Doing penance for awful musical neglect
John Conroy | Australia | 05/28/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"About time. The symphony has been recorded at least once before, and it is not a work to be despised. No purchaser of this CD will suffer any sense of 'let-down'. It is a glorious disc.
This is an A-plus grade recording for classical music. The best of the year so far, in my opinion. And it is proving to be a very good year for forgotten, neglected works of the High Romantic era of the mid to late 1800s.
I can do little more than support Joshua's comments. They have been matched by equally enthusiastic reviews drafted in Britain. In short, the Reinecke G Minor violin concerto on this disc is one of the forgotten monuments of classical music. Challenging and intense, yet dignified and with an effortless flow of melody and moving cross-referencing between themes. It is a tough work for the solo violinist, and believe me this listener's heart nearly stopped when Ingolf Turban seemed to hover on the brink of disaster. But of course, he triumphed, despite the risk of agreeing to a live performance.
No matter - congratulations all around. A terrible musical injustice has been corrected. The Reinecke violin concerto (along with his wonderful concertos for the piano, harp and flute) has finally been brought out into the light. It belongs in the concert halls and always has, along with violin concertos by Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Bruch, Dvorak, Saint-Saens, Goldmark etc, etc..."
Reinecke Finally Knocked my Socks Off
Joshua B. Lilly | Martinsville, VA USA | 05/18/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have a strange relationship with the music of Carl Reinecke (1824-1910). Born in what was then Denmark (now Germany), Reinecke was an "academic", literally: Professor of Composition and Piano at the Conservatorium in Leipzig from 1860, and conductor of the orchestra there until 1895. His 85 years were strewn with a surprisingly prolific compositional output, considering his many duties during most of them. Today, probably the only work of his that could be considered close to widely known is his Sonata for Flute and Piano in E Major, Op.167 (known as the "Undine"). And that indeed was my first introduction to his music; I must confess, flute plus piano must be among my least favourite musical forms, so my opinion on that work is surely unfair, but I didn't care for it all that much. This became a pattern for me... I'd hear something of his and think "that's okay", or "I like that a little". There were a couple of fair exceptions, like the 2nd and 3rd symphony, a more notable exception in the Harp Concerto, and a rather hefty exception in the 3rd Piano Concerto, which I considered his greatest work by far. Why did I keep buying his stuff? I don't know, but I did, and this CD landed in my lap.
How is this story relevent to a CD review? Because I know my experience with Reinecke is far from unique. And I hope that also, my experience with this disc, specifically the Violin Concerto, will not be unique. If my paragraph above resonates with you as regards to Reinecke, I hope that this one will as well: get this. This Violin Concerto is something you may love. It's magnificent. Brilliant, even. It has everything: all three movements have great melodic work, difficult passages for the violin while avoiding shallow flashiness, and excellent orchestration. It's a fairly neo-Classical work with a mild Romantic texture to it, similar in many ways to the music of Joachim Raff. As far as I'm concerned, it satisfies on every level, in each of the three movements. A masterpiece! And excellently rended in a live (don't panic, you'd never guess!!) performance, featuring the fine late-Romantic specialist Turban on the violin. I first ran into him performing Raff Violin Sonatas, and once again, he succeeds excellently, and this a very difficult work from what I can hear.
As for the Symphony, it has been recorded elsewhere, though this is now my favourite performance of it. I really like this work, though it may not find as wide an appreciative audience as the Concerto. And the Romances are both beautiful, well-written, and (I find) very pleasing. All in all, this is a big winner, and cpo makes a powerful case for Reinecke's Violin Concerto. As usual, their sound quality is high grade, and the orchestra is more than merely fine."
Georgeous!
Louis J. Perillo | Pensacola, Fl, USA | 06/21/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is beautiful and original music, wonderfully recorded. After completing my collections of most every composer who is well known, I'm going after the lesser known ones, and it's been hit and miss. Well...this is definitely a major Hit. The writing is up to the standard of the great ones, and the CPO recording is first class. Highly recommended!"
