Louis Spohr: Symphonien Nr.4 & 5 auf CD

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In this second volume of Spohr’s symphonies, Howard Shelley and the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana continue their exploration of this enjoyable and little-known repertoire. Formerly one of the most significant personalities in nineteenth-century German music, Spohr’s symphonies were as popular as those of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven until he fell from fashion in the later part of the nineteenth century. Symphony No 4 was quickly acclaimed as the composer’s symphonic masterpiece after its first performance. It is a forward-looking, programmatic work based on a poem by Carl Pfeiffer, ‘The Consecration of Sounds’. Unusually, it features a slow finale, and in this way was an important example to future composers including Tchaikovsky and Mahler. Symphony No 5 is a deeply felt work, pouring out pent-up emotions from dramatic events in the composer’s life at the time of writing with real expressive power. The disc also features the overture to a cantata Das befreite Deutschland (‘Germany liberated’), composed following Napoleon’s disastrous defeat at the battle of Leipzig in October 1813.

Rezensionen

'Shelley's triumphant achievement … Expert engineering and highly informative notes complete a handsome presentation that suggests this will be a landmark cycle in the burgeoning recorded legacy of Louis Spohr' (American Record Guide)

'Spohr the symphonist repays the attention this disc merits; his programmatic fourth symphony features a slow finale that set a precedent for Tchaikovsky and Mahler, while Shelley and his fine Italian players capture the expressive power of the turbulent fifth' (Observer)

'The Fifth Symphony … carries a weightier burden of grief in the wake of some personal losses … especially in the Larghetto, a dark movement beautifully scored with low strings and sombre brass … Howard Shelley and his orchestra give it a fresh and vivid performance' (International Record Review)

'Here is a follow-up to the recording of Louis Spohr's first two symphonies that I praised last October … There's a lovely anticipation of 'Forest Murmurs' from Wagner's Siegfired; similarly, the Larghetto of Symphony No 5 might put you in mind of Mendelssohn's Scotch Symphony. Shelley gets both delicacy and passion from the excellent orchestra' (Classic FM Magazine)