Ferdinand Hiller: Symphonies (vol.1)

[Tapiola]

A new recording from CPO:

Symphony in E minor, op. 67 'Es muss doch Frühling werden'
Symphony in F minor, HWV 2.4.4

https://www.clicmusique.com/ferdinand-hiller-symphonies-griffiths-p-113566.html?osCsid=9tk8s617e4000i8u58q51t1rt5

[Alan Howe]

Yet another bolt out of the blue from cpo and the Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt - this time with the indefatigable Howard Griffiths! A wonderful tonic for the jaded palate.

[Ilja]

A long overdue bolt, though! And we needn't even wait that long.

[eschiss1]

Wonder if it has both versions of the finale of the F minor? (Probably not as I think only one version is at "GUF", and - well - I anyway don't know of any place to find the other, just a mention of it in Hiller's workbook. But maybe it survives somewhere I don't know of! )

[Ilja]

Eric, this should answer that:

[Alan Howe]

Dare I ask your source, Ilja?

[eschiss1]

The only difference I know about is that the revised finale may have been Allegro rather than Allegro assai, but that's not certain.

[Ilja]

Dare I ask your source, Ilja?

go to the Cliqmusique page; there is a "see back cover" button beneath the image.

[Alan Howe]

Thanks! Should have spotted that.

[tpaloj]

Wow, this is great news. Can't wait to hear them! I hope CPO will continue this streak with the excellent C major symphony of Hiller's, too.

[Gareth Vaughan]

In August last year Alan posted that Howard Griffiths had kindly informed him that he had recorded for CPO all 4 extant symphonies by Hiller, including the C major. So it will appear in due course.

[Alan Howe]

CD now available from jpc:
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/ferdinand-hiller-symphonien-e-moll-op-67-es-muss-doch-fruehling-werden-f-moll/hnum/11425071
Download from Presto:
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9766439--ferdinand-hiller-symphony-op-67-symphony-in-f-minor

[Alan Howe]

From these excerpts I'd say what we have here is a couple of very exciting, vigorous and memorable symphonies. My order's in...

This is what Howard Griffiths told us last year:

We have recorded all four of the Hiller symphonies and I include the information about them below.

Symphonie e-Moll (E minor),'Es muß doch Frühling werden' op. 67 (das ist die 1865 im Druck erschienene Symphonie/published 1865)

2 Fl (Fl picc), 2 Ob, 2 Cl, 2 Fg, 4 Cor, 2 Tr, 3 Trb, Timp, Streicher
 
The other symphonies are early (ca.1829-34) and have only come down to us in manuscript:
Symphonie f-Moll (F minor)
2 Fl, 2 Ob, 2 Cl, 2 Fg, 2 Cor, 2 Tr, Timp, Streicher
 
Symphonie C-Dur (C major)
2 Fl, 2 Ob, 2 Cl, 2 Fg, 4 Cor, 2 Tr, 3 Trb, Timp, Streicher
 
Symphonie e-Moll (E minor)
2 Fl, 2 Ob, 2 Cl, 2 Fg, 4 Cor, 2 Tr, Timp, Streicher.

The last two of these symphonies will therefore be released as cpo volume 2.

[Alan Howe]

After spending a lot of time listening to Lachner, it's quite a shock to encounter Hiller's concision of thought! And I'd say that his powerful E minor Symphony (1848) is worthy to stand alongside those of his contemporaries Mendelssohn and Schumann. Can't understand myself how it's been neglected for so long...

[Ilja]

Purely personally, Hiller is one of those composers who could always put a smile on my face. Even when it's not always that profound (or even aspiring to be), it's always great fun. There are very few composers that have that quality (Gouvy and Saint-Saëns are two other examples).

This recording shows him as someone capable of displaying true depth though, particularly in the E minor symphony. The recording, the playing and the interpretation are all nothing short of superb; a great disc.

I'm greatly looking forward to the next instalment. The "C major" that Griffiths refers to is presumably the same as the one published on YouTube by Tuomas Palojärvi – which, by the way, Tuomas is adamant can't be from the 1830s.