Romantic Violin Concerto No. 17

[minacciosa]

You make good points.

[DennisS]

A little late with this post but this is to say thank you to you Alan for your recommendations re- the Bruch VC's and symphonies. I had of course already bought the Janicke/Gürzenich Orchester VCs 1 and 3, which I have listened to a number of times already - hugely enjoyable!!! Following on from Alan's suggestion to purchase the Conlon double CD of the Bruch Symphonies, I listened to sound bites and also performances on Youtube. I was not sure whether to buy the Conlon set or the Masur set. At the time I decided to put the these works on hold for the time being. Then, after reading the separate, very positive thread On Bruch's Symphony no 2, I decided I had to purchase the CDs, opting for Conlon's superior sound according to the Amazon reviews. I am looking forward to receiving the CDs shortly - I am particularly looking forward to getting to know really well symphony no 2!

[Alan Howe]

Your forthcoming thoughts on the Conlon set are keenly anticipated...

[Alan Howe]

The new Hyperion CD makes a very strong case for VC3 - although no stronger than that made by the EBS CD with Torsten Janicke who has a somewhat richer tone than Jack Liebeck. A particular glory of the Hyperion performance is Martyn Brabbins' understanding of Bruch's writing for horns, which he brings out superbly. Indeed his conducting is of the highest order. I'd venture to suggest that all manner of detail, usually lost, is to be heard in this recording. Brabbins is clearly one of our brightest conducting stars.

[eschiss1]

Agreed re Brabbins (even moreso having a look at some concerts he's conducting next year, though not all are within the scope of this forum - definitely "unsung" classical-style music in a broader sense though, I do think though.)

[DennisS]

A belated reply to my earlier posts in this thread. These days, I listen to so much music, frequently based on UC members recommendations!!!, that I find myself buying new CDs virtually every single week!!!! I then find myself with the pleasant dilemma of deciding what piece of music to listen to and always end up with a backlog of CDs to listen to and then report on as appropriate. In this instance, I purchased the Conlon Bruch symphonies some time ago and listened to them attentively. I had meant to post about them much earlier but, excuse the cliché, better late than never! My overall impressions of the Bruch symphonies are that they are all melodious works, very well orchestrated and should be heard more often. I was very pleased to have followed Alan's urging to purchase this set and know I will come back to them from time to time (especially if I stop buying CDs each week but that's not going to happen!!!). I did give symphony number 2 special attention because of comments made about it. This symphony is unusual in that there is no scherzo (something Bruch was criticised for!) but in spite of this omission, the symphony still works very well for me. As is my practise, when listening to a work that I intend posting about, I made some brief comments. Movement 1: dramatic, bold opening,somewhat sombre in feel, but quite arresting and moving, leading to an imposing conclusion. Movement 2: beautiful, lyrical, delicately scored, also intense and passionate, with a brooding quality to it. Movement 3: builds on movement no 2, becoming more intense and passionate, interspersed with a more light-hearted passage, before finishing in a triumphant, very satisfying conclusion: a wonderful symphony which should be much better known!

A very late posting but many thanks Alan for directing me to these symphonies.

[Alan Howe]

It's good to hear your enthusiasm for the Conlon set, Dennis. Lovely music, beautifully done.

[Mark Thomas]

I think that you've hit the Bruch Second nail squarely on the head there, Dennis.