Franz SCHMIDT (1874-1939)
Symphony No. 2 in E flat (1913) [49.58]
Richard STRAUSS (1864-1949)
Festival Prelude, Op. 61 (1913) [12.33]
Christoph Anselm Noll (organ: Strauss)
Beethoven Orchester Bonn/Stefan Blunier
rec. live, Beethovenhalle, Bonn, 13-14 May 2016
MDG 937 2006-6 SACD [62.33]
This disc couples two works premièred in Vienna within
two months of each other in the autumn of 1913, both featuring the massive
orchestras that were so fashionable at the time but which were to fall
into disfavour in the more financially straitened times that followed
the First World War. The Strauss Festliches Praeludium was
commissioned to mark the dedication of the Vienna Konzerthaus, and in
it the composer used the same gargantuan orchestra that he was later
to employ in his Alpine Symphony, without the contingents of
offstage brass and wind and thunder effects, but featuring a prominent
role for organ. It is rarely heard nowadays, clearly because as a short
work it does not fit easily into concert programmes which do not feature
large romantic orchestras; but it is far from simply an occasional commemorative
piece. The purposeful forward momentum of the music not only prefigures
the symphony but also echoes the textures of Also sprach Zarathustra
with its similarly prominent organ part, and it is given a spectacular
performance here.
Schmidt’s Second Symphony is a more problematic piece,
principally because of its somewhat unusual structure. The outer movements
surround a long set of variations which combine the functions of a slow
movement with a concluding scherzo, but the latter is somewhat brief
for its context and we don’t really get the luscious slow movement
that we also tend to expect in a Schmidt symphony. The sixth variation
is however a real gem, a richly scored Langsam movement that
recalls to mind the intermezzo for Schmidt’s Notre Dame,
at one time the only piece by the composer that maintained his presence
in the catalogues. One gets the feeling that it could have been even
more ruhig (as marked) in this performance, but it still makes
an emotional effect. And, as in the case of the Strauss, the sound is
absolutely gorgeous (I listened in normal stereo).
There are five alternative versions of the Schmidt symphony listed in
the current catalogues, which makes a welcome change from the paucity
of the composer’s representation during the 1960s. One of these
derives from a 1958 mono broadcast conducted by Dimitri Mitropoulos,
but the rest come in modern sound (which is needed for a score of this
nature). Two others, conducted by Fabio Luisi and Neeme Järvi, come
without coupling; but the addition here of the Strauss prelude is unique
in the catalogue and a most welcome bonus (and the competition here
is hardly thick on the ground either).
For those who have yet to make the acquaintance of these scores, this
issue can be heartily recommended. These same forces have already recorded
Schmidt’s Fourth Symphony, and one looks forward with anticipation
to possible future releases of the even lesser-known First and Third.
Paul Corfield Godfrey
