Louis Spohr Rso Berlin Fröhlich Violinkonzerte Nr. 2 & 5 (1999, Cpo # 999 067 2)

A devoted disciple of Falla, Ernesto Halffter (less avant-garde a composer than his older brother Rodolfo or his more famous nephew Cristobal) gave up so much of his time and energy to the colossal task of making sense of, and completing, his mentor’s Atlantida that his own output remained modest, consisting chiefly of a chamber opera, ballets, concertos for violin and for guitar, and a handful of other works. The first of his Esquisses symphoniques (written before he was 20), the exuberant “Chanson du lanternier”, is heavily indebted to early Stravinsky: more individual (though with Debussian overtones) and very impressive both for its orchestral writing and its eloquence, is the second, “Paysage mort”. But it was his sizeable Sinfonietta, completed shortly afterwards in 1925, which really attracted attention at home and abroad. There have been three or four previous recordings of it (including the very last recording – on Spanish Columbia – made by the conductor Ataulfo Argenta), but none are currently in the catalogue.

Richard Wetz (1875 — 1935) was a provincial composer in the truest sense of the word, comfortably writing music in the accepted German forms, using recognizably German/Austrian melodic material, and scoring with typically German conservatism. His Second Symphony was completed in 1919, but could have been written anytime between 1880 and the early 1930s. It sounds a lot like Bruckner, Mendelssohn, Brahms and Wagner, and the most interesting thing about it is the fact that it does not include a Scherzo, but rather has two large quick(-ish) movements surrounding a brief adagio.

Richard Wetz (1875 — 1935) was a provincial composer in the truest sense of the word, comfortably writing music in the accepted German forms, using recognizably German/Austrian melodic material, and scoring with typically German conservatism. His Second Symphony was completed in 1919, but could have been written anytime between 1880 and the early 1930s. It sounds a lot like Bruckner, Mendelssohn, Brahms and Wagner, and the most interesting thing about it is the fact that it does not include a Scherzo, but rather has two large quick(-ish) movements surrounding a brief adagio.

Richard Wetz (1875 — 1935) was a provincial composer in the truest sense of the word, comfortably writing music in the accepted German forms, using recognizably German/Austrian melodic material, and scoring with typically German conservatism. His Second Symphony was completed in 1919, but could have been written anytime between 1880 and the early 1930s. It sounds a lot like Bruckner, Mendelssohn, Brahms and Wagner, and the most interesting thing about it is the fact that it does not include a Scherzo, but rather has two large quick(-ish) movements surrounding a brief adagio.

Our collection of previously unknown Christmas oratorios is growing impressively and happily. After Joseph Eybler in October, I can even announce two trouvailles for this month. There is the Christmas Oratorio by Carl Heinrich Graun (1703-1759), the conductor of Frederick the Great. It was only recently found in Washington. A precise dating is not yet possible, but it certainly arose in Graun's pre-Berlin time in Dresden or Braunschweig. However, it is a masterpiece on the threshold of a sensitive style. The well-balanced alternation of melodically accented and contrapuntally rigorous choral movements, of soulful, colorfully orchestrated arias and harmoniously far-reaching recitatives is particularly impressive.

Franz Lehár was known as “the last waltz king”, so it’s not surprising that his works in the medium bear similarities to those of the Strausses, qualities most readily heard in the suave, luxuriously appointed Wild Roses (or “Valse Boston”). However, Lehár also was a strongly original voice whose harmonic and textural experiments resulted in the striking Debussyian whole-tone scales toward the end of Altwiener Liebeswalzer (“Old Vienna Love Waltz”), or the Wagnerian snarling horns at the start of the Grützner Waltz.

Franz Lehár was known as “the last waltz king”, so it’s not surprising that his works in the medium bear similarities to those of the Strausses, qualities most readily heard in the suave, luxuriously appointed Wild Roses (or “Valse Boston”). However, Lehár also was a strongly original voice whose harmonic and textural experiments resulted in the striking Debussyian whole-tone scales toward the end of Altwiener Liebeswalzer (“Old Vienna Love Waltz”), or the Wagnerian snarling horns at the start of the Grützner Waltz.

For more than 25 years Ignaz Holzbauer (1711-83) was the music director of the Court of Mannheim. Although his fame (and his appointment to his prestigious position) was the result of his operas, he also composed more than 205 symphonies and concertos of different kinds, most of which have been lost. The present release offers an interesting sampling of Holzbauer's large output. The Symphony in D major is in the style of early Haydn, yet features innovative compositional techniques–specifically tempo and key relationships–that anticipate Mozart's late symphonic works.

This delightful disc of Viennese fluff contains some marvelous tunes, plenty of enticing waltz music, and heaps of what Gerard Hoffnung referred to in one memorable sketch as “flagellated cream”. The outstanding items are: Zigeunerfest, a ballet scene that doesn’t sound especially Gypsy-like (but who cares?); the extensive and really cute ballet music from the children’s play Peter and Paul in Schlaraffenland; A Tale from 1001 Nights that’s about as far from Rimsky-Korsakov as you can be while remaining on the same planet; the echt-Viennese Suite de Danse; and finally, an imaginatively scored if only marginally oriental-sounding Chinese Ballet Suite.

This delightful disc of Viennese fluff contains some marvelous tunes, plenty of enticing waltz music, and heaps of what Gerard Hoffnung referred to in one memorable sketch as “flagellated cream”. The outstanding items are: Zigeunerfest, a ballet scene that doesn’t sound especially Gypsy-like (but who cares?); the extensive and really cute ballet music from the children’s play Peter and Paul in Schlaraffenland; A Tale from 1001 Nights that’s about as far from Rimsky-Korsakov as you can be while remaining on the same planet; the echt-Viennese Suite de Danse; and finally, an imaginatively scored if only marginally oriental-sounding Chinese Ballet Suite.