WALTER BRAUNFELS (1882-1954): Works for Piano and Orchestra - Witches’ Sabbath, Op. 8, Hebridean Dances, Op. 70 (both World Premiere Recordings), Konzertstück, Op. 64.

Description: And still more colorful and instantly enjoyable new discoveries to further Braunfels’ posthumous reputation and marking both ends of his career: the 1906 Witches’ Sabbath writtten while still a student of Thuille - a Germanic version of a Saint-Saëns tone-poem with a virtuosic part for the soloist and thrill-ride orchestral color carrying him along - and the next-to-last of his compositions - the 1951 half-hour divertimento-like Hebridean Dances which, like his earlier Scottish Fantasy (02P004 or 12T005), have little of the Hibernian about them but are rather a relaxed and lyrical “impression” of that northern Atlantic country. It makes a fine foil to the 1946 Konzertstück, a reserved and somber return to the concert hall after his internal exile from 1933-45. Tatjana Blome (piano), Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz; Gregor Bühl.