Willem Nicolaï (1829-1896) Symphony in C

[Alan Howe]

...an electronic rendering:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YwQLo0VXG8

There seems to be some doubt about the date of the Symphony. The uploader states: "Date of composing is a bit unclear; the manuscript says 1878, but there is another manuscript which says 1858. This needs further study."

Information about the composer (in Dutch) here:
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_Nicola%C3%AF

[Ilja]

I'd say that 1858 is the more likely date [Edit: and I've found an announcement dated 31 March 1858 (here: https://www.delpher.nl/nl/kranten/view?query=%22nicolaï%22+symphonie&facets%5Bperiode%5D%5B%5D=2%7C19e_eeuw%7C1850-1859%7C1858%7C&page=1&coll=ddd&identifier=ddd:010130387:mpeg21:a0008&resultsidentifier=ddd:010130387:mpeg21:a0008&rowid=4 ) of its premiere in The Hague, so it's definitely 1858 or even earlier].

Not only musically, but also biographically: it seems that Nicolaï restricted himself mainly to vocal and religious works in later years. This is a pattern seen in many composers of the time: some youthful outings into various key genres before settling down and composing mainly music for the post in which they were earning a living (and which was more commercially attractive).

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, Ilja. Well sleuthed!

By the way, I can't hear any Berlioz (as suggested in the YouTube description). Perhaps someone can enlighten me...

[Ilja]

Neither can I; the prevailing influences seem to be Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Schubert (mostly in the finale). No cyclical use of themes that I can find.

[Alan Howe]

Agreed. Glad it's not just me...

[Alan Howe]

Did Berlioz actually have any followers, or was he simply unique?

[Mark Thomas]

Liszt and his coterie in the 1850s were huge enthusiasts for Berlioz, who visited Liszt several times, but whether this adulation bore fruit in musical influence is indeed difficult to detect.

[eschiss1]

It's a good question. Some of the works I think I hear Berlioz's influence in may have been written without any knowledge of his music (a number of Berwald's works...)

[Ilja]

The most concrete example I can name is Asger Hamerik, a pupil of Berlioz and generally an adherent to his compositional principles, even if his music sounds nothing like Berlioz's.