Franz von Suppé Requiem in D minor by Von Suppé, De la (2021/2021), Dirijor Sascha Goetzel, Filharmonia Krakowska, Krakow, Poland

Franz von Suppé is remembered mostly as a composer of overtures and operettas (he penned 31 of them!). In fact, the premiere date of one of them, Das Pensionat, is considered as the birthday of Viennese operetta (24 November 1860). Yet, he also composed a good deal of religious music. He wrote his Requiem 1855 to commemorate Franz Pokorny, the theatre manager for whom he composed his early theatrical music. The Kraków Philharmonic reaches for this work, rarely performed nevertheless fascinating thanks to the use of the choir and rich, ingenious instrumentation and enlivened by Suppé's typically gorgeous melodies. Lidia Sosnowska – soprano Joanna Święszek-Przeliorz – alto Tomasz Świerczek – tenor Wojciech Tabiś – bass Kraków Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra Piotr Piwko – choirmaster Sascha Goetzel – conductor