Schmidt Symphony 2 from Bychkov/VPO!

[Alan Howe]

Here's the MDG CD:

[semloh]

The cover art is an interesting choice. I hadn't thought of the symphony as so dark and forbidding. Does it have themes of death in it? I can't recall.....

[MartinH]

Has nothing to do with death...it's a joyous, celebratory work start to finish. I can see that cover art for the 4th, but not the 2nd. But it's still great to see yet another Schmidt symphony recording, although what we really need is a studio recording of Fredigundis! And what's with the constant coupling of Schmidt with Strauss? Even the Chandos recording of the 3rd did that. There are other - more suitable? - composers to couple to Schmidt, if that has to be done. Or heck, how about an orchestral suite from Fredigundis?

[eschiss1]

Or how about Hermann Grädener's violin concerto no.1 and Rhapsody "Der Spielmann"? Perfectly random choice, of course. (Except that they were also in the 1913 concert in which Schmidt's 2nd was premiered. Well, aside from -that-, perfectly random.) (I'm perfectly serious.)

[matesic]

I agree, Böcklin's Die Totinsel seems a completely inappropriate cover picture for both works on the disc. However, I was led to check out its Wikipedia article which contains an intriguing list of musical works inspired by the painting, including symphonic poems by Heinrich Schülz-Beuthen, Andreas Hallén and Dezso d'Antalffy. Now there's a project for an enterprising orchestra! Of course the concert would end with a well-known crowd-pleaser.

[Ilja]

The first of Felix Woyrsch' Drei Böcklin-Phantasien (1910; released on one CD with his Third Symphony by cpo) is dedicated to the Isle of the Dead, too. And, rather remarkably considering the centrality of Todteninsel in the reception of Böcklin's oeuvre, none of Huber's Böcklin-symphony (No. 2) is.


After this bit of self-indulgence, to anticipate Alan's response: back to Schmidt?