JULIUS ROENTGEN (1855-1932): Symphony No. 10 in D "Walzersymphonie", Symphonietta humoristica, 3 Preludes and Fugues, Suite "Oud-Nederland".

Catalogue Number: 09K004

Label: CPO

Reference: 777 308

Format: CD

Price: $15.98

Description: First, don't get overly excited about the "symphony"; it's a ten-minute waltz fantasy which Roentgen chose to call a symphony when he wrote it in 1930 when in the midst of churning out more than twenty symphonies of single-movement form and lengths ranging from 15-20 minutes. The Symphonietta of 1922 and the suite (1907) are much more like real symphonies with their four movements, especially the latter with its powerful first, meditative second, scherzo-like third and stately variations-finale, all based on old Dutch folk songs. The Sinfonietta's movements are all more or less "fast" and there are reminiscences of Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream, Brahms' second piano concerto and Mahler's Wunderhornlieder along with recompositions of portions of Roentgen's own song cycle the Chinese Flute. The Preludes and Fugues are a 1919 orchestration of a piano work from the year before which, as a sort of "betcha can't do this!", showed a friend by the name of Gerhard von Brucken Fock that it was possible to write fugues based on his name. Needless to say, if you've been collecting recent Roentgen releases on this and other labels, you'll know how refreshing, melodic and cheerful this composer can be, and is here also. Deutsche Staaatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz; David Porcelijn.

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