The Spin Doctor Europadisc's Weekly Column

The Vienna-based Capriccio label has been going for over 40 years now. Originally a German company based near Cologne, its early recordings included a focus on early music (with some excellent Baroque vocal recordings by Das Kleine Konzert under Hermann Max), as well as neglected Austro-German works which have since become one of its most distinctive strengths. Financial difficulties led to the firm’s artistic director, Johannes Kernmayer, rescuing its back catalogue and relaunching the label in Austria. There, through a shrewd combination of re-releases and enterprising new repertoire, Capriccio has reestablished itself as one of the more interesting continental labels, now under the ownership of Klaus Heymann’s Naxos Music Group.

Capriccio’s particular strength is in the revival of neglected music from the first half of the 20th century. The works of Alexander Zemlinsky (including several of his otherwise unavailable operas, under conductors including Gerd Albrecht, Bertrand de Billy and Hans Graf) have long been a highlight. More recently they have been joined by the music of one of Zemlinsky’s most gifted pupils, Karl Weigl (1881–1949), who was much admired by such figures as Mahler, Schoenberg and Richard Strauss. In particular, an ongoing symphony cycle by the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz and Jürgen Bruns is shaping up to be a significant achievement, making a splendid case for Weigl’s rich, immersive yet accessibly tonal soundworld.

Another rolling series of discs is Capriccio’s Walter Braunfels Edition, which includes – alongside his engaging works based on the music of composers such as Mozart and Berlioz – some particularly impressive and sensitively-set songs. Braunfels’s output first came to wider public attention with the 1994 Decca recording of his opera Die Vögel (The Birds, after Aristophanes), but the Capriccio edition, with its striking cover art, affords the opportunity for a much more complete appraisal of his music.

While Capriccio’s championship of neglected composers has tended to focus on the Austro-German repertoire, among notable exceptions has been its restoration to the catalogue of a series of 1970s recordings of works by the Bulgarian Pancho Vladigerov (1899–1978) under the baton of his son, Alexander, with several also including the participation of the composer himself. These are particularly important additions to the catalogue, as Vladigerov is widely regarded as being Bulgaria’s leading composer, successfully combining classical and folk elements, just as Bartók and Janáček had done before him.

Other non-German highlights of the Capriccio list include an edition of the film music of Alfred Schnittke played by the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, and some widely admired Shostakovich recordings, including the complete symphonies from the Gürzenich Orchestra of Cologne under Dmitrij Kitajenko, and an attractive three-disc set of concertos, jazz and ballet suites. Ariane Matiakh has so far conducted two discs of music by the elusive French composer Charles Koechlin (1867–1950), with her account of the film-themed Seven Stars Symphony earning a place in our Top Ten releases of 2022 as well as a 5-star review from The Guardian’s Andrew Clements.

Alongside notable series of recordings of Dohnányi, Eisler and Henze, Capriccio has never neglected the core repertoire. Even here, however, it has achieved an edge over rival labels with its adventurous approach, and nowhere more so than in the critically successful ‘Complete Version Edition’ of the Bruckner symphonies, with Markus Poschner at the helm of the Bruckner Orchester Linz and the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. Extending to no fewer than 18 discs, those recordings are now available as a box set on Naxos, but anyone wanting to supplement their existing collections with, say, the 1872 version of the Second Symphony or the 1887 version of the Eighth will do well to investigate the individual releases, still available separately on Capriccio.

Among other highlights of the back catalogue, recordings documenting Neville Marriner’s years with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra are particularly treasured by collectors. And among the many releases of earlier repertoire, Hermann Max’s Telemann recordings with such soloists as Barbara Schlick and Klaus Mertens are well worth exploring, while Concerto Köln’s accounts of classical symphonies in the Sturm und Drang mould by Joseph Martin Kraus (currently part of a bargain five-disc set of his music) have long been a personal favourite.

With upcoming highlights including orchestral music by Miloslav Kabeláč under the expert direction of Jakub Hrůša, and all existing releases on special offer until midnight this Thursday, now is the ideal time to explore Capriccio’s extensive catalogue of recordings, whether you’re new to them or wanting to fill in gaps in your existing collection. Happy listening!
Weigl - Symphony no.3, Symphonic Prelude (Bruns) C5489
Braunfels - Selected Songs (Petersen, Jarnot) C5251
Vladigerov - Orchestral Works Vol.1 (Bulgarian National RSO) C8050
Shostakovich - Jazz Suites, Ballet Suites, Concertos C7460
Koechlin - Seven Stars Symphony (Matiakh) C5449
Kraus - Vocal, Orchestral & Chamber Works C7325
Kabeláč - Symphony no.2, Overtures (Hrůša) C5546