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   Symphonies

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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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 ]

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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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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Philippe Gaubert
(1879-1941)

Symphony in F Major (1935-6)
Les chants de la mer (1929)
Concerto in F Major (1932)

Luxembourg Phiharmonic Orchestra/Marc Soustrot
Timpani 1C1135 70:16

Yet another minor French composer emerges from the orchestral mist. The symphony begins much like Magnard's 3^rd but generally other models emerge, the orchestration reminiscent of Dukas' symphony but especially Debussy. The Luxembourg orchestra acquits itself very well and presents unfamiliar music in the best light.

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

Felix Draeseke
(1835-1913)

Symphony #1 in G Major, Op. 12 (1873)
Symphony #4 "Symphonia Comica" in E minor, WoO 38 (1912)
Overture "Gudrun" (1884)

North German Radio Philharmonic/Jörg-Peter Weigle
CPO 999746-2 68:58

Strongly echoing the symphonies of Schumann, Draeseke's well-crafted symphonies provide more evidence that there is still plenty of excellent music awaiting discovery. CPO has recorded the other two symphonies (999719-2 & 999581-2), and there are competing versions on MD&G, which include a piano concerto (MDG3350929-2 & MDG3351041-2).

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

Josef Myslivecek
(1737-1781)

Sinfonia in C Major, Op. 1 #3
Sinfonia in D Major, Op. 1 #6

Jan Adam Gallina
(1724-1773)

Sinfonia in E Flat Major

Jan Vent
(1745-1801)

Sinfonia in E Flat Major

Josef Bárta
(1744-1787)

Sinfonia in F Minor

Josef Fiala
(1748-1816)

Sinfonia in F Major

Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra/Vojtech Spurný
Alto ALC1014 72:00

Except for the Myslivecek sinfonias, the others are first recordings and for all I know, might be first recordings of any of those composers' music. This CD again illustrates, as if such were needed, the number of interesting Bohemian composers who were working in the eighteenth century. These are no pale imitations of Mannheim school compositions but have flair and originality in great measure, helped by strong and vibrant performances. This is Volume 4 in the series (Vol 1: ALC1001; Vol 2: ALC1002; Vol 3: ALC1003). Tracks from the earlier CDs are available as downloads from Amazon and possibly elsewhere.

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