Reinhold Becker (1842-1924)

[Alan Howe]

Just to re-iterate: that coda is just extraodinary...

[Mark Thomas]

Wow! That's a fine, fine opening movement for a symphony and, as Alan says, the final few pages are masterfully managed and make for an exhilarating close. I only hope that the other movements live up to its promise.

[FBerwald]

Has there been any success in locating parts of the 2nd Violin Concerto?

[Alan Howe]

As intimated elsewhere, we can soon expect the remainder of Becker's Symphony No.1.

Any first impressions, Reverie?

[Alan Howe]

The book 'Reinhold Becker: sein Leben und sein Werk', published in Dresden in 1932, contains a section on his compositions written by a certain F.A.Geißler. On the Symphony No.1 in C major, Op.140, Geißler writes:

<<As with Brahms, Reinhold Becker decided relatively late on to compose his 1st Symphony in C major, opus 140. His artistic integrity meant that he saw it as his duty not to draft his long-planned symphony until he knew that he was in full possession of the formal and instrumental criteria necessary for such an elaborate and demanding task. He had the thematic material and basic design of the whole work in his head when he began work on the composition. This is the reason why the work, for which he retained the traditional four-movement structure, gives the impression of being a self-contained entity whose often very disparate episodes combine to form a tightly knit whole.>>

Of course, Brahms was 43 when he wrote his 1st Symphony. Becker was 65! - and the first performance was given in March 1908 in Dresden's Mozartverein.

[Reverie]

SYMPHONY IN C  -  ENTIRE WORK


00:00  1st mov  -  Andante / Allegro
10:42  2nd mov  -  Andante
20:22  3rd mov  -  Scherzo / Idylle
26:25  4th mov  -  Allegro


For me the 2nd movement 10:42 is at the heart of this Symphony.  So many emotions packed into ten minutes - it's remarkable.



LINK:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ievZpsWSPow

[Alan Howe]

Thanks so much for producing this important realisation. Comments to come...

[Alan Howe]

This is, I think, a significant contribution to the Austro-German symphonic tradition by contemporaries of Bruckner and Brahms. Why? Because it represents very clearly the application of Wagner's harmonic innovations in a convincing symphonic argument with a different outcome to that of the Franckist school, notably in the preservation of the classical four-movement structure. I can't really think of anything quite like it; perhaps Berger's 2nd Symphony from the next generation might come closest. It's a mightily impressive statement for which we owe an enormous debt to Reverie whose skill enables to hear so much of the repertoire that has escaped the attentions of the recording companies.

By the way: this is a composer who knows how to build a symphonic coda: the ending of the finale is every bit as magnificent as that of the opening movement. And what a slow movement too...

[Alan Howe]

Another major plus with regard to Becker's Symphony - apart from its sheer quality, that is - is its concision. This magnificently argued work has not an ounce of musical fat: it is over within barely 37 minutes - quite something for a late-romantic symphony.

Take that, Herr Bruckner!

[Mark Thomas]

Becker's Symphony really is the business! Excellent material, tightly argued, great variety of mood within a very consistent and personal style and commendably compact. It appears to be Becker's only essay in the medium and yet is so masterful, surprisingly so given that his other large scale purely orchestral works only seem to amount to a Suite, a couple of violin concertos and a symphonic poem. It isn't innovative for its time except in the sense of melding together the New German and conservative traditions of the late 19th century and, to me, has an "end of an era", summing up feel to it, but there's plenty of vigour in the writing, maybe more than one would expect from a 65 year old nearing the end of his career. Plaudits to Reverie for persevering with completion of his superb realisation but the quality of this Symphony really does cry out for a full orchestral recording.

[Alan Howe]

I agree 100%.

By the way: it's instructive to play Becker's Symphony after Franck's Symphony. Although there are clear differences, both composers were drinking from the same well, namely Wagner. I wonder whether Becker knew what was happening in the Franco-Belgian school?

[Mark Thomas]

Franck's Symphony dates from 1888 and Chausson's from 1890, so it's very likely that Becker, writing 17 years later, knew of them.

[Alan Howe]

Although rather vague, Wikipedia says of Franck's Symphony:
<<Within several years of its composition, the symphony was regularly being programmed across Europe...>>

So: influence or parallel development? My guess is the latter, but you never know...