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In 2017, Croatian conductor Ivan Repusic succeeded Ulf Schirmer as chief conductor of the Munich Radio Orchestra. In this role, he made his cpo debut in 2023 with works by the Swedish composer Gunnar de Frumerie. Now, at the helm of "his" orchestra, he is devoting himself to one of those classics that take second place to the undisputed masters of the era: Johann Wilhelm Wilms (1772-1847), who gained renown in Amsterdam as a composer, organist, and flutist. Two years younger than Beethoven, he was a devoted admirer of Joseph Haydn, whose spirit imparted a peculiar flair even to Wilms' later symphonies. The dramatic tone, which also characterizes long stretches of his overtures, never turns into something fatal and inevitable - and precisely, this balancing act gives the music of the man from Leichlingen in the Bergisch-Gladbach district it's unique charm.