Felix Draeseke's other Symphonies

[Alan Howe]

I'm waiting for the day when we will finally get to hear the orchestrated version of his Violin concerto.

Me too. I have the score, but I can't interest anyone in a performance...

[Gareth Vaughan]

Oh, me too. It's a gorgeous work.

[eschiss1]

BTW Operabase seems to be a good website for finding some performance information past and present (edit: except for the fact that after a few uses, they expect one to subscribe at levels like 1500 pounds, so, not in my budget.) They list a performance of the Draeseke Symphonic Andante in May of last year in Kronach, as well as the upcoming (27-28 September 2025) performance of the Gudrun overture in Coburg...

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, Eric. Do keep us updated if you ever catch wind of a Draeseke performance.

[GoranTch]

The Violin Concerto was now mentioned several times, and I must confess that I am not even aware of its existence - is there a recording of that piece that you would recommend? "Orchestrated version" -  was it originally composed as a piece for violin and some sort of chamber ensemble?

[GoranTch]

And when the opening of the Classicstoday article is "Felix Draeseke is best known for his monumentally long (and dull) oratorio Christus"...

Wow. Talking about casually dismissing a first class composer in as smug and shallow a way as possible...

[Alan Howe]

The Violin Concerto only exists in a violin & piano reduction - the original orchestration is lost, but a replacement was produced about a decade ago by Draeseke expert and pianist, Wolfgang Müller-Steinbach.
Please refer to this webpage: https://www.draeseke.org/news/IDG2009VC/index.htm

Christus is, I am afraid, a monumental bore. The only available recording probably doesn't help, but, on this occasion, I agree with that rather damning verdict.

[eschiss1]

Still, if this is what he's best known for (I wasn't aware of it) and not his symphonies (which I still think, pace the spirit of Alan Krueck, also don't have the very best of Draeseke's muse), it makes sure that we get off on the wrong foot from the start. A little like a contemporary article on Beethoven beginning by identifying him with his septet, to give an insufficient analogy (but if an analogy were perfect, it would no longer be an analogy...)

[Alan Howe]

I'd still rescue the Tragica first from the bonfire...

[Alan Howe]

if this is what he's best known for

Meaning? Please elucidate.

To most people, including fans of unsung repertoire, he's not known at all. To others, he's misunderstood because he doesn't fit in to some neat category. In reality, he's a one-ff, a 'harter Nuß', a composer whose idiom often requires a long, hard listen. He'll never be popular. But he deserves far better because his music is of very high quality.

[eschiss1]

Please request an elucidation from the author of the article, not from me, as I was clearly quoting it. I assume "best known for" has its usual meaning, known more than for any other thing, which can be a useful relative statement for the least-known of composers, and how well his music is known absolutely is not at issue here at the moment; that said, the author's statement is still asserted, not shown.

[Alan Howe]

Apologies, Eric. I had simply lost track of the discussion - my fault. I see that the reference was to Christus.

[Ilja]

Somewhat speculative, but large oratorios such as Christus were very much in demand during the last decades of the 19th century. That changed during the 20th century. From their size and length to the relentless seriousness of their subject matter, they seem to have become regarded as the symbol of all that was wrong with (bourgeois) musical culture. The wake of that rejection took composers with it that were preliminary known for such oratorios: that might explain not only Draeseke's longtime neglect, but also that of someone like Benoit or even Bruch. Even Mendelssohn's large choral works almost disappeared from concert halls.

[Alan Howe]

I don't think that Draeseke's reputation was affected much by the failure of Christus, although that probably didn't help. If a masterwork such as his 3rd Symphony didn't make a permanent mark on the musicological map, nothing else was going to change the situation. Of course, he was overtaken by fashion, but then so was Brahms; and Draeseke's music was always a tougher nut to crack, which I think is where the problem lies. You just have to work harder at Draeseke...

[eschiss1]

Given how many composers of 20th century British oratorios (Boughton e.g.) were socialists, I'd be careful with generalizations, but...