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This really is excellent news. In this "golden age" of unsung composer recordings the neglect of Hiller has been a real oversight - maybe because no one has been lobbying loud enough, or offering financial support to get recordings made?

I hope CPO will record the C major symphony too, a fine symphony, which was composed by Hiller sometime in the 1870s - and it was his last symphony.

Judging by Howard Griffiths' reply, the C major Symphony which he has recorded isn't this one. I guess the score remains in manuscript.

Op.67 is a fine work but, whichever symphonies they are, this is a must buy for me.

... and as we know from Paul Wee's recent Bronsart/Henselt recording, that's another can of worms!

I was lukewarm about the Violin Concerto recording when I first sampled it but I do now agree with Alan, Klaidi Sahatçi's performance is so persuasive and the orchestral support is absolutely fine. The cpo account seems a tad pedestrian by comparison. I remain agnostic about the Symphony but the Overture is a winner.

Having sampled this new recording on YouTube I shan't be duplicating the cpo recording of the Symphony or Violin Concerto but the Overture is a welcome bonus. At under nine minutes this upbeat work is impressive and an object lesson: a composer with strong material maximising it's impact by resisting the urge to pad it out.  Contrast that with the way Erdmannsdörfer fatally diluted his Prinzessin Ilse Overture, as demonstrated by Reverie's drastic (but successful) surgery.

Thanks, Alan.

Hmm, I shall definitely be sampling this one carefully before committing.

ask Alan or Mark to represent this forum on Hyperion's Facebook page. We can but try.

I "have but tried" on our behalf on Facebook, Gareth. Get well soon, my friend.

Other members should add to the suggestions there too, of course.

With the greatest of respect to Martin, his realisation demonstrates that this rather fine symphony is crying out for a live performance. As Alan implies, judging by his opera Das Käthchen von Heilbronn and oratorio Jephta & seine Tochter (both available from cpo) Reinthaler doesn't seem to have had a great melodic gift, but here he uses the opportunity for development offered by the scale of an expansive symphony to show that he could build from his modest material movements of real power and memorability. The impact of the work is quite remarkable - it's one of the finest symphonies into which Martin has breathed life. Once gain, we are in his debt.   

What an improvement, Martin! I'm not usually in favour of cuts but this is such a dramatic change for the better that I must applaud it. The reduced Overture is an absolute gem: inventive, atmospheric, varied and immediately memorable. Every prolix composer needs a Reverie!

Lacombe's Symphony has finally reached the top of my playlist. It's a modestly-proportioned, grateful work, with memorable material attractively orchestrated and I'll look forward to revisiting it but I did find it oddly anonymous. I wasn't expecting anything too Franckian like so many later 19th century French symphonies but, like Lalo's Symphony mentioned earlier by Alan, it's so eclectic that there aren't really any clues to the nationality of the composer, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just unusual for the period. It'll be interesting to see if the other orchestral works on the CD (which I haven't heard yet) are similarly self-effacing.

Excellent!

"All that"? Sorry, Eric. No, I think I recognise Meyerberr's limitations but, despite his melodies being short-winded and four-square, I'm a sucker for them, his imaginative orchestration and the excitement he usually whips up at the end of each act. But he's no Raff....

I think it must have been a slip of the mouse, Eric. It's no longer sticky...

Krommer has real individuality, I do agree.