The German Symphony between Beethoven and Brahms: The Fall and Rise of a Genre

[Pyramus]

I'm new to this site so am just learning how to use it. I'm reading the book "The German Symphony between Beethoven and Brahms: The Fall and Rise of a Genre" by Christopher Fifield (2015). I came across it having recently discovered the music of Felix Draeseke. I'd never heard of him until early this year - I'm 76 and have been listening to and playing music since I was very young. Having started with his quintet for horn, string trio and piano which I played in (piano) I saw that he had written symphonies and thought they would be worth investigating, which indeed they were. He certainly qualifies for inclusion in your forum, as does Raff, mentioned above. I also "discovered" Franz Schmidt back in the 70s and have yet to notice any of his music programmed into a concert here in Britain! How can we change this?

[eschiss1]

With the exception of some of his symphonies in the Proms a few years ago.

[Ilja]

Bachtrack lists eight listings of works by Schmidt over the coming season (with multiple performances in a few cases), with four the 4th symphony and (perhaps even more encouragingly) two for the 2nd, one of which is by the Berlin Phil. So it seems from present evidence that Schmidt is well on his way to becoming (somewhat) established in the concert hall. 

What helps his cause, I would conjecture, is that he works as something of an extension of the Mahler/Bruckner canon in some ways. For the "Dalhaus gap" (which I consider to be a highly problematic term, but it'll serve as a period indicator) composers there's not as much hope for now when it comes to the concert repertoire.

Still, some strange reason, there are a lot of couplings of Schmidt symphonies with Mozart piano concertos. That suggests that programmers still try to reassure people that here won't just be the big bad unknown symphony on the programme.

[eschiss1]

Ilja- he is right, though, that none of those concerts are in Britain. Just as Universal Edition lists several performances of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th symphonies in October, but in Germany (and one of the 3rd symphony in Slovenia in February 2024), etc. (And the Schmidt 4 was performed, to a "disappointing" review at MusicWeb's Seen and Heard, in Cleveland Ohio back in August 2022, incidentally.) Not that it's impossible that concerts not listed by Bachtrack this season in Britain contain works by Franz Schmidt.
Also, the RSNO performed Schmidt 4 in Glasgow in September 2022; it was on the cover of their brochure.

[Pyramus]

While I was living in the north-west a few years ago, a local orchestra in Lancashire programmed the third symphony by Bruch and I didn't notice that their audience was smaller than usual, but then Bruch is a well-known name, if not for writing symphonies. The same orchestra also put on a Berwald symphony (I don't think he counts as part of the Dahlhaus Gap, being Swedish). Recently a symphony by Gade has been played in the Manchester area. These (all by amateur orchestras) are very much the exception though.

[Alan Howe]

Just a quick reminder, if I may. The subject here is Chris Fifield's book, i.e. not Schmidt or Berwald!! And please check using the search facility whether particular works/composers have been discussed before. Thanks!

[Pyramus]

Sorry my fault for mentioning these.

A conductor and composer whom I know has made the point that, while the supply of what we loosely call "classical" music is almost limitless in terms of repertoire, demand for it is not. There's a finite number of orchestras and concert days in a year and therefore we concentrate on composers whose invention has stood the test of time, even if, say, their orchestration is not the best (e.g. Schumann).

How far has Chris Fifield's book added to our knowledge of the so-called Dahlhaus Gap composers?

[Alan Howe]

In Christopher Fifield's landmark study the work that emerges as central to the development of the symphony from Schumann 4 to Brahms 1 (the so-called 'Dahlhaus Gap' between 1851 and 1876) is Grimm's Symphony in D minor - and quite rightly, in my view. Gernsheim remembered it years later, and I think his judgment was correct. Otherwise, Draeseke proves to be the outlier, i.e. the most important symphonist that doesn't really 'fit' into the tradition owing to his interest in/the influences from the more progressive composers of the day.

What I would like to have seen is an extension of the remit of the book beyond Germany to take in neighbouring Austrian composers such as Rufinatscha and Bruckner and, possibly, an extension forward in time to, say, 1888 which would encompass Mahler's 1st, allowing also a discussion of the significance of Hans Rott. This would also give us the opportunity to consider the overall achievement of Raff, considered a major composer in his day on the level of Brahms or Wagner. Draeseke's 3rd Symphony and masterpiece, the Tragica, dating from 1886 would also come into the reckoning. In addition, consideration of the genre of programme or 'characteristic' symphonies would fill out the overall picture in a worthwhile way.