Graener Symphony 'Schmied Schmerz' etc from cpo

[Alan Howe]

Just announced by cpo:
http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/Paul-Graener-Orchesterwerke-Vol-2/hnum/1150232
The Symphony Schmied Schmerz, Op.39, is in D minor and dates from 1912.

[Mark Thomas]

Worth a punt I imagine. Does anyone know this music?

[petershott@btinternet.com]

I don't know the works (not the sort of thing you'd hear at Aldeburgh!), but I'm ordering the disc on the basis of my enjoyment of Volume 1 - and the second CPO disc devoted to the music for Piano Trio.

Looks as if Graener is becoming well and truly adopted by CPO - and I make no complaint about that. Rather wish they'd hurry up, though, in releasing many other potentially treasurable recordings reputed to be hidden away in their vaults. (How about the completion of the Raff string quartet series for example!)

[Mark Thomas]

Rather wish they'd hurry up

Oh, I find watching paint dry rather restful, myself! cpo's pile of to-be-issued recordings must be enormous.

[FBerwald]

Anything by Graener is most welcome. I fell in love with his music when i listened to the Sterling CD. The CPO release of Vol. 1 was wonderful. Im sure I'll enjoy this one was well. Wish they would start on his concertos...

[LateRomantic75]

Excellent, excellent! I had been hoping CPO would record this work! I'd be interested to hear if it is a work of greater depth than Graener's other works that have been recorded. Don't get me wrong-I really enjoy his lighter works when I need some balm.

[eschiss1]

Matesic has recorded Graener's quartet Op.54 over at IMSLP, which might qualify; matter of opinion- have a listen anyway... Good piece, I think, and brief. (Second of - 4 string quartets he wrote?)

[Alan Howe]

Take a look at this IMSLP page:
http://imslp.org/wiki/Symphony_in_D_minor,_Op.39_%28Graener,_Paul%29
The work appears to be in three movements.

[minacciosa]

I'm dying to hear Graener's opera Don Juan's Last Adventure. The vocal score looks very interesting.

[DennisS]

Thanks to UC, I have made a new discovery; or rather I have re-discovered a composer I had previously underestimated. In view of the positive comments on UC re- the forthcoming Graener symphony "Schmied Schmerz" CD, I decided to further investigate this composer, starting with the first volume of Graener works on CPO. I listened to the audio extracts and really liked what I heard. I decided to immediately order this CD (which happily is on its way to me as I write!). I noted that there was also a Sterling CD of Graener's works, which also got positive praise on UC. I suddenly realised that I already had this CD, which I had ordered quite some time ago, listened to and then left it on the shelf to gather dust! For the past week or so,I have been listening repeatedly to the Sterling CD and really like the music,all the works on the CD, but especially the Wiener Sinfonie, with its quotes from Mozart's Jupiter Symphony and Wagner's Siegfried Idyll. I don't know why I didn't like the music first time round? Of course, I have also ordered the Schmied Schmerz CD. UC has taught me to always give music a second chance (or even a third chance!) : come back to to a piece after a while and listen again (carefully). You might find as I did that one's opinion of the music has changed (for the better!).

[Alan Howe]

UC has taught me to always give music a second chance (or even a third chance!) : come back to to a piece after a while and listen again (carefully). You might find as I did that one's opinion of the music has changed (for the better!).

How true, Dennis. I've done so time after time myself.

[Gareth Vaughan]

I can certainly echo that, Alan.

[Alan Howe]

Well, Graener's Symphony turns out to be an absolutely glorious late-romantic outpouring. One can clearly hear the agony of soul which inspired this (and apparently other music of his) - agony which evidently arose from the death of his 8 year-old son. The idiom is actually very individual - it would be easy to talk about it in terms of obvious composers like Bruckner, Mahler and Strauss, but in truth it's not like any of them. I was reminded for a while in the slow movement of Elgar, but not for long. The descriptive terms that kept coming to mind were 'dignity' and 'agony' - dignity in the face of terrible sorrow.
Now for the rest of the music on the CD...

[Alan Howe]

Has anyone else now heard Graener's magnificent symphony?

[eschiss1]

Not yet, but thank you for the heads-up! Hoping to soon, one way or etc. (If you want to read along with score while listening, you can download that from IMSLP too, btw )