Symphony wish list.

[Paul Barasi]

Stenhammar's would have been a Great Third Symphony but only a fragment remains. I recall he married a shrew who threw the manuscript into the fire during an argument (have I got this right?)

I'd liked to hear the little bit of Rott's 2nd that survives (probably even less  than Stenhammar's but originally there may have been more).

[Pengelli]

Re Foulds: I shall book  tickets. Sacheverell Coke? Is his
music a bit like York Bowen's?

[JimL]

Stenhammar's would have been a Great Third Symphony but only a fragment remains. I recall he married a shrew who threw the manuscript into the fire during an argument (have I got this right?)

You may have it half right.  Apparently Wilhelm had (ahem) an eye for the ladies.  Whether this was because his wife was a shrew or she was a shrew as a result of his indiscretions is debatable.  He still could have recomposed his 3rd Symphony (or composed another), but he didn't.

[Alan Howe]

Wasn't it Svendsen's 3rd which ended life in this fashion?

[JimL]

It was indeed.  I just noticed that the last name was wrong.  Stenhammar composed as many symphonies as he wanted to.

[Syrelius]

There are fairly extensive sketches for the 3rd symphony. However, Stenhammars health was fragile and he found it difficult to find the strength and inspiration to finish large scale works during his last years (the symphonic cantata The Song being the exception). He was also planning a 3rd Piano Concerto and an opera based on Shakespeares Twelfth Night, but neither was completed (the concerto is hardly even a fragment).

Maybe someone like Anthony Paine could have a look at the 3rd symphony...

[TerraEpon]

There are fairly extensive sketches for the 3rd symphony.

Really? The recording, such as it is, (I think it's on Chandos), is all of 3:38. Would love to hear more.

[Syrelius]

Really? The recording, such as it is, (I think it's on Chandos), is all of 3:38. Would love to hear more.

Chandos recorded the few bars that were in full score. There are 15 more pages of sketches for the first movement and 25-30 pages for the three other movements. The plan was as follows:
I Allegro
II Scherzo
III Adagio (or possibly Andante)
IV Finale.
Apparantly, there are only a few bars of the Finale. 

[black]

In reply # 13 peter_conole mentioned the 5 unpublished symphonies by the Belgian composer Hendrik Waelput. I happen to have an old radio broadcasting recording of Waelput's 2nd symphony. It might be unfair to judge his symphonic output by one performance of one symphony but I think the neglect of this composer is not entirely unjustified.
On the other hand I think the 5 symphonies by an other Belgian composer, Josef Ryelandt, deserve more attention than they get nowadays.

[Ramiste]

A couple of years ago I was able to get a local symphony in Minnesota to perform the second movement (Andante no.1 - there were two versions) of Hartmann's Symphony no. 4.  I can create a reasonable recording of some of his things with Garritan sounds.  The orchestra and conductor liked the piece very much.  It's beautiful and effective music.

[swanekj]

What about the splendidly named August Bungert. One
of his symphonies is about a Zeppelin,I believe?

The Zeppelin's Great Flight

It is mentioned in the same article from 1909 as "Gustav Mahler's latest symphony":

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/2009/11/new-symphony-uses-car-horn.html

[Rainolf]

There are two Symphonies (in D minor and C major) by Gerhard von Keußler (1874-1949), a composer who was more famous for his oratorios (eg. "Jesus von Nazareth", "Zebaoth") during his lifetime. Both symphonies remained unpublished and their scores are situated in the Goethe-und-Schiller-Archiv in Weimar. They are both large scale works of probably 40 or 50 minutes duration, which contain the traditional four mouvement form, but should be played without a pause. Keußler's style is highly contrapunctal. I haven't yet studied the symphonies very much, but regarding the oratorios and some songs, which I own, Keußler seems to be comparable with composers as Pfitzner, Wetz and Wilhelm Petersen.

It would be surely interesting to listen to Keußlers symphonies, as would be a revival of his oratorios.

[Alan Howe]

For those who can read German, there's more information here:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerhard_von_Keu%C3%9Fler

[Rainolf]

Thank you for the link, Alan. For further reading, there was also a book published (in German language) about Keußler's oratorios not very long ago. I don't know it, but it must contain much information for it is more than 600 pages large.

Manuel Krönung: Die Oratorien des Gerhard von Keußler (1874-1949). Musik mit "Ethos".