Marx Autumn Symphony in London

[ewk]

Dear all,

while I have no new information about the publishing of this recording (how could I have some, as a normal concert-goer...), I can tell a short anecdote about that concert.
Some months after the London concert, I was at a concert featuring Julia Fischer playing the Britten concerto (with the merged SWR Symphonieorchester, formerly Freiburg/Baden-Baden and Stuttgart). She played absolutely wonderfully, an absolute pleasure to listen.
And so I went to the dressing rooms and filed into the queue of congratulants for Mrs. Fischer. When she reopened her door after getting rid of her concert dress, I sneaked in and talked to her (she's surprisingly short btw) a little, thanking her for the wonderful concert. She was a very nice person to talk to.

Then, and this is why I tell this story, I asked her whether she remembered the concert in London and told her how happy I was to hear that a musician as her, playing in concerts so many times a year, had stayed to listen to the second half of the concert (which she does nearly always, she said). When asked how she liked the Symphony, her first reaction was »Awful!« (»Schrecklich!«) Then she relativised this saying she liked the first 10 minutes but then thought nothing else happened for the rest of the time (which corresponds to some of the reviews the concert had gotten).
I did not have the guts at that very moment to tell her that I travelled to London all the way from Germany to hear said symphony she  just called awful and, moreover, a friend of her entered the room and she started to talk with him, so I left.

While I am not of her opinion, I can absolutely understand how she must have felt listening to the piece the first time – and, moreover, I myself am not completely fond of that symphony, either, mostly because of the second movement I find much too lengthy.

Best wishes! ewk

[Alan Howe]

Oh, it's looooong. But, if kept for an occasional listen, it has the power to transport...

[matesic]

The vibe must have been infectious. I sat a few seats along from Fraulein Fischer and felt just the same, as I reported here. But I do applaud her interest, when she could have been relaxing with a(nother?) gin and tonic.

[Alan Howe]

Please note: further information or comment about the forthcoming cpo recording should be posted here:
http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,6956.0.html