Death of G A Albrecht

[eschiss1]

Conductor/composer/musicologist George Alexander Albrecht died on 21 December.

[Rainolf]

This is sad news!

Albrecht was a conductor who championed the classics as well as contemporary composers and had a heart for underrated music of the past. I will be thankful to him for his critical edition of Wilhelm Furtwängler's symphonies and for the enthusiasm he developed in the large scale choral works of Richard Wetz, which resulted in the first recordings of Wetz's Requiem and Christmas Oratorio. Having met him two times I remember him as a friendly man, too.

Some of his compositions may fit into this forum considering their neo-romantic style. Some years ago "Gesänge zur Erde", a cycle of orchestral songs on texts of 20th century German poets (Paul Celan, Hilde Domin and others) was premiered in Weimar, the style of which remembered me on Korngold. In his opera "Die Schneekönigin" (The Snow Queen, after H. Chr. Andersen), which is written mostly in a romantic idiom, he uses twelve-tone music to characterise the icy character of the Snow Queen. The same harsh contrast between romantic and modernist styles is shown in his choral piece "Himmel über Syrien" which reflects the war in Syria. These are all works I know from him, so I cannot tell if Albrecht is more a neo-romantic composer or more a romantic-modern-mixed-style composer.

May he Rest In Peace.

[Alan Howe]

Thanks for that informative and heartfelt tribute, Rainolf. Much appreciated. And thanks too to Eric for posting.