Schmidt: Symphony 2, Strauss R.: Intermezzo / Bychkov

The current revival of interest in Austrian composer Franz Schmidt – his Fourth is now recognized as one of the great symphonies of the 20th century – is about to receive a big boost with a new recording of his lesser-known Second Symphony on Sony Classical. It is performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, in which Schmidt himself played as a cellist, frequently under Gustav Mahler. This symphony, which has been in the Vienna Philharmonic's repertoire since 1914, is a "work of tremendous, immediate appeal and a compositional tour de force" (Gramophone Magazine).

Wiener Philharmoniker / Semyon Bychkov