Gernsheim cello and piano concertos

[eschiss1]

Oh, neat!!

[Alan Howe]

Neat indeed!

[JanOscar]

Alan, your introduction some 15 years back was spot on. I absolutely love it.

[terry martyn]

I was ,up until now, thinking that the Venetian Ambassador's remark "If Death came from Spain, we would live for ever" was only too apposite when it came to this recording.

So,it is all the more welcome that cpo have finally managed to outrun my expectation that I would never live to see the fruits of Triendl's labour.

[Ilja]

I've taken some time today listening to this recording. I remember that a few years ago Gernsheim's piano concerto, Urspruch's concerto and the one by Rufinatscha became available in the same week, either through a commercial release or on Youtube. Back then I felt that the Rufinatscha was something of a disappointment, but the Gernsheim and particularly the Urspruch were very good works indeed. Thankfully, this release of the Gernsheim is even better than the one that appeared on Youtube back then (which also featured Oliver Triendl, but with the Nürnberger Symphoniker conducted by Radislaw Szulc). Triendl is as reliable as ever, but the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz seems to be more engaged than the Nürnbergers, and the sound is also better. It's a gorgeous piece, even if it's not quite of the same level and personality as Gernsheim's mature works.

The two other pieces on the CD are known from earlier recordings and here the results are more mixed. Hülshoff and Bäumer's approach to the cello concerto is quite different from Gerhardt and Lintu's. While the latter emphasized the rhapsodic, Konzertstück-like aspect of the piece, the former seem to approach it more like a "true" concerto, giving a definite lyrical treatment. I'm not sure yet which I like more, but it's good to have two somewhat contrasting visions of the piece regardless.

For me, Zu einem Drama is Gernsheim's orchestral masterpiece, but unfortunately this is where I feel Bäumer lets us down somewhat. His version is almost two minutes slower than the older Arp recording and it's difficult to justify that extra time. The problem is mainly one of articulation, and the sonics don't help: at times the playing feels labored by comparison, and the dynamic passages can get outright mushy. Compare Bäumer (5:10) to Arp (4:43), for instance.

By the way, Zu einem Drama is divided into three parts here; no doubt a consequence of Youtube's, Spotify's and others' renumberation per individual stream. Be prepared to see future releases get divided into micro-sections.

[tuatara442442]

I remember that a few years ago Gernsheim's piano concerto, Urspruch's concerto and the one by Rufinatscha became available in the same week, either through a commercial release or on Youtube. Back then I felt that the Rufinatscha was something of a disappointment, but the Gernsheim and particularly the Urspruch were very good works indeed.

The YT uploads of Gernsheim and Rufinatscha PCs somehow made me memorize them in pairs. In reverse I preferred the Rufinatscha PC for its better thematic material (the recording is done on a historical piano, unfortunately), and the opening of Gernsheim's struck me as uninspired and I didn't come back to it for a long time (though I did listen to the end that time). Only after listening to this recording did I find the Gernsheim PC moderately worthy.
I agree that the Urspruch PC is great though the first movement is overtly long.

[eschiss1]

It's also a rather early Gernsheim work (not to suggest that I don't want to hear even earlier works like the I believe as yet unperformed E-flat symphony...)

[Alan Howe]

It's also a rather early Gernsheim work

Well, yes - but he was thirty-ish when he wrote it, so it's a fully mature work.

[Ilja]

It seems to me that Gernsheim was one of those people who flourish in isolation rather than among company. In 1874 he became the director of the Rotterdam Musical Society and the Rotterdam Conservatory. At the time Rotterdam was a bit of a musical backwater even by Dutch standards, and with Gernsheim's tasks being relatively light, this left him much more time to compose than before. During his sixteen years in Rotterdam we see him write two and a half symphonies, a violin concerto, and countless chamber and choral works, and mature his style considerably. A work like the 3rd Symphony shows a much more confident composer than the piano concerto; it also sounds much more Brahmsian. During his Rotterdam tenure, Gernsheim kept up a steady correspondence with Brahms, Dietrich and others, but he also attended far fewer concerts (Amsterdam was really the only venue of significance within a day's travel), which might have caused a more focused development (although this is pure speculation on my part). Combined, this might explain why the concerto doesn't really sound all that much like later Gernsheim.

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, Ilja. That's a perceptive analysis. Might we talk of a progression from a Mendelssohnian/Schumannesque idiom to a more Brahmsian style, filtered through his own creative inspiration?

[eschiss1]

I was comparing a symphony from the end of his teen years (1857, so perhaps composed during his years in Paris) to a concerto whose manuscript (also held at Tel Aviv) seems to be dated 1869 (same year as first publication) (so, ca.30 years indeed) during his years in Cologne. My mistake there, wasn't thinking...

[Alan Howe]

No problem, Eric. There's no doubt that the PC is in the style of Gernsheim's early maturity.

[Ilja]

Thanks, Ilja. That's a perceptive analysis. Might we talk of a progression from a Mendelssohnian/Schumannesque idiom to a more Brahmsian style, filtered through his own creative inspiration?

Yes, I think that sums it up pretty well – with the addendum that Gernsheim moved to a more personal, post-Brahmsian style in the final stage of his life, as illustrated by Zu einem Drama.

[Alan Howe]

Yes, that's an interesting point. It's post-Brahmsian, but still basically classical-romantic rather than 'neudeutsch', if you know what I'm getting at.

[Ilja]

Yes. I hear some interesting overlaps between late Gernsheim (b. 1839) and the generation of Felix Woyrsch (particularly) and Fritz Volbach (both born around 1860).