Search - Hermann Goetz, Werner Andreas Albert, NDR Philharmonic Orchestra (Hannover) :: Hermann Goetz: Orchestral Works; Concertos

Tuneful, Beautifully Crafted Music

T. Beers | Arlington, Virginia United States | 07/19/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not a big believer in the "undiscovered masterpiece" phenomenon ... about 40 years ago a temporary craze for 19th century "forgotten masters" dredged up a great mass of thoroughly mediocre stuff by the likes of Raff, Kalkbrenner, the Scharwenka brothers, Henselt, and others. Most of it dropped back into obscurity once the craze passed. But Hermann Goetz was a genuine discovery then and remains one today. His music is not brilliantly assertive, but it is impeccably written and boasts lovely melodies and superb orchestration that by its deft transparency invites comparisons with Mendelssohn and Berwald. Goetz died at age 36, the victim of tuberculosis, and we will never know whether he would have developed into a great composer. As it is, he earned the respect of Brahms who was not known for tolerating mediocrities. (Goetz's setting of Schiller's "Naenia" predates Brahms's version and it is noteworthy that Brahms deferred publication of his own masterpiece for some time out of respect for Goetz's superb composition.) If you love the music of early Romantic masters like Schumann, Mendelssohn and Berwald, hear this music. I am sure you will be delighted. Goetz's symphony is awash with a springlike freshness; ditto the one-movement violin concerto. But all of the music on these three very reasonably priced CDs is worth hearing. Performances and recorded sound are nothing less than superb."