LUÍS DE FREITAS BRANCO (1890-1955)

 

Orchestral Works Vol. 4

 

Symphony No. 4 (1944-52)

 

Vathek – Symphonic Poem in the form of variations on an Oriental Theme (1913)

 

RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra / Álvaro Cassuto

 

This fourth volume in Naxos’s critically acclaimed series of Portuguese composer Luís de Freitas Branco’s orchestral music juxtaposes his magnificent Symphonic Poem in the form of variations on an Oriental Theme, Vathek, with Symphony No. 4. As his final symphony, it is an appealing masterpiece that combines Neo-classical stylishness with late Romantic richness.

 

Álvaro Cassuto, Portugal’s finest living conductor and an authority on the classical music of his country, is an ideal interpreter of this eminently satisfying yet unaccountably neglected repertoire.

 

Naxos 8572624