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Symphonic Music

Alfredo Casella
(1883-1947)

Symphony #3, Op. 63 (1939-40)
Italia-Rhapsody for Large Orchestra, Op. 11 (1909)

WDR Symphony Orchestra, Köln/Alun Francis
CPO 777265 66:28

Casella's third symphony shows a number of influences, not least of them Mahler and Soviet composers of the time. Part of the last movement sounds remarkably like Piston's 6^th symphony, but was written about fifteen years earlier – at least it's a point of comparison. Italia is, as you might think, a much more lighthearted affair, and contains some of the expected themes.

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[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Eduard Franck
(1817-1893)

Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 57 (1860)
Symphony in B Flat Major, Op. 52 (1856)

Christiane Edinger, violin
Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra/Hans-Peter Frank
Audite 20.034 60:04

Eduard Franck was a German composer who was unrelated to the Belgian César Franck. The concerto has many similarities to Beethoven's, and the symphony has more than a trace of Mendelssohn and Schumann. Both works make an enjoyable change from some perhaps too familiar works of the period. The same artists perform the Violin Concerto, Op. 30, and the Symphony in A Major, Op. 47, on a Fermate CD (FER20025) which appears to have been deleted but which some web searching might find.

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Geoffrey Bush
(1920-1998)

Overture "Yorick" (1949) ¹
Music for Orchestra (1967) ²
Symphony #1 (1954) ³
Symphony #2 "The Guildford" (1957) ⁴

¹ New Philharmonia Orchestra/Vernon Handley
² London Philharmonic Orchestra/Vernon Handley
³ London Symphony Orchestra/Nicholas Braithwaite
⁴ Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Barry Wordsworth
Lyrita SRCD.252 79:07

This CD of works by the English composer Geoffrey Bush, not to be confused with Alan Bush or William Busch, contains his only two symphonies. There are strong similarities to the music of Walton in terms of rhythm, and there are also traces of Elgar and Arnold. Music for Orchestra has more austere orchestration. The disc demonstrates the excellent engineering that is typical of the label.

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Frederick Delius
(1862-1934)

Florida Suite (1887-89)
Over the Hills and Far Away (1895-7)
Idylle de Printemps (1889)
La Quadroöne (1889)
Scherzo (1890)
Final Scene from Koanga (1895-7) ¹

¹ Susannah Glanville, Susan Lees & Irene Evans, sopranos
¹ Sandra Francis, Sue Pearce & Shirley Thomas, mezzo-sopranos
English Northern Philarmonia/David Lloyd-Jones
Naxos 8.553535 79:05

The first two works on this CD are well enough known but these may well be the only recordings of most of the others. The Florida Suite was inspired by Delius' experience with an orange plantation. None of the latter works runs more than about ten minutes but all are worth hearing, especially on a budget-priced and well-filled CD.

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[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Niels Gade
(1817-1890)

Symphony #1 "Paa Sjølunds fagre sletter" in C Minor, Op. 5 (1844)
Symphony #8 in B Minor, Op. 47 (1869-71)

Stockholm Sinfonietta/Neeme Järvi
BIS CD-339 58:08

The Danish composer Gade's eight symphonies have quite a lot in common with those of Mendelssohn. Despite the fact that they were written over a period of 25 years, they are stylistically very similar. All have been recorded for BIS, and there are other versions on Da Capo and Chandos.

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[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Vítězslav Novák
(1870-1949)

Lady Godiva, Overture, Op. 41 (1907)
Toman and the Wood Nymph, Op. 40 (1906-7)
De Profundis, Op. 67 (1941)

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra/Libor Pešek
Chandos CHAN9821 66:22

Novák is one of the less well-known Czech composers and his reputation rests largely on symphonic poems, orchestral suites and a handful of chamber music. This CD offers an overture and two symphonic poems which are infrequently recorded. The music is powerful and dramatic, and will appeal to anyone who likes Richard Strauss' symphonic poems or Gustav Mahler's symphonies.

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[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Cornelis Dopper
(1870-1939)

Symphony #2 in B Minor (1903)
Päân I
Päân II

Residentie Orchestra, The Hague/Matthias Bamert
Chandos CHAN9884 65:08

The Dutch composer Dopper wrote seven symphonies, some of which lack recordings. This CD is part of a short series on Chandos devoted to Dutch composers, and includes symphonies by Hol and Vermoolen. The second symphony has strong similarities to Brahms and also to Stanford; its second movement has more than a touch of Irishness about it.

The two paeans, written during World War I, are variously heroic and serious. Dopper's third and sixth symphonies are on Chandos CHAN9923, and his seventh on NM Classics NM92060.

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Johann Wilhelm Wilms
(1772-1847)

Symphony #1 in C Major, Op. 9 (1806)
Overture in D Major (1829)
Symphony #4 in C Minor, Op. 23 (1807)

North German Radio Philharmonic/Howard Griffiths
CPO 777209-2 65:13

Although born in Germany, Wilms settled in Amsterdam very early in his career and like Röntgen, became a significant part of Dutch musical life. The influences of Haydn and Beethoven are clear and the jaded collector falls gratefully on releases such as this, a source of interesting and highly enjoyable music given first-rate performances. Other Wilms symphonies have been recorded by Archiv (474508-2) and Challenge Classics (CC72147).

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Ottorino Respighi
(1879-1936)

Ballet Suite "Belkis, Queen of Sheba", P. 177 (1934)
Metamorphoseon, P. 169 (1930)

Philharmonia Orchestra/Geoffrey Simon
Chandos CHAN8405 48:05

Some of the ballet suite sounds appropriate to a 1950s Biblical movie, while Metamorphoseon, a theme and variations, has a very similar mood to the composer's Church Windows. Both works are lushly orchestrated and appropriate for when you feel like something that's a bit over the top: certainly, the music will give your speakers a workout!

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[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Xaver Schnyder von Wartensee
(1786-1868)

Overture in C minor (1818)
Symphony #3 "Militärsinfonie" in B Flat Major (1850)

Württemberg Philharmonie Reutlingen/Christopher Fifield
Sterling CDS1073-2 53:22

This Swiss composer's third symphony has some affinity with Haydn's Military Symphony, some of the same sudden moves in unexpected directions used by Berwald, a little of Berlioz's style, and some unusual techniques. Christopher Fifield has made a number of recordings for Sterling, all of unfamiliar music, and makes a very persuasive case for Schnyder's music. To my knowledge, none of his other four symphonies has been recorded.

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