Emilio Lehmberg - A 1959 symphony in a romantic style, out of its time

[Wheesht]

Emilio Lehmberg 1905-1959: "Sinfonía para la festividad de Santa Cecilia". I would be happy to have a CD of this colourful, attractive symphony from 1959 with nary a whiff of the 20th century about it, but I have not been able to find a source. There doesn't seem to be a website for the label, Verso, either.

Downloads are available from Presto, and what is probably a rip is on Youtube. The other works on the CD are on Youtube as well.

A comprehensive text about the composer can be found on a website 'The History of the Symphony' by Francesc Serracanta I Giravent  here. A machine translation reads as follows:

Emilio Lehmberg (1905-1959) was born in Malaga on 9 November 1905. The history of his German surname is so curious that it deserves a few paragraphs. It began on 16 December 1900 on the German war frigate Gneisenau anchored off the port of Malaga.

The Gneisenau was a 2843-ton warship with a crew of 470 and 14 guns. Waiting to pick up the German ambassador on a mission to Morocco, it was anchored off the port of Malaga on 15 December. A strong easterly gale arose in the early hours of the 16th, warning the ship to enter port.
But the captain did not heed the warning. The strong gale broke the frigate's anchors, leaving it at the mercy of the waves and the hurricane-force wind. The crew was ordered to be evacuated, but the rescue boats sank into the sea or crashed against the rocks on the coast.
The ship was dragged towards the harbour jetty. Losing all control, it ended up being thrown over the breakwater and began to sink. The people of Malaga came to the aid of the shipwrecked. The victims were 41 members of the ship's crew, including its commander and a dozen people from Malaga who had helped them.

The survivors were taken in by the people of Malaga, who offered them their own homes until they were repatriated by a new German ship. But some of the sailors were allowed to stay for some time in Malaga. Among them was the 21-year-old sailor Otto Lehmberg, who had been taken in by the Ruiz Rodríguez family, a wealthy couple who lived in a mansion in Calle del Cristo de la Esperanza.
The family's daughter, then aged 19, Conchita Ruíz, fell in love with the German sailor and they were soon married in the Malaga capital. From this marriage the future composer Emilio Lehmberg Ruíz was born in 1905.
Given the curious reason for his German surname, Lehmberg studied in his hometown and soon showed an interest and talent for music.  He studied music theory, piano and violin with local musicians. He continued his studies at the National Conservatory in Madrid. He studied composition with Conrado del Campo. He also studied piano with Leopoldo Querol.
After finishing his studies around 1930, he began to earn his living as a violinist as well as writing his first compositions. He worked in numerous revue and zarzuela orchestras. He composed several works for piano, among them the suites "Málaga" and "Granada". The latter was orchestrated in 1931. Works in the Andalusian nationalist style following in the footsteps of Falla.
"Impresiones del atardecer" is a symphonic poem composed in 1931 for maestro José Lassalle, the conductor of the Madrid orchestra that bore his name and in which Lehmberg collaborated as first viola.
At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1936 he was in Madrid, joining the Republican Guard Band, stationed at the Palacio de Oriente. When the war ended, he married Carmen González Feijóo in 1942, a young piano student from Vigo whom he had met during his lessons with Leopoldo Querol.
In order to support his family during the difficult post-war period, he had to devote himself to commercial composition, in the field of the musical revue, a lighter genre that had replaced the zarzuela.
The last work of a symphonic nature before this stage of his life is the "Suite andaluza", a suite of Andalusian dances composed in 1942, at a time of exalted nationalism. The influence of Manuel de Falla is very noticeable. For Spanish music, Andalusian was identified with Spanish, so that composing music of a Spanish nationalist character meant composing music based on Andalusian folklore. This was also true of exiled composers such as Manuel de Falla himself. Andalusia was assimilated into the artistic concept of Spain.

He settled in Madrid, where he remained until his death, and in 1944 his only daughter Carmen Lehmberg was born, who would devote herself to dance. Dedicated to stage music for material needs, during the 1950s his greatest successes came in the world of the revue, a sub-genre derived from the zarzuela, motivated by purely commercial reasons to attract an unrefined public who loved light music with more or less racy stage situations, as much as the demure censorship of the time allowed.
The revue that gave him most success was "Lo verás y lo cantarás" composed in 1954, with lyrics written by the popular comedian Tony Leblanc. The number that was most successful was "Cántame un pasodoble español", a number of great expression of the reigning nationalism. The last three years of his life were traumatic due to the development of a mental illness.
The "Sinfonía para la festividad de Santa Cecilia" was completed in 1959, at the end of his life. We do not know what prompted him to write it, nor the origin and relationship to its title. It was premiered posthumously on 17 January 1962, at a tribute event organised by Malaga Town Hall. It was performed by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Málaga conducted by Pedro Gutiérrez Lapuente.
The first movement, andante, allegro, begins with a broad, slow introduction, with a lyrical theme. It employs remarkable contrapuntal forms. The influence of Brahms' music is quite clear. The first theme of the allegro written in sonata form is rhythmic in character. It has a short motif whose rhythm reminds us of Mozart. It soon gives way to a second theme of a lyrical character, which leads to an extensive development. The main theme begins the recapitulation, where the Mozartian motif is heard again. A conclusive coda closes the movement.

The second movement, andante, is written in lied form, presenting an uncharacteristic theme. It develops in keeping with the Germanic-influenced style we have seen in the previous movement.
The third movement, allegro, scherzo, uses a Brahmsian-influenced rhythmic theme with characteristic horn calls. After a brief pause it presents a second theme also in Germanic style, which forms the trio. Finally the first part of the movement is repeated.
The fourth movement, allegro, quasi presto, is the only movement in which it incorporates Andalusian elements, as can be seen in its main theme, with a rhythmic motif that is repeated throughout the movement in a rondo-like form. It alternates with melodic elements of a lyrical character.
A symphony in a romantic style, out of its time, written at the end of his life as if it were a tribute to Brahms, after he had abandoned writing symphonic music for years. We do not know what led him to this composition, nor why he dedicated it to the patron saint of music, during years of psychological instability.
His depressive mental illness worsened, leading to his death on 24 August 1959. Nowadays, a well-known street in Malaga bears his name, but passers-by are not aware of his symphonic work. The oft-mentioned conductor José Luis Temes has recorded some of his compositions.

[Alan Howe]

I'm not convinced - sorry. I just don't find the music carries conviction. The opening movement, for example, just comes across as a series of episodes, wandering all over the place before coming together in an over-extended, rather limp coda.

I'd love to say that this is a worthwhile discovery, but it doesn't do anything for me.

[gprengel]

Wow, in contrast to Alan, I am more than convinced of this discovery!! The fast movements are just great! In the first movement I see quite a bit of Tchaikowsky and Brahms - great the slow passionate introduction, at 2:54 begins the beautiful Allegro and especially at 9:03 my favourite part, the recapitulation - wonderful themes, counterpoint and passion. Very delightful also the melodios movement 3 - 4. Only the slow movement does not speak to me.
Thank you, Wheesht! After Mahler and Shostakowich's 7th for me the best symphony of the 20th century I got know...

[Alan Howe]

After Mahler and Shostakowich's 7th for me the best symphony of the 20th century I got know...

Wow indeed! Better than anything by Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Sibelius, Nielsen, Rachmaninov, Suk, Myaskovsky, etc., etc.? Not to mention the unsungs...

[John Boyer]

After Mahler and Shostakowich's 7th for me the best symphony of the 20th century I got know...

Wow indeed! Better than anything by Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Sibelius, Nielsen, Rachmaninov, Suk, Myaskovsky, etc., etc.? Not to mention the unsungs...

Ouch...

[mikehopf]

Surely not better than Barrios!

[Alan Howe]

Ouch...

Too harsh, John?

[John Boyer]

Ouch...

Too harsh, John?

I had the same reaction as you did, and your comment made me laugh.  No, it was just a good zinger.

[Alan Howe]

Not harsh enough, then? 

[Ilja]

To be fair, Gerd did specify "for me", and then it's just down to personal preference. I'm not bowled over by this, but I do prefer it to Elgar's trio for the simple reason that Elgar mostly leaves me cold. That's irrespective of the fact that I appreciate Elgar's superior craftsmanship and invention - i.e., that it's probably the objectively better work.


Although I would imagine that it also works the other way around: an Englishman experiences and appreciates Elgar in a way few other nationalities can.

[gprengel]

I must admit that I didn't really know all these composers's  symphonies which Alan mentioned and I listend now to quite a few of them - what really impressed me was the Adagio from Elgar's 1st symphony - wow, a real new and wonderful discovery for me! But the rest with the other mentioned composers did not really impress me so far. I have problems with those bombastic orchestras from that period of the early 20th century...
Well, I had forgotten to mention Sibelius great 2nd symphony which is the only one of him which I really love, in particular because of the fantastic finale.

[Ilja]

Allow me to get back to this work. I spend a bit of today listening to it again, and it struck me how much Lehmberg's symphony sounds like an anachronistic epigone of people such as Ruperto Chapí, Tomás Breton, and Conrado del Campo (who was his teacher, so that's not really a surprise). But attractive though the work is in places, in my mind it also lacks the sophistication of those earlier composers.
I try to avoid merely comparing composers to others, but iI find it almost impossible to ignore the similarities in musical language between Lehmberg and Miguel Marques (although I find Marques to be the superior craftsman). That language is very Spanish, and drenched in motifs from folk music and Zarzuela.

[semloh]

FOR ME, it sounds as if pages of Brahms and pages of Zarzuela interludes have somehow got mixed up, and the orchestra soldiers on regardless. I don't find it unpleasant to listen to, but that's about all I can say for it. I find Lehmberg's explicitly 'Spanish' orchestral pieces much more enjoyable.

[Alan Howe]

I'll be frank: it's not a strong work.

[Ilja]

I'll concede that (even if I enjoy it to some extent), but I don't think that's a very interesting thing to say about it. What makes it relevant is the continuation of a tradition. And if you're Spanish and part of that culture, it has a potency that outsiders just won't understand or appreciate. A bit like Elgar in that regard.