Chandos
2006
Christian Cannabich: Symphonies
About This Album
To the uninitiated, the name Christian Cannabich may seem to indicate some kind of Jesus-friendly herbal substance. However, to those in the know, Cannabich was one of the guiding lights of the eighteenth century Mannheim School and a pioneer of the symphony. Cannabich composed about 80 symphonies and was a friend of Wolfgang Mozart, who openly expressed his admiration for Cannabich's skills as a conductor. Therefore, it certainly makes sense that Chandos should include a disc of five of Cannabich's symphonies in its fine, long-running series Contemporaries of Mozart.

It really shouldn't comes as a surprise that conductor Matthias Bamert is so skillful in leading period ensembles, as he has already made so many recordings of this kind apart from his work with modern orchestras. "Regular" conductors aren't supposed to be quite so good with such groups, and Bamert gets just the right results with the London Mozart Players -- these performances are rhythmically crisp, energetic, and elegant. While there are no stormy, minor-key works here in the manner of Mozart's Symphony No. 25 or Vanhal's D minor efforts, there are some rather dramatic and striking opening movements among the five symphonies here, particularly in the works in E flat major and in C major.
Track List

Symphony In G Major
1.
2.
3.
4.
Symphony In A Major
5.
6.
7.
Symphony No. 57 In E Flat Major
8.
9.
10.
Symphony No. 22 In C Major
11.
12.
13.
Symphony In D Major
14.
15.
16.