Ferdinand Ries: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2

Ferdinand Ries was Beethoven’s only acknowledged pupil. A friend and biographer of Beethoven, he wrote an impressive catalogue of works, including eight symphonies and several concertos. Like Beethoven before him, Ries had delayed writing his first symphony until he felt confident enough of his experience and technique to compose a work that would bear comparison with the masterpieces of Haydn and Mozart and, in his case, Beethoven himself. During Ries’ eleven years in London he composed five symphonies for the Philharmonic concerts. His Symphony in C minor, Op.80, although published second, was actually the third of his symphonies to be composed. It was this symphony, unified by a concentration on thematic and harmonic connections across the four movements, that Ries dedicated to Beethoven. This new recording by the Tapiola Sinfonietta and its leader and conductor Janne Nisonen is Volume 1 in a new Ries symphony cycle.