenuto07:13
• 6Romeo and Juliet Suite: VI. Fairy Mab. Presto grazioso02:02
• 7Romeo and Juliet Suite: VII. Finale. Adagio03:50
• Die Alpen (Fantasy on Swiss Folksongs):
• 8Die Alpen (Fantasy on Swiss Folksongs): I. O du verklärte Welt von Bergen, Felsen, Seen03:25
• 9Die Alpen (Fantasy on Swiss Folksongs): II. Dort senkt ein kahler Berg04:59
• 10Die Alpen (Fantasy on Swiss Folksongs): III. Ein junger Schäfer stimmt indessen seine Leier00:59
• 11Die Alpen (Fantasy on Swiss Folksongs): IV. Der Blumen zarten Schnee01:25
• 12Die Alpen (Fantasy on Swiss Folksongs): V. Wenn durch die schwüle Luft04:29
• 13Die Alpen (Fantasy on Swiss Folksongs): VI. Seht, hier, wo Gotthards Haupt die Wolken übersteigert11:00
• Aubade pour Morges:
• 14Aubade pour Morges: I. Le château. Moderato festivo02:37
• 15Aubade pour Morges: II. Au parc. Andante espressivo02:40
• 16Aubade pour Morges: III. Les vendanges. Vivo01:41
• 17Aubade pour Morges: IV. Clair de lune sur le lac. Molto lento03:36
• 18Aubade pour Morges: V. Le port. Vivo02:14
• Divertimento No. 2:
• 19Divertimento No. 2: I. Mosso, grazioso07:52
• 20Divertimento No. 2: II. Adagio espressivo11:07
• 21Divertimento No. 2: III. Vivo, con spirito03:32
• 22Divertimento No. 2: IV. Prestissimo04:44
• Total Runtime01:27:11

Info for Sutermeister: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1

Heinrich Sutermeister (1910–1995) belongs to the generation of Swiss composers after Bloch, Honegger, Martin and Schoeck. His operatic version of Romeo and Juliet soon spread his reputation far afield, and conductors as prominent as Böhm, Karajan and Sawallisch championed his works. Although his star has waned in the quarter-century since his death, the four orchestral works recorded here – ranging from the dramatic essay he drew from that first Shakespearean operatic success, via the easy-going charm of two lighter suites, to his deeply felt response to the Swiss landscape – bring a salutary reminder of why his music appeals so directly to its audiences.

Bruno Cathomas, speaker (8–13)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Duncan Riddell, leader
Rainer Held, conductor

Rainer Held
grew up in the Canton of the Grisons in Switzerland. After training to become a primary school teacher, he studied at the University of Zurich (musicology) and at the Lucerne School of Music at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts).

He completed his studies in orchestra-conducting, choir-conducting, solo singing and music education. Rainer Held received important impulses during the education by Marcello Viotti and Herbert Blomstedt. Then he studied conducting further, attending masterclasses by Harri Rodmann in Basel, Michael Dittrich in Budapest and others. He also made study visits to Salzburg in Austria and Tokyo in Japan.

Rainer Held was particularly influenced by the Russian conductor Gennady Provatorov (1929-2010), one of the great Russian personalities on the conducting scene of the former Soviet Union and later in Belarus (he was a student of Aleksandr Gauk in Moscow, a fellow student of Mravinsky and Svetlanov and in Moscow in 1962 he conducted the world première and first recording of the opera Katerina Izmailova by Dmitri Shostakovich).

From 2003 to 2010 Rainer Held was First Permanent Guest Conductor at the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Minsk in Belarus. This orchestra of the National State Tele-Radiocompany of the Republic of Belarus, over 100 musicians, is one of the leading ensembles in the Belarusian capital.

Since 2008, he has been attached to the State Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra of Novosibirsk as a permanent guest conductor. The legendary string sound of this orchestra is a direct result of the long tradition of exceptional string tuition at the Novosibirsk State Conservatory. With this orchestra he realised many concerts, tours and recordings in Russia, Germany and Switzerland.

Since 1994 until 2015, Rainer Held has conducted the Aarau Chamber Choir in Switzerland. Together with this and other choirs, he regularly performs large-scale works of the choral and orchestral repertoire. Actually he is the artistic leader of the large rhaeto-romanic ‘Chor viril Sursés’ in Savognin and co-conductor of the Choir of PH Lucerne.

Booklet for Sutermeister: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1