Tabakov: Complete Symphonies Vol. 4

Emil Tabakov is a multifaceted artist: He has long been in demand as a conductor, releasing albums with labels such as NAXOS, Capriccio, and DECCA, and working with Elizabeth Joy Roe (known for the piano duo Anderson & Roe) as well as Idil Biret. His timelessly inspiring Mahler cycle, recorded with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra under his direction for the Capriccio label, took the international music press by storm in the early 2000s and remains highly regarded by many Mahler fans. Emil Tabakov is now also fully established, and particularly distinguished, as a composer. His music has a clearly recognizable lineage, rooted especially in Shostakovich’s symphonic tradition, yet it also clearly belongs to the here and now. How Tabakov embraces avant-garde trends as a composer while also professing a commitment to symphonic music of late-Romantic mould is interesting and remarkable every time. This composer is an eminently original voice in the great, worldwide symphonic concert, and he is a master of his craft. The British discovery label Toccata has been releasing all of Emil Tabakov’s symphonies conducted by the composer since 2016. Each symphony is paired with another work from Tabakov’s catalogue. On volume 4 of the series, we hear the dramatic Symphony No. 4 from 2000 alongside the unusual double bass concerto that Tabakov composed in 1975. Tabakov’s Symphony No. 4 could best be placed under the theme of “dialogue and controversy”: the orchestra as a musical reflection of society, and perhaps also as an inner reflection of the composer. Overt? Yes, that criticism must be conceded. But also highly, highly entertaining and full of surprises!