EUGEN D'ALBERT (1864-1932): Symphony in F, Op. 4, Seejungfräulein for Soprano and Orchestra, Op. 15.

Description: Once available on Pan Classics, released in 1993 and now out-of-print, D'Albert's youthful symphony of 1884, makes a welcome return to the catalogue for a newer generation of collectors. Lasting 50 minutes in this performance, it comes from the composer's "Brahms period" stylistically and has a particularly memorable scherzo, wrapped around an extensive, song-like trio. Written in a few days in 1898 for his third wife, the dramatic soprano Hermine Finck, Seejungfräulein is a 17-minute setting of a free rendering of H.C. Andersen's mermaid tale which partakes rather heavily of Tristan. German-English texts. Anna Kasyan (soprano), Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra; Hermann Bäumer.