đ Up to 70% Off Selected ItemsShop Sale
1 / 2
Georg Schumann: Symphony In B Minor; Serenade, Op. 34 / Gedschold, Munich Radio Symphony
G. SCHUMANN Symphony in b. Serenade for Large Orchestra, Op. 34 ⢠Christoph Gedschold, cond; Munich RO ⢠CPO 777464 (73:32)
Having struck pay dirt with another of its exhumations, Georg Schumannâsee review of his piano trios in 35: 5âCPO, label of the Long Lost Composers Societyâhere resurrects Schumannâs Symphony in B Minor and his Serenade, op. 34. Georg Alfred Schumann (1866â1952) is yet another composer that can be added to the list of blue-ribbon winners produced under Carl Reineckeâs tutelage at the Leipzig Conservatory, and the term âblue-ribbonâ is not used metaphorically. In 1886, still a student at the conservatory, Schumann composed this B-Minor Symphony, and when he entered it in an orchestral composition competition two years later it took first prize out of 57 entries. Itâs doubtful that the award so swelled his head that he actually appended the subtitle, âPrize-winning Symphonyâ to his score, but CPO does, treating it as if it were a cognomen like âPathĂŠtiqueâ or âThe Inextinguishable.â âOh, have you heard my Symphony in B Minor, the âPrize-winning?ââ
Schumannâs symphony lends itself to easy description; itâs the Sixth Symphony Mendelssohn might have written had he lived. No disparagement is meant by that. Mendelssohn is the scoreâs model and its main influence; as much is admitted by the liner note. Even though Mendelssohn was long dead by the time Georg Schumann came to compose his symphony, itâs no surprise that the young composer would pay tribute to the deceased master. Itâs both a reflection of Schumannâs youth and the conservative musical training and values fostered by Reinecke and the Leipzig Conservatory, not to mention the reverence accorded Mendelssohn in the very halls of the conservatory he had founded.
While thereâs little originality in its pages, Schumannâs symphony is a beautifully written score; its four conventionally laid out movements are filled with tuneful melodies and a mastery of harmony, counterpoint, and orchestration that confirm it as a composition of consummate craft, if not necessarily one of great art. Certainly it can give pleasure and be appreciated by anyone who enjoys mid-19-century Romantic period orchestral works.
The Serenade for Large Orchestra, written around the turn of the centuryâit was premiered in 1902âis, unsurprisingly, more venturesome in style and musical vocabulary. Itâs also unusual in that while more or less adhering to the formal layout of a serenade, the piece is actually a tone poem in five movements, each movement depicting a tableau in the tale of a rejected lover. But if this leads you to expect music of a forlorn, downcast mien, youâre in for a surprise. Schumannâs model now seems to be Richard Straussâs tone poems. The score is filled with what Schumann describes as âopponentsâ and âridiculersâ who chirp and chatter away apparently scolding and mocking the lover for whatever he did that got him booted out of the boudoir. The musical effect is not dissimilar to, though nowhere near as barbed as the carping critics in, Straussâs Ein Heldenleben . Schumann was probably familiar with Straussâs tone poems, but neither his talent nor his ambition rose to Straussâs levels of orchestral extravagance and exhibitionism.
Christoph Gedschold leads the Munich Radio Orchestra in convincing performances. I wouldnât call either the symphony or the serenade a deathless masterpiece, but if youâve grown a bit jaded listening to the same Romantic period symphonies and tone poems over and over again, here are two new additions to the recorded repertoire that will temporarily relieve your boredom. Recommended.
FANFARE: Jerry Dubins
G. SCHUMANN Symphony in b. Serenade for Large Orchestra, Op. 34 ⢠Christoph Gedschold, cond; Munich RO ⢠CPO 777464 (73:32)
Having struck pay dirt with another of its exhumations, Georg Schumannâsee review of his piano trios in 35: 5âCPO, label of the Long Lost Composers Societyâhere resurrects Schumannâs Symphony in B Minor and his Serenade, op. 34. Georg Alfred Schumann (1866â1952) is yet another composer that can be added to the list of blue-ribbon winners produced under Carl Reineckeâs tutelage at the Leipzig Conservatory, and the term âblue-ribbonâ is not used metaphorically. In 1886, still a student at the conservatory, Schumann composed this B-Minor Symphony, and when he entered it in an orchestral composition competition two years later it took first prize out of 57 entries. Itâs doubtful that the award so swelled his head that he actually appended the subtitle, âPrize-winning Symphonyâ to his score, but CPO does, treating it as if it were a cognomen like âPathĂŠtiqueâ or âThe Inextinguishable.â âOh, have you heard my Symphony in B Minor, the âPrize-winning?ââ
Schumannâs symphony lends itself to easy description; itâs the Sixth Symphony Mendelssohn might have written had he lived. No disparagement is meant by that. Mendelssohn is the scoreâs model and its main influence; as much is admitted by the liner note. Even though Mendelssohn was long dead by the time Georg Schumann came to compose his symphony, itâs no surprise that the young composer would pay tribute to the deceased master. Itâs both a reflection of Schumannâs youth and the conservative musical training and values fostered by Reinecke and the Leipzig Conservatory, not to mention the reverence accorded Mendelssohn in the very halls of the conservatory he had founded.
While thereâs little originality in its pages, Schumannâs symphony is a beautifully written score; its four conventionally laid out movements are filled with tuneful melodies and a mastery of harmony, counterpoint, and orchestration that confirm it as a composition of consummate craft, if not necessarily one of great art. Certainly it can give pleasure and be appreciated by anyone who enjoys mid-19-century Romantic period orchestral works.
The Serenade for Large Orchestra, written around the turn of the centuryâit was premiered in 1902âis, unsurprisingly, more venturesome in style and musical vocabulary. Itâs also unusual in that while more or less adhering to the formal layout of a serenade, the piece is actually a tone poem in five movements, each movement depicting a tableau in the tale of a rejected lover. But if this leads you to expect music of a forlorn, downcast mien, youâre in for a surprise. Schumannâs model now seems to be Richard Straussâs tone poems. The score is filled with what Schumann describes as âopponentsâ and âridiculersâ who chirp and chatter away apparently scolding and mocking the lover for whatever he did that got him booted out of the boudoir. The musical effect is not dissimilar to, though nowhere near as barbed as the carping critics in, Straussâs Ein Heldenleben . Schumann was probably familiar with Straussâs tone poems, but neither his talent nor his ambition rose to Straussâs levels of orchestral extravagance and exhibitionism.
Christoph Gedschold leads the Munich Radio Orchestra in convincing performances. I wouldnât call either the symphony or the serenade a deathless masterpiece, but if youâve grown a bit jaded listening to the same Romantic period symphonies and tone poems over and over again, here are two new additions to the recorded repertoire that will temporarily relieve your boredom. Recommended.
FANFARE: Jerry Dubins
$18.99
Georg Schumann: Symphony In B Minor; Serenade, Op. 34 / Gedschold, Munich Radio Symphonyâ
$18.99
Description
G. SCHUMANN Symphony in b. Serenade for Large Orchestra, Op. 34 ⢠Christoph Gedschold, cond; Munich RO ⢠CPO 777464 (73:32)
Having struck pay dirt with another of its exhumations, Georg Schumannâsee review of his piano trios in 35: 5âCPO, label of the Long Lost Composers Societyâhere resurrects Schumannâs Symphony in B Minor and his Serenade, op. 34. Georg Alfred Schumann (1866â1952) is yet another composer that can be added to the list of blue-ribbon winners produced under Carl Reineckeâs tutelage at the Leipzig Conservatory, and the term âblue-ribbonâ is not used metaphorically. In 1886, still a student at the conservatory, Schumann composed this B-Minor Symphony, and when he entered it in an orchestral composition competition two years later it took first prize out of 57 entries. Itâs doubtful that the award so swelled his head that he actually appended the subtitle, âPrize-winning Symphonyâ to his score, but CPO does, treating it as if it were a cognomen like âPathĂŠtiqueâ or âThe Inextinguishable.â âOh, have you heard my Symphony in B Minor, the âPrize-winning?ââ
Schumannâs symphony lends itself to easy description; itâs the Sixth Symphony Mendelssohn might have written had he lived. No disparagement is meant by that. Mendelssohn is the scoreâs model and its main influence; as much is admitted by the liner note. Even though Mendelssohn was long dead by the time Georg Schumann came to compose his symphony, itâs no surprise that the young composer would pay tribute to the deceased master. Itâs both a reflection of Schumannâs youth and the conservative musical training and values fostered by Reinecke and the Leipzig Conservatory, not to mention the reverence accorded Mendelssohn in the very halls of the conservatory he had founded.
While thereâs little originality in its pages, Schumannâs symphony is a beautifully written score; its four conventionally laid out movements are filled with tuneful melodies and a mastery of harmony, counterpoint, and orchestration that confirm it as a composition of consummate craft, if not necessarily one of great art. Certainly it can give pleasure and be appreciated by anyone who enjoys mid-19-century Romantic period orchestral works.
The Serenade for Large Orchestra, written around the turn of the centuryâit was premiered in 1902âis, unsurprisingly, more venturesome in style and musical vocabulary. Itâs also unusual in that while more or less adhering to the formal layout of a serenade, the piece is actually a tone poem in five movements, each movement depicting a tableau in the tale of a rejected lover. But if this leads you to expect music of a forlorn, downcast mien, youâre in for a surprise. Schumannâs model now seems to be Richard Straussâs tone poems. The score is filled with what Schumann describes as âopponentsâ and âridiculersâ who chirp and chatter away apparently scolding and mocking the lover for whatever he did that got him booted out of the boudoir. The musical effect is not dissimilar to, though nowhere near as barbed as the carping critics in, Straussâs Ein Heldenleben . Schumann was probably familiar with Straussâs tone poems, but neither his talent nor his ambition rose to Straussâs levels of orchestral extravagance and exhibitionism.
Christoph Gedschold leads the Munich Radio Orchestra in convincing performances. I wouldnât call either the symphony or the serenade a deathless masterpiece, but if youâve grown a bit jaded listening to the same Romantic period symphonies and tone poems over and over again, here are two new additions to the recorded repertoire that will temporarily relieve your boredom. Recommended.
FANFARE: Jerry Dubins
