Emil Hartmann - Symphony 'No. 7' D min (Op. 49, 1893)

[Ilja]

Honestly, I think we're being a bit harsh on poor Emil. Perhaps he lacked some of the fluency of his father's works (a pretty high bar to pass, as far as I'm concerned), but he was still a very talented composer, and one whose works I've always enjoyed. Perhaps his biggest "fault" was that most of his compositions are fairly short - he rarely breaches the 25-minute mark. All the concertos are excellent, but they're also too short to feature in modern concert programmes.


And if anyone still harbors any doubts about Emil Hartmann, try the Serenade for Clarinet, Piano and Cello in A minor, Op. 24 - it's exquisite.

[regriba]

Emil was very critical of his contemporaries and once wrote that he thought music had been in decline since Schumann. He formulated his artistic credo as follows (source again the biography; apologies if my translation is unidiomatic): "People who practise and love music need more of what could be called good "house music" (Emil's own inverted commas), which neither descends into vulgarity nor ascends to speculative heights, but which above all rests on the secure foundation of natural, melodious and harmonious beauty." From what I have heard of his music, I think he stayed true to that credo and didn't really aim for grand symphonic statements.

[Alan Howe]

Trouble is, that credo tends to produce rather 'domesticated', toothless symphonies, judging by what I've heard so far. Each to his own, I suppose.

Nevertheless, we could do with some recordings...