Reger: Orchestral Works Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt & Ira Levin

• Max Reger (1873 - 1916):
• 1 Variations & Fugue on a Theme by Bach, Op. 81 (Arr. I. Levin for Orchestra) 26:03
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750):
• 2 O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß, BWV 622 (Arr. M. Reger for Orchestra) 05:25
• Max Reger: 4 Tone Poems after Arnold Böcklin, Op. 128:
• 3 4 Tone Poems after Arnold Böcklin, Op. 128: No. 1, Der geigende Eremit 07:23
• 4 4 Tone Poems after Arnold Böcklin, Op. 128: No. 2, Im Spiel der Wellen 03:54
• 5 4 Tone Poems after Arnold Böcklin, Op. 128: No. 3, Die Toteninsel 08:54
• 6 4 Tone Poems after Arnold Böcklin, Op. 128: No. 4, Bacchanale 04:24
• Total Runtime 56:03

Info for Reger: Orchestral Works

In 1904 Max Reger wrote what was to be the first in a major sequence of variations on themes by his great predecessors. The Variations and Fugue on a Theme by J.S. Bach was written for piano but its richness and virtuosity exceed the scope of the instrument. Ira Levin’s orchestration clarifies the structure, intensifies climaxes and reduces its length. The Four Tone Poems explore the paintings of the symbolist Arnold Bocklin and form symphonic mood pictures that veer from delicacy to Bacchanalian frenzy.

“The programme begins with a transcription: conductor Ira Levin transcribed Reger’s ‘Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Johann Sebastian Bach’ for large orchestra. The piano work is varied and eloquently expressive. Levin transferred this very well into the orchestra. The Brandenburg State Orchestra plays with virtuosity and expressiveness… The quiet first piece [Böcklin tone poems] has a very beautiful violin solo, played with a warm golden tone by Klaudyna Schulze… Ira Levin’s conducting is very intense. The Bacchanal is spectacular and benefits from a brilliant, orgiastic interpretation. Here, as in the other works, the Brandenburg State Orchestra shows its high level. The sound of the recording is pleasantly spatial, clear and present.” (Remy Franck, Pizzicato)

"A splendid introduction for those who have thought Reger as too forbidding and packed with insights for those who love him." (MusicWeb International)

Klaudyna Schulze-Broniewska, violin
Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester
Ira Levin, direction

The Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt
is one of the outstanding orchestras in eastern Germany. Performing regularly at the Berlin Philharmonie and Berlin Konzerthaus, the BSOF also appears in major concert halls in Germany and has toured Japan, Israel, Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. In 2008 the orchestra was invited to perform at a concert for the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the Vatican Audience Hall in the presence of Pope Benedict.

The BSOF has recorded numerous albums: its recording of music by Boris Blacher was awarded a ‘Diapason d’Or’ and the album ‘Franz Schreker in Berlin’ was named ‘Choc de la musique’ by Le monde de la musique.

The BSOF has worked with many artists such as Jan Krenz, Shlomo Mintz, Viktor Tretiakov, Sabine Meyer, Fazil Say, Maurice Steger, Daniel Hope, Natalia Gutman, Mischa Maisky, Mstislav Rostropovich, Andris Nelsons, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, David, Garrett, Daniel Müller-Schott, Bruno Weinmeister and Martin Helmchen.

Ira Levin
is currently the music director of the Theatro Municipal of Rio de Janeiro. He was the artistic and music director of the Theatro Municipal of Sao Paulo as well as the principal guest conductor of the Theatro Colon in Buenos Aires, making him the only foreign conductor to have held leading positions in all of the largest and most important opera houses of Brazil and Argentina.

He is known internationally for the great versatility of his musical activities. He has conducted over 1200 performances of 95 operatic titles and is equally at home in concert, with a vast symphonic repertoire. He has worked with many leading instrumentalists, composers and stage directors and conducted at important opera houses and orchestras worldwide.

He studied with the legendary pianist Jorge Bolet at the Curtis Institute, later becoming his teaching assistant. Also at Curtis, he had coachings with Felix Galimir, Mischa Schneider and Mieczyslaw Horszowski, played under Leonard Bernstein and worked for two years with Max Rudolf, one of the leading conducting teachers of the 20th century, until being engaged by Michael Gielen in 1985 for the Frankfurt Opera.

He held posts as assistant conductor at the Frankfurt Opera (1985-88), principal conductor of the Bremen Opera (1988-1996) and the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Düsseldorf-Duisburg (1996-2002) and as the principal guest conductor of the Kassel Opera (1994-1998).

He was the Music Director and Artistic Director of the Teatro Municipal in Sao Paulo (2002-2005) and of the National Theater of Brazil in Brasilia (2007-2010), bringing both organizations international acclaim. He introduced important works by Mahler, Janacek, Shostakovich, Sibelius, Busoni, Reger, Enescu, Schoenberg, Schmitt, Schnittke, Jolivet, Corigliano and many others to Brazil.

He was the Principal Guest Conductor of the legendary Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires from 2011-15, where he conducted 12 major opera productions, including the American premieres of Enescu’s Oedipe and Glanert’s Caligula, and many symphonic concerts.

´New York City Opera, Grand Theatre Geneve, Semper Opera (Dresden), Leipzig Opera, Frankfurt Opera, Montpellier Opera, Norske Opera in Oslo, Norrlands Opera in Umea, Cape Town Opera, Rio de Janeiro Opera, Theatro Sao Pedro in Sao Paulo, Dublin Opera, Düsseldorf Symphony, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Duisburg Philharmonic, Hannover State Orchestra of Lower Saxony, Bruckner Orchestra in Linz, Badische Staatskapelle in Karlsruhe, Bremen Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, Portuguese Symphony Orchestra in Lisbon, State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Buenos Aires Philharmonic, Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra and all of the major orchestras in Brazil. Ira Levin’s recordings include two CDs of works by the American composer Michael Colina with the London Symphony and Colina’s Requiem with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, all on the Fleur de Son and distributed by Naxos. The first studio recording of the 1899 first edition of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6 appeared on the Lindoro label. His recording of works by Reger with the Brandenburg State Symphony, including his orchestration of the Bach Variations and Fugue opus 81, appeared on the Naxos label in October 2020 to great critical acclaim.

His over 40 publications include over several transcriptions for piano and cadenzas to Mozart concertos in addition to orchestrations for large orchestra of Busoni’s monumental Fantasia Contrappuntistica, Liszt’s Fantasy and Fugue on BACH, Franck’s piano quintet, five works by Rachmaninoff, Reger’s Bach Variations opus 81, Respighi’s Violin Sonata in b-minor and Brahms Piano Sonata # 3 opus 5. All of these are published by Edition Tilli of Finland and the complete orchestrations are also appearing in study score format in the “Repertoire Explorer” series of the Munich publisher Jürgen Höflich.

An accomplished pianist, Ira Levin was the first-prize winner of the American National Chopin Competition in 1980. He continues to appear in recital and concert, often leading concertos from the keyboard as well, including works by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven as well as Brahms’s second concerto, which he played and conducted on very short notice after a major soloist cancelled. The first CD of his own piano transcriptions was released on the Lindoro label in 2007.

Booklet for Reger: Orchestral Works