Franz Lachner: Symphony No. 4

[Alan Howe]

I do rather like the first movement, especially the brief section from 4:09.

[eschiss1]

Schubert would have, if he'd omitted the 2nd movement. Optimal heavenly length of 0 for that...

[Alan Howe]

Who fancies the task of excising Lachner's repetitions...?

[eschiss1]

btw re eclassical including cpo's booklet: Chandos no longer does (except with purchase), and since cpo's booklets are often helpful in a number of ways (e.g. research purposes), I'm glad someone still does...

[FBerwald]

I personally don't mind the repeats - The material is so interesting and handled so beautifully.

[eschiss1]

BTW, this has apparently been sitting in the "can" since 2019. Not so unusual (and to be fair, not only with cpo)-- that said, though, -especially- if symphonies 2 and 7 are on the way (and who knows, maybe a new recording of symphonies 1 & 8 would not be taken amiss, either), and maybe even at least the overtures to some of his cantatas etc., I think I can restrain my indignation this -once-...
Grats again to cpo for releasing premieres of a rather good composer.

[terry martyn]

I absolutely love the repeats.  I can't wait to order on jpc.

[eschiss1]

BTW, it looks like the Evergreen Symphony's conductor will now be Jaap van Zweden. I hope this doesn't mean Schmalfuss will no longer be conducting with them - they make a good team, I think (e.g. the three Lachner discs recorded and released so far...)

[Alan Howe]

I will, of course, be ordering this as soon as it becomes available on CD, but I have to say that to go from Lachner 4 to, say, Schubert 9, is to swap musical repetitions and non-sequitors for a symphonic argument that one can follow from beginning to end.

[Alan Howe]

Here's the download:
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9757870--franz-lachner-symphony-no-4

[Alan Howe]

BTW, it looks like the Evergreen Symphony's conductor will now be Jaap van Zweden. I hope this doesn't mean Schmalfuss will no longer be conducting with them

Schmalfuss was born in 1943 (and so is 81-82 years old); late last year he was appointed 'Chief Artistic Adviser and Conductor Laureate' of the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra:
https://www.evergreensymphony.org/en/about/director
The appointment of van Zweden (born 1960) is likely to be designed to ensure the future health and development of the orchestra while retaining Schmalfuss in an advisory capacity.

[terry martyn]

Let me nail my colours to the Lachner mast, once again.

His use of repetitions has a soothing,hypnotic,effect on me.  His Fifth and his Eighth are up there in my pantheon of favourite symphonies.

But I recognise that the majority opinion thinks otherwise.

Whilst waiting to order the CD of the Fourth, I have just listened to the download excerpts on Presto. Aren't the tempi a bit fast to take me to a state of Nirvana, I wonder?

[Alan Howe]

It's not that I don't like Lachner; I do. I just don't rate him very highly.

[terry martyn]

You and Ludwig II, Alan!

[Alan Howe]

Among (many) others!

Let me explain a little further. Lachner's ideas are often short-winded and fail the test of symphonic development; in other words his movements come across as a series of episodes, one after another, some of them more interesting than others. I often enjoy the journey, as it were, but I have little sense of the intended destination. Repetition, however subtly developed, doesn't really take the listener anywhere. It really is very instructive to compare Lachner with, say, his younger contemporary Rufinatscha because the latter seems to me to have a much greater ability to convey the sense of travel required for a symphony, especially one taking over 50 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c50CIbtOT30&t=1167s