The 18th of April marks the 205^th anniversary since Franz von Suppé's birth, an Austrian composer who is known in the history of music for his numerous operas. In addition to these, he also composed orchestral works in an authentic Romantic style, with elegant and sentimental pieces, dense harmonic structures and vigorous rhythms.

Some of Franz von Suppe's orchestral works are included on an album recorded in October 2022 at the Auditorium in Grafenegg and released on the 12^th of January 2024 at Naxos. Printed by the Tonkünstler Orchestra of Austria, the CD includes overtures as well as a symphonic score that has never been recorded before - the Fantasia Symphonica created in the mid-19^th century and recently rediscovered in the Viennese archives by conductor Ola Rudner. The work is characterised by complex orchestrations, distinctive melodic lines and contrapuntal mastery. Adagio non troppo, Andante con moto, Allegro scherzoso and Allegro ma non troppo are the four parts of these symphonic pieces composed by Franz von Suppé in 1859, performed admirably by the Tonkünstler Orchestra.

At the conductor's rostrum- Ola Rudner, a 70-year-old Swedish musician who began his career as a violinist and has held the post of concertmaster of prestigious Austrian ensembles such as Camerata Salzburg, Volksoper Wien and the Symphonic Orchestra in Vienna. In 1995 he founded the Philharmonia Wien ensemble in the Austrian capital and has conducted orchestras in Europe, South America and Asia, having concerts in important cultural centres around the world.