At aboth the same time as Sterling released their Noskowski CD they also released a CD containing the two symphonies by Swiss composer Robert Hermann. Noskowski has received well deserved attention and praise from a number of members of this Forum. I have not seen any comments on the Hermann CD, though.
In my opinion, Hermanns two symphonies are rather uneven and especially the first sometimes balances on the border to light music. However, there are also moments of great beauty in both symphonies. Have any other members listened to this CD?
Yes! No.1 is slowly working its way into my affections. The composer seems to have an original voice - this is attractive 'outdoor' music, whereas No.2, with its greater quirkiness, has yet to 'settle' for me (which simply means that I've got more work to do...)
A typically adventurous release from Bo Hyttner, though. Many congratulations to him and to Chris Fifield who had quite a job with the scores, I think.
Where can this CD be purchased? I find it listed only at the JPC (cpo) site - and the price, plus their flat shipping charge to the USA, is much too high.
Has anyone found the Robert Hermann (one "r" in the surname, by the way) disc offered anywhere else?
Thanks for noticing the mis-spelling - duly corrected.
The CD itself doesn't seem to be widely available - yet.
Though I share Alan's admiration for Bo Hyttner's efforts I find precious little that grips my attention when hearing these symphonies. The music is going on and on and invites merely to mindless listening. Afterwards nothing remains.
I don't agree at all. Obviously Bo has had the odd 'miss', but the Noskowski is a bullseye (IMHO, of course) and the Hermann is more than interesting enough to have warranted a release on CD.
I know that Black wasn't criticising Sterling as such, just the Hermann symphonies CD, but I'll saunter to Bo's defence nonetheless. Of course, in any exploration of the unknown, there are going to be some also rans (personally I'm not over excited by the Robert Herrmann symphonies either), but Sterling has had more than its fair share of hits. The commercial risks which Bo Hyttner takes bringing this unknown repertoire to market are very substantial and all credit to him for doing so. We are all in his debt.
Let me make it clear that I think - probably like most members of this forum - that Sterling does a terrific job in bringing the unknown and forgotten repertoire to the market! No question about that! It just that I find these symphonies by Hermann not very appealing. If I am the only one, so be it. It means Sterling has, again, made the right decision.
As I hope I made clear in my post, I can't say that for me the Hermann symphonies go much beyond the pleasant either.
I'm thoroughly glad to have No.1: it's slowly working its way into my affections. I'll need to listen a few more times to No.2, however.
I've made this point before, though: some music, whether sung or unsung, just takes longer to appreciate. I know I myself have to be very careful not to rush into an early (especially negative) opinion without having given myself time to get to know the music. I remember (I think!) how long it took me to appreciate Brahms 3...
...well, it's been a long time since I listened to Hermann's symphonies, in particular the occasionally quirky, but often sublime No.2. And that's my point. I obviously left his 2nd Symphony without exploring it thoroughly and now it strikes me as a far more significant work than it did before. In the first place, the idiom is interesting: yes, there is something of Bruckner in the work's rather deliberate gait and orchestration (especially the brass writing), maybe even of Wagner (Parsifal). But there is also a bucolic, pastoral tone to the music which is wholly original, as well as a sense of exultation which looks forward to, say, Janacek. All in all it has been good to return to this music. The lesson for me? First assessments are often unreliable...
As one who often rushes into an early (and all too often negative) assessment of unknown music, I clearly need to dig out my copy of the CD and try again with these two. thanks, Alan.
No.2 is the more striking piece.
Okey Dokey. Thanks.
I'm glad to see folks coming around. I posted a few years back this piece:
http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,890.0.html (http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,890.0.html)
I have to say, I've rarely been affected on a first-hearing of symphonic works, but I think Robert Hermann's first symphony (on Sterling) is amazing. Sumptuous harmonies (particularly in that slow first movement) that are warm, cool, eerie, yet calm and contemplative... And you get the feeling of a journey completed by the end. It definitely was an experience.
...which just shows how important it is to re-visit music after an initial hearing.
I should go back to the first symphony, which I haven't listened to as often as I have the 2nd.
I wonder too if the scores of his chamber music and other works at Basel library (or wherever else copies are found) are in performable condition (etc. ...), I admit still to curiosity about the piano trio, violin sonata, piano quartet, he wrote... (also the Concert-overture...)
Agreed, Eric. It would be good to find out.
Keep in mind, the real gem of the 1st symphony is the 2nd movement (Grave).
the slow movements of each symphony ("Trauermarsch" of the first symphony, Andante of the second) were sold separately in reduction by Hofmeister so they may have had some additional currency (pun not intended) at the time...
Thanks so much for resurrecting this thread and provoking me to blow the dust off my CD and give it a spin. Wow! I can't think why I dismissed these two fine symphonies at first hearing. Yes, an individual and often thrilling way with the orchestra: echoes of Bruckner in the frequent massed brass writing, but also a pastoral innocence about the writing in places, which I found quite beguiling. I was reminded of Volkmar Andreae's Symphony here and there too, but it's presumably just a general stylistic commonality as Andreae's work post-dates Hermann's Second by 15 years or so. Melodically, Hermann is no slouch, but neither is he too profligate with his material. All in all, both works make for very rewarding listening.
I'm glad my ears weren't deceiving me!
Seriously, though, I'm going to have to dig out some other CDs that I probably listened to with half an ear first time round.
Yep, I made the same resolution.
Rather tickled by these admissions of fallability from well-practised and experienced judges in coming to their initial views! And rather glad, because when I first heard these two symphonies (via the present disc) I thought them very good indeed and wondered about my own judgment-making when I then read critical views.
I'd very much like to hear other Hermann works. Must do some sniffing about. Is there, for example, any good chamber music?
Quote from: petershott@btinternet.com on Thursday 16 May 2013, 13:51
...admissions of fallability*...
Perish the thought. Probably just had indigestion that day. ;)
*I'm sure you mean 'fall
ibility'. Ironically...
Ineligible for a papal wave....... :)
Quoteadmissions of fallability from well-practised and experienced judges
Even Jove nods, m'boy!
Quote from: petershott@btinternet.com on Thursday 16 May 2013, 13:51
I'd very much like to hear other Hermann works. Must do some sniffing about. Is there, for example, any good chamber music?
Here are his chamber and piano works - unfortunately I know of no recordings. Eric?
2 In Philistros. 5 Tonstücke f. Pfte. 1895
3.1 Romanze for violin and piano 1895
3.2 Scherzino for violin and piano 1895
6 Piano Trio in d minor 1895
Petites variations pour rire for violin and piano (before 1900)
9 Piano Quartet in f minor 1901
10 Berceuse for piano and cello 1900
12 Suite in c minor for piano 1905
13 Violin Sonata in c# minor 1905
Both symphonies are – to my ears – very similar and belong to the most strange (late romantic, well, at least tonal) symphonies I've ever heard. They sound almost like a fanfare, but with strings added. Most remarkable and definitely a voice of its own. Beautiful? I still don't know. But good to have listened to this CD again, thanks to this thread.
I read the booklet for this album where Hermann explains to a music journalist his methodology of writing music. In summary, he said he aimed for a consistent mood where the changes would be subtle, maintaining the same overall atmosphere. He felt that too much emphasis was placed on a "climax" and that gradual changes brought more color and emotion to the overall feeling of a piece. This fits in with his philosophy that as Nature gradually changes, so should music as it is an artful representation of Creation.
This is clear in his Second Symphony from the first to the second movement. You cannot deny that the same polyphonic mood has been kept, while also being distinct to build a sense of a journey. Perhaps even in the sense of viewing the same landscape in different seasons?
It is difficult to describe his music to someone who hasn't heard it. The closest sentence I can construct is to imagine the wind blowing through sun-soaked pastures, mingling with the nobility of grand mountain peaks. Yet one could apply this description to Bruckner, and come away with a different conclusion!
This is music I have not heard closely represented in any other form (only remotely Bruckner and Finzi), which is a shame due to not only Hermann's early death at the age of 43 in 1912, but also the start of the collapse of Romantic music after the First World War.
The music journalist's essay from 1909 in the booklet makes it clear that even back then, he recognized the originality of this composer and hoped that recognition would one day come. It takes more than one listen to appreciate it, and I am glad to hear that it has been rewarding to some of our members!
That helps explain some of what I like so much about the 2nd symphony, I believe...