Richard Stöhr Symphony No.2/etc. (Toccata)

[Alan Howe]

A vital piece of evidence about the Symphony:
<<Like so many important Austrian musicians forced into American exile by the Nazis, Richard Stöhr (1874-1967) suddenly found himself cast from celebrity into obscurity, The optimism and energy, even defiance, of these three works from 1942 suggest that he took it on the chin, with his musical language retaining its Viennese accent in an individual amalgam of Bruckner, Mahler, Schmidt and Korngold. Indeed, the echoes of Mahler in Stöhr's Second Symphony may be a deliberate homage if, as seems possible, this 1942 version is a revision of a now-lost work first composed shortly after Mahler's death.>> (my emphasis)
https://toccataclassics.com/product/richard-stohr-orchestral-music-volume-three/

[eschiss1]

or even if it was just a continuation of a work begun then (not a "never-happens"- think on Medtner's piano quintet (1904-48) as an example of that (first movement finished 1904, work finished 1948, in that case.))

[Ilja]

From the excerpts it struck me how the opening of the first movement sounded like a continuation of sorts of the first symphony, but the opening of the last two movements came much closer to his later works.

I obviously purchased this recording immediately, but I'll have to exercise patience for another ten days before being able to download. Sheer torture.

[Alan Howe]

The torture is over!

The first movement of Symphony No.2 is very much an homage to Mahler, but much leaner and more concise than the music of the great man. It's as if Mahler's sound-world is being recollected in a sort-of haunted tranquility. And so the music continues, with unease never far away until the third movement gigue marked Vivace changes the mood into one of cheerful abandon. The finale returns to the theme of the opening, with a certain unease threatening to darken the overall tone as the symphony rushes to a close.

A fascinating work - one to which I shall return with real interest. Kudos to Martin Anderson for daring to record it.

[Ilja]

I downloaded the recording Stöhr symphony No. 2 and the two orchestral pieces at the earliest opportunity, and it is quite a different experience from its predecessors. The Second Symphony is much more of a slow burner, so to speak, than the First. Alan has rightly identified the first movement as a hommage to Mahler, or perhaps rather Mahler's Vienna.

The booklet notes that:

Walter Niemann classified the composer as one of three 'ostensible modernists', who included Hugo Kaun, Paul Juon "and the Viennese Richard Stöhr; composers who today swing back and forth between Classical, Romantic and Neo-Romantic forms and ideas, between Berlioz, Wagner, Liszt and Richard Strauss, who – a characteristic sign of our time of transition! – write chamber music and symphonies in classical forms as well as programmatic symphonic poems, double fugues as well as impressionistic poems of mood, bowing today to the goddess of the classically beautiful, tomorrow to the goddess of the modern [...]".

The comparison to Juon is apt, I think (I regrettably don't know enough of Kaun's later works to make that judgment). There are impressionist influences as well as from German contemporaries, and at times Stöhr veers in a direction akin to Les Six (think Honegger and Auric rather than Milhaud). However, underneath it all is still the same turn-of-the-century Viennese harmonic language from his earlier works. It is certainly a more adventurous work than others from the same period such as the Piano Concerto Im alten Stil or the Suite for piano, violin and cello.

Another parallel that sprang to mind is Woyrsch. Both of them display a similar gradual condensation of classical romantic musical language after the First World War. In Woyrsch, that ends in ever more compact pieces, but while Stöhr's he works retain a healthy length, he finds a similar reduction in resorting to smaller ensemble and shorter, alternating melodic arches. In doing so, he becomes something of an anti-Bruckner, but the music also sounds almost cinematic to modern ears.

a composer, an honest, unsophisticated talent; the energy of his gift is of a distinctly muscular character, of an austere chastity which is nevertheless always surrounded by a pleasant, subduing grace, an almost mischievous kindness

I can't say I agree with that judgment at all; Stöhr has shown himself to be a very refined composer, and not that  that muscular at all; listen to the first suite, for instance. By 1942, not a lot of that asserted muscularity is left anyhow. Stöhr's music has become more thoughtful and elegiac, but with prickly elements here and there that show his knowledge of contemporary musical developments.

In the end, I adore both symphonies, albeit for entirely different reasons, and I am elated that both were recorded. It does make me curious about the other ones, and I hope the series is continued.

[eschiss1]

Listening to this symphony now and at least so far, strikingly good. Thanks for the recommendation.
Edit: one of the most un-Bruckner-like things about the finale, besides the spareness that reminded me more of Robert Herrmann's 2nd , Stenhammar Gm, or Wetz 1 (or Elgar/Payne 3...) than Bruckner, was the very unBrucknerian ending. (The number of multi movement Bruckner works I know of that end without at least a Picardy 3rd I can count on the thumb of one hand.)

[Reverie]

Well, that was worth waiting for! The strong melodic lines are there and the clear uncomlicated textures hold true. On a first hearing the 3rd mov comes out strongest for me. That scherzo-like hoe down leading effortlessly into a sumptuous middle section. And talking of endings if this ever gets to a concert hall the last few bars of the finale will catch the audience out every time.

Roll on number three!

[Ilja]

Agree with all of that, most of all the clarity of the writing. This can also be witnessed in the other two pieces in the recording, the Per Aspera ad Astra overture and the Two Roads to Victory (Through Arms — Through Love) symphonic poem. To me, the first sounds like a modern science-fiction film score in some places, whereas the second brings definite silent era German cinema vibes (e.g., Caligari). The small ensemble also lends both pieces a certain frailty (particularly Two Roads to Victory) which suits them very well. Exquisite stuff.

By the way, the booklet is also excellent, and was a refreshing change from the gobbledegook that peppered the Büttner booklet.

[Alan Howe]

The booklet is indeed excellent, both on Stöhr himself and the music involved here.

I think Ilja hits the nail on the head by stressing the composer's Viennese heritage. The Symphony is about a time and a culture that, from the perspective of 1942, no longer existed - except, perhaps, in the film composers of Hollywood. By this time, of course, Stöhr himself had emigrated to the USA.

[eschiss1]

Do you mean the Büttner CD from Sterling, ages ago? I'm confused. Or does the new Büttner 2 recording on cpo come with a downloadable booklet? (I hadn't seen anyone mention that.)
(If this is in the context of Toccata Classics I'm guessing Bittner is meant, a different kettle of lunch.)

[Alan Howe]

This is about Stöhr, not Büttner, Eric. Not to worry...

[eschiss1]

Oh. I thought "a refreshing change from the gobbledegook that peppered the Büttner booklet." was a little confusing, but.

[Gareth Vaughan]

So it is, Eric. Your query is very pertinent. And I'm confused too. Which recording of the Buttner did you mean, Ilja?

[Ilja]

Sorry if I was being unclear - I was referring to the booklet that accompanied the recent Büttner 2nd Symphony recording. Which for some reason mingles rather strange value assessments with lists of composers and conductors. 

[Gareth Vaughan]

Ah, yes. Thank you. This sort of thing sometimes happens with CPO booklets.