When the Danish National Symphony Orchestra lost their Spanish chief conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos in 2014 after just two years of collaboration, it was a great sadness for the orchestra. Now they are remembering the conductor by releasing a collection of the greatest concert moments with the late maestro in an exclusive DVD and Blu-ray box set.
The box set is released on the Danish National Symphony Orchestra's own record label DRS, distributed by Dacapo Records, and contains all nine Beethoven symphonies and three other orchestral works: Hector Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique, Rodrigos Concierto de Aranjuez and Richard Strauss’ A symphony of the Alps - the latter recorded at Frühbeck de Burgos’ very last concert.
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos was known as a dramatic interpreter of Beethoven, and throughout his career he conducted some of the world's leading orchestras with the composer's nine symphonies in the repertoire. In 2012, the New York Times wrote a concert review of Beethoven's 5th Symphony with Frühbeck de Burgos and the Dresden State Orchestra:
Rafael de Burgos himself had a strong desire to record the nine symphonies with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. This has now been realised with the release of nine hours of live recordings from the Concert Hall, which DR has subsequently specially produced for release on DVD and Blu-ray. In collaboration with Dacapo, the DR Symphony Orchestra has also chosen a particularly exclusive packaging for the boxes, which is specially designed and printed in Italy.
The concert recordings in the new DVD and Blu-ray release clearly show Frühbeck de Burgos’ declining powers in the last years of his life. But above all, the nine Beethoven symphonies recorded throughout the 2012/13 season are a testament to a conductor at the artistic peak of his career.
For those involved in the new release, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos’ last concert with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra stands out in particular. Head of DR Choirs and Orchestras Kim Bohr explains: ”Before the concert of Strauss's Alpine Symphony, which was his personal favourite work, Frühbeck asked for his permanent conductor's chair to be removed. None of us could understand why. It later turned out that he had been told just before the concert that he only had a few weeks to live - and therefore knew that the concert would be his last. And of course, he would conduct his last concert standing up! Knowing this, it's all the more poignant to watch the concert recording where Frühbeck de Burgos, after the last bars of the music, which depicts the last breath of a dying man, looks around at his orchestra and then closes his eyes.’
The release of Beethoven's symphonies with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Frühbeck de Burgos is made possible with financial support from A.P. Møller og Chastine Mc-Kinney Møllers Fond til almene Formaal.
The box can be ordered at www.dacapo-records.dk (free shipping).