Announced as a late-January release in Germany:
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/felix-woyrsch-symphonie-nr-3/hnum/5434242 (https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/felix-woyrsch-symphonie-nr-3/hnum/5434242)
I'm afraid that I found both Symphonies No.1 (MDG) and No.2 (cpo) rather overworked, turgid pieces, but we live in hope.
Quite. Why they're doing Woyrsch in preference to, say, Wilhelm Berger, is anyone's guess. Still, let's see...
I tend to agree, Mark - and the neglect of Wilhelm Berger, Alan, is inexplicable. He is infinitely better than Woyrsch.
I agree with Mark but Woyrsch's orchestration is quite fresh. Unfortunately his material isn't very inspired and therefore his fine orchestration remains hollow.
Seems the 3rd Symphony was premiered in 1928...
the string quartet (http://imslp.org/wiki/String_Quartet,_Op.55_%28Woyrsch,_Felix%29) (no.2 of 6, published 1910, but because of composer death-date might not be audible in the EU-erm... ...)
that's @ IMSLP (thanks again, Matesic) I, anyway, rather liked...
Just heard it again and thought "Oh Lord...", but it's a fine piece, ear-catching and quite moving in the "Sehr ruhig" adagio. To be strictly legal, EU readers can also get it here:
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/y2g1yk3xa8026vv/woyrsch.mp3 (http://www.mediafire.com/listen/y2g1yk3xa8026vv/woyrsch.mp3)
I agree, his first two symphonies sound rather pompous in comparison.
:)
Thanks for uploading the quartet.
The 3rd Symphony is in my view much more interesting than Nos.1 and 2: its idiom (unsurprisingly for 1928 when it was premiered) is considerably more dense and chromatic, yet there is a purposeful feel about the music throughout what is often a stormy work. Not easy or particularly grateful listening - and often right on the edge of UC's remit - this is well worth worth exploring. But expect to be challenged!
Now: if cpo can do Woysch justice, what about Wilhelm Berger...?
Oh Alan, if you only knew how my heart pounds every time there is the talk about Wilhelm Berger... Just read the scores of his two Symphonies once more and feel such an affinity with my taste/repertoire! If I only could find a sponsor for this... cpo will certainly win one day and produce them, who can stop them? - and they never wanted me as a conductor, so my impossible dream remains impossible...
Oh, and by the way: it seems to me that Woyrsch and Brun are near neighbours, musically speaking.
A couple of questions, if I may, Alan. Firstly, what's your impression of the other Woyrsch work on the CD: Böcklin-Phantasien? Secondly, of the seven demo tracks on the jpc page to which you linked, which are the Symphony and which the Böcklin-Phantasien?
I haven't listened to the other pieces yet. On the CD tracks 1 to 4 are the Symphony and 5 to 7 the coupling.
Thanks
The Symphony's a rather knotty piece. I don't think it'll win many new friends, but it has a certain fascination...
I've at last got a copy of this recording. I must say that I was surprised to discover that, for all that Woyrsh's 3rd Symphony is clearly a work of the 20th century when compared with its two predecessors, I greatly preferred it to them. They are anonymous, turgid pieces, wallowing in the soupy post-Bruckner world of very late romanticism, whereas in this piece Woyrsch seems to have a more personal voice. There's a lot of drama in the work and it's certainly not a comfortable listen, but he does make you sit up and take notice, which is a distinct advance on the sleep-inducing qualities of Nos.1 and 2. After a turbulent 35 minutes, the conclusion of the Symphony is satisfyingly redemptive too. Not a work I'll return to very often, but that's better than not returning at all, which is probably the fate in my house of the first two symphonies. I'm afraid that its companions on this CD, the three Böcklin Phantaisies, return us to the world of the earlier symphonies: muddy brown music which seems to spend 25 minutes going nowhere and then finishes inconsequentially.
Naxos just announced the release of this in the US.
Tom :)
If you haven't already done so, before you order I suggest that you listen to the audio samples of the first four tracks - the Symphony - as Woyrsh's idiom there is markedly different to that of the first two symphonies.
Will have a listen. Good advice.
Tom :)
His third symphony certainly doesn't fall in the category of anything remotely close to romantic. Having now listened to it I'm not sure what to make of it.
Tom :)
I've been listening to the 3rd for a few days now. It is MUCH better than the previous two symphonies. The most striking thing to my ear is the gorgeous, clear orchestration. The thematic material is pretty mundane and forgettable. The real treasure on the disk comes after the symphony - the Three Boeklin Fantasies. This is very evocative, beautiful music and to me much more interesting than the symphonies.
Quote from: mbhaub on Saturday 04 April 2015, 19:47
I've been listening to the 3rd for a few days now. It is MUCH better than the previous two symphonies. The most striking thing to my ear is the gorgeous, clear orchestration. The thematic material is pretty mundane and forgettable. The real treasure on the disk comes after the symphony - the Three Boeklin Fantasies. This is very evocative, beautiful music and to me much more interesting than the symphonies.
Agree with you more. I've become quite fascinated with the
Die Toteninsel portion of the Three Bocklin Fantasies. As I did a little bit of research I was amazed at the number of composers who wrote about the painting. I've listened to it and I hear no Rachmaninoff but I do detect the style of Miaskovsky. Has anyone heard what Max Reger did with it
Tom :)
https://sdtom.wordpress.com/2015/04/10/three-bocklin-fantasies-op-53woyrsch/ (https://sdtom.wordpress.com/2015/04/10/three-bocklin-fantasies-op-53woyrsch/)
My take on the three Bocklin fantasies
Tom :)