Paul Graener: Wiener Sinfonie, Die Flöte von Sanssouci...

All four works on this CD comes from Graener later period, which started around 1930 with the suite 'Die Flüte von Sancouci' This suite was to prove to be Graener most popular orchestral piece.
It is both remarkable and revealing - bearing in mind the background of the war in April 44, the bombing in Berlin and the need to flee from the city that Graener chose to base his last completed work on this particular German folk song from 1793 - Enjoy your life. This choice indicates an unbroken optimism that comes from Graener's unwaveringly positive attitude to life. The call to 'enjoy your life' is thus both a motto and an exhortation. Moreover, the final rondo is a symbol of the composer's gratitude to Wilhelm Zimmermann, who helped Graener financially.