Review: Max Bruch's Amiable Symphonies and Orchestral Works
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- Max Bruch: Symphonies Nos. 1-3; Preludes and Interludes. Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Robert Trevino (cond.) CPO
Bruch's symphonies may not ever be as popular as his famous Violin Concerto No. 1, but they are appealing, if conservative works, very well performed and warmly recorded in this convenient, two-disc set. The shorter works run the gamut from atmospheric to anonymous.
The only person that got the Second right, in my estimation, was Masur. I'm usually not too fond of his usually somewhat distant approach, but here it really works. Significantly, he gets through the piece more than five minutes quicker than Trevino does. Most of that is in the first movement, which indeed is a bit of a drag in Trevino's version; but truth be told, the first movement is not the strongest of Bruch's symphonic movements. The finale, on the other hand, is a glorious piece of music, and Masur handles it perfectly.
The first time I heard the Second was the Masur recording on the radio when I was 15. I was basically in heaven. Still blows my mind just as much as it did then.
Good to see this. Likewise, there are some really nice Bruch chamber works. Not earth-shattering, but good stuff to hear.
The scherzo in Symphony No.1 is so catchy. It has one of those tunes you can't stop humming.
And the finale is lots of fun, too!
Thanks for the Bruch suggestion. I decided to also check out his Octet (written I understand very near the end of his life) in a spirited live performance from the Hauho Music Festival (here on UA-cam). Wow - what a piece; by turns soulful, energetic, gloriously melodic, with an Adagio which is wistfully elegiac. I mean on this showing I really don't understand why his other pieces, past the usual suspects, aren't better known.
Because life is too short.
Love the reviews, David, but you made me wince with the Botstein dig. You have to at least give him credit for reviving a whole bunch of late Romantic and Modernist works. I’m thinking here of the performances of the ASO in recent years.
Anyway, you’re serving as a wonderful guide to my classical music purchases.
I do give him credit. He's just a lousy conductor as often as not.
I got mine a great long time ago. Amiable indeed.
I always found it interesting that Bruch and Saint-Saens were born within a few years of each other, but died a year apart. Question is, did Saint-Saens know of Bruch's work. If so, did he think highly or poorly of it.
I'll give these a go... I can see that Trevino has done a Beethoven cycle as well as the Ravel disc, albeit with a different orchestra. Is his Beethoven any good?
I thought it was good, but it didn't knock me over. I'll have to live with it for a while.
Did Brahms knew Bruch's third symphony? Its finale might have been an inspiration for the finale of his second symphony...
Considering that Bruch's 3rd was written a decade after Brahm's 2nd...