Emilio Lehmberg - A 1959 symphony in a romantic style, out of its time

[Alan Howe]

The idea that there is a valid comparison between Elgar and Lehmberg is astonishing. I have listened to Lehmberg's Symphony and believe I have understood it well enough - and what I find is a work of little substance or interest. I can only report on what I heard, which was tedious in the extreme. Sorry if that's not very helpful, but there it is.

[Ilja]

I was really only comparing Elgar to Lehmberg in how their musical language carries a significance for their compatriots that others might not experience in the same way. That is a cultural critique, not a musical one.

[Mark Thomas]

That's a fair enough point, Ilja. There are plenty of other examples of composers whose music has an especially strong resonance for their fellow countrymen, and maybe only for them.

[Alan Howe]

Fair enough. But I would simply ask what resonance Lehmberg truly has for his fellow-countrymen. I'll wager that they hardly know him at all, and especially not this pallid symphony, couched as it is in conservative Brahmsian clothes alien to his national traditions.

[Ilja]

I don't think the presence of this work is of great significance for his compatriots. But once listening to it (and I'll leave the issue of quality aside) they are bound to discover references that will elude us. As Mark said, this is hardly a unique phenomenon. But it does explain how works that we don't think as particularly good may be assessed differently by those that share a cultural background with the composer.


But I think this line of argument has gone as far as it's bound to go, so perhaps better get on to other things?

[Alan Howe]

Again, fair enough. I just re-iterate here that Lehmberg's Symphony is hardly a model of Spanish-ness because of its harking back to late-nineteenth century German symphonism. But let's now concentrate on the qualities or otherwise of the work - which should be evident to anyone with broad listening sympathies.

[Mark Thomas]

I've at last got around to listening to this recording. I'll admit to very much enjoying the vivacity and colour of the Suite Andaluza - just the thing to listen to whilst driving, which is what I was doing at the time. It's generic Spanish, of course, and is devoid of individuality but it was a fun listen. By comparison the Symphony seemed a pallid affair with just a few attractive ideas which Lehmberg tends not to develop but simply repeat. Symphonic development isn't everyone's forte I suppose, but even judged as an orchestral suite I found it dull and melodically predictable. There's also a noticeable lack of orchestral colour, the string-heavy orchestration reminding me rather of Mantovani's saccharine efforts, I'm afraid, and that's all the more surprising considering the orchestral fireworks of his Suite Andaluza. Lehmberg's talents clearly lay elsewhere.