Cláudio Santoro’s prolific output includes a cycle of 14 symphonies that is widely recognised as the most significant of its kind from Brazil. All of the works in this programme come from Santoro’s remarkable final decade, in which he allied more traditional and eclectic styles to his earlier experiments. Both the Concerto Grosso and the Three Fragments on BACH were written for student orchestras, but are nonetheless substantial pieces which show his command of writing for strings. The Eleventh Symphony is one of the densest and most dramatic of the cycle, its finale exploding into an evocation of the opening of Brahms’s First Symphony, while the Twelfth Symphony is an unusual ‘sinfonia concertante’ for nine soloists and orchestra.

Cláudio Santoro has yet to become a household name outside his native Brazil, but he is internationally recognised as one of that country’s most eminent and influential composers. These world-premiere recordings of the Eleventh and Twelfth Symphonies are part of a first complete edition of Santoro’s cycle of 14 symphonies. This release follows on from the recording of Santoro’s Symphonies nos. 5 and 7, also with the Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Neil Thomson (8574402) and released in March 2022.

The previous album has already received much admiration in the press: ‘The performances by the Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra under its principal conductor Neil Thomson are first-class, as is the quality of the recording’ (Gramophone).

These world-premiere symphonic recordings are supplemented here with two further significant works. The Concerto Grosso for string quartet and string orchestra blends attractive lyricism with the use of tone clusters and aleatoric elements reminiscent of Santoro’s earlier works, while the Three Fragments on BACH was written to celebrate J.S. Bach’s 300th anniversary in 1985, integrating Bach’s own famous B-A-C-H motif throughout the entire piece. This work’s approachability can be accounted for by its origins as a commission for youth orchestra, but of its kind it is an unusually intricate and sophisticated piece. The Twelfth Symphony is based on another work, Fantasias Sul América, which will be included in a future volume of the series.