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<Rudolf Kempe 115th Anniversary Commemorative Project>

Featuring Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, which makes full use of the rich sound of the Berlin Philharmonic at the time, and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra's vivid performance of “Fireworks Music from the Royal Banquet.”

World's first SACD release!

Newly remastered from the original analog master tapes in Germany for this release.

【Track List】Total time 70:48

1. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64

2. George Frideric Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks, HWV.351

【Performers】

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (1), Bamberg Symphony Orchestra (2)

Rudolf Kempe (conductor)

【Recording】

May 2-6, 1959, Grunewaldkirche, Berlin (1), May 1962, Kulturraum, Bamberg (2)

【Original Recordings】

Producers: Fritz Ganss (1), Fritz Ganss & Christfried Bickenbach (2), Balance Engineer: Horst Lindner

Original Label

Warner Classics (formerly EMI)

Tchaikovsky was recorded in May 1959, near the end of the period when Kempe and the Berlin Philharmonic were recording from the monaural era to the early days of stereo. This stereo recording is particularly notable for the rich sound of the orchestra at that time and Kempe's quick-witted conducting.

The sound quality evokes the former Berlin Philharmonic's tone, with a remarkable pyramid-like balance. However, the gradual changes in the orchestral texture's gradation reflect the evolving sound under Karajan's leadership.

The coupling features a rare recording of “Fireworks Music” with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, recorded in May 1962.

This is also a masterpiece that showcases Kemp's talent, with its solid sound.

Kemp recorded numerous works with the Berlin Philharmonic on the old EMI label from the 1950s to the 1960s, and these recordings are still highly regarded today.

During the same period, he gained popularity in the UK, leaving behind many recordings with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra until his later years.

Additionally, he produced seven albums of orchestral works with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra between 1958 and 1961 (five of which are available in a five-disc box set as TDSA210 in this series), which were highly popular.

His recordings with the Berlin Philharmonic for EMI concluded in January 1960 with Brahms' Symphony No. 3 and Tragic Overture, but he continued to leave behind historic masterpieces with orchestras such as the Munich Philharmonic and the Staatskapelle Dresden until his final years, as is well known.

The Definition Series has also featured many of Kempe's reissues.

His recordings with the Berlin Philharmonic include Beethoven's Eroica and Overture Collection, Symphonie fantastique, and R. Bogner-Strauß's Don Quixote, released in 2016, and most recently, Brahms:Violin Concerto, scheduled for release in 2022. Including these, we have reissued 12 recordings, mainly in stereo, and 8 recordings on other labels, for a total of 20 recordings on SACD hybrid discs.

This 1959 stereo recording of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, selected from among the unreleased EMI recordings with the Berlin Philharmonic, is one of Kemp's favorite pieces.

In addition to his main repertoire of German and Austrian works, Kemp often performed Slavic pieces, and his late live recording with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra is also available.

The recording with the Berlin Philharmonic, which flows smoothly at a leisurely tempo, is similar in interpretation to the aforementioned live performance, but its characteristic feature is a more substantial performance that makes the most of the orchestra's local color, which was still present at the time.

With many of the musicians who had played under Furtwängler leaving the orchestra and Karajan's style becoming more established, the sound of the orchestra changed to a brighter tone, losing the sound of the past.

Many listeners nostalgic for the sound of the orchestra under Kempff, and the fact that recordings at the Grünewald Church were no longer made, have made the EMI recordings from this period extremely rare.

The Handel piece on the coupling was released as a rare 10-inch LP with only this one track, making it a highly sought-after recording.

During the analog era, there were no records of it being released domestically, and even in the CD era, it was only quietly released on an import label by Electrola in Germany before being reissued on TESTAMENT's reissue CDs (finally released domestically in 2003 in a domestic edition).

Since then, it has not been reissued by the original EMI or Warner, making this a long-awaited reissue.

Additionally, recordings with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra include Smetana's “The Bartered Bride” (TDSA306), which was reissued by Oiro Disc and in January 2025 as part of this project. However, the circumstances surrounding the recording of “Music from the Royal Fireworks” with a German orchestra at the time are unclear.

The recording was made in May 1962 in Bamberg, the same location as the aforementioned “The Bartered Bride,” and it is believed to have been recorded simultaneously.

The performance showcases Kemp's characteristic ability to bring out the grandeur of the orchestra, making this a recording that is too good to be overlooked.

With this latest reissue, the excellence of the performance is now even more evident.

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