It turns out that in 2021 and 2022, Woyrsch' first* symphony in C minor was played no fewer than four times in Spain; twice by the Orquesta de Extremadura under Charles Olivieri-Munroe, and twice by the Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE (Spanish Public Broadcasting) under Miguel Ángel Gómez Martinez, who also recorded the work for CD in the 1990s. Gómez Martinez obviously believes in the symphony, and his latest recording can be seen and heard on YouTube (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=azStgzJt6dQ&list=RDazStgzJt6dQ&start_radio=1).
This seems to be a marked improvement on Gómez Martinez' MDG recording. The orchestra's better, the conductor's (slightly) more expansive approach works really well and the sound image lacks the sharpness that marred the earlier recording.
*which was in fact his second, and I still have some hope CPO may have recorded the "real" first.
Not being a particular fan of late-Romantic music, I have been in two minds about this symphony. So,I've listened. And it's heavy.
It is dense, but it has good tunes, the textures are still pretty transparent and the orchestration is not nearly as saturated as, say, most of Joseph Marx' stuff.
This is Woyrsch' most Brahmsian symphony that I know. After this he develops a more individual and increasingly more sparse style, quite unlike anyone else.
I gather cpo has also recorded this symphony for release soonish?, and if the recording on MDG is subpar, hopefully their new recording may be an improvement. (Hopefully!) I've listened to at least part of the cpo recordings of symphonies 2 and 3 with enjoyment, as I recall...
I wouldn't want to present the MDG recording as "sub-par", but it is on the rough side in some aspects. I'll inquire which symphonies cpo has recorded, since the "First" can refer to either the C minor (usually calle the first) or the earlier, unpublished (but extant) B flat major symphony. The more so since we know Walter Zielke (who provided earlier Woyrsch scores for CPO) worked on it.
I think this was already answered as being the C minor in another thread (... or somewhere else), I'll try to find it, but I could be mistaken. Even if I'm right, that doesn't mean symphony no.0 is -not- set for recording.
This post by - erm - you, actually - from 2024 - suggests the numbered first is scheduled for recording: here (https://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php?msg=97501).
Ah I see, misrembered that. Still, I'm curious whether the earlier symphony has been recorded in the meantime. And when this is set to be released of course.
I got a reply from Andreas Dreibrodt from the Pfohl-Woyrsch Gesellschaft, who wrote that the recording of symphonies 1 and 6 is to be released next April. They intend to continue the series, but no further recordings have been made sofar. However, the Violin Concerto (or Skaldische Rhapsodie) and the unnumbered symphony in B flat major are next on the list, with the recording of the concerto already planned. That CD should also include a movement originally intended for Symphony No. 1 but later retracted. Finally, there are plans for a performance (and recording) of Woyrsch' Totentanz, his largest work.
I was sort of hoping #0 was in B-flat minor as previously reported, but B-flat major's a fine key/mode-pair. :) Looking forward to, of course. (Or should I say, with Bes wishes? ... no, I should -not-.)
My mistake. It's B flat minor.
Ah, thanks. Do you know if the "zero" symphony has been or will (per current plan anyway) be published in some printed form?
The Gesellschaft will not do so, but my guess would be that Walter Zielke will publish the work through his company Albis Music (the website (https://albismusic.jimdosite.com/) of which seems to be largely inactive at the moment).
He has, since I have not said so, done yeoman's work for Woyrsch, Thieriot and others of course...
the cover of cpo new release soon
(https://www.jpc.de/cpocover/2026-04/5556282_cover.jpg)
Thank you! Any word about a release date yet?
Quote from: emi122 on Wednesday 18 March 2026, 18:08the cover of cpo new release soon
(https://www.jpc.de/cpocover/2026-04/5556282_cover.jpg)
Do you know what other interesting recordings will be released by this label (other than the ones on Presto)?
Not offhand. That said: I find myself looking at some of the repertoire, as listed on their homepages, say, of their regulars. Has Oliver Triendl in fact recorded Wilhelm Berger's Op.28 cello sonata, which he includes? (Has anyone?)...
Triendl's repertoire list also includes such interesting works as Ewald Straesser's Piano Quintet, Piano Trio and Horn-Vioin-Piano Trio. And even George Szell's Piano Quintet (though recorded by others). I gather some works were only performed during chamber music festivals in the past, and he didn't seem to have recorded them...
The Woyrsch release already appears on Presto. Date release: April 23rd.
I should try to get a listen to that Straesser disc, of course- now if someone would release a CD set of his 5 quartets, e.g. ... :)
Quote from: Tapiola on Thursday 19 March 2026, 04:08Quote from: emi122 on Wednesday 18 March 2026, 18:08the cover of cpo new release soon
(https://www.jpc.de/cpocover/2026-04/5556282_cover.jpg)
Do you know what other interesting recordings will be released by this label (other than the ones on Presto)?
the new cd of CPO will be released in May
1.(https://www.jpc.de/cpocover/2026-05/5555732_cover.jpg)
2.(https://www.jpc.de/cpocover/2026-05/5556012_cover.jpg)
3.(https://www.jpc.de/cpocover/2026-05/5556182_cover.jpg)
4.(https://www.jpc.de/cpocover/2026-05/5556682_cover.jpg)
5.(https://www.jpc.de/cpocover/2026-05/5557412_cover.jpg)
6.(https://www.jpc.de/cpocover/2026-05/5557812_cover.jpg)
@emi122 thank you so much!
Quote from: Tapiola on Thursday 19 March 2026, 17:10The Woyrsch release already appears on Presto. Date release: April 23rd.
It has been released today!
I feel a bit sorry for poor old Miguel Ángel Gómez Martínez. No one has done more to promote Felix Woyrsch' symphony in C minor (1907; usually called his No. 1 even if it is No. 2 in order of composition) than he; he led the first commercial recording of the piece (on MDG back in 1995) and performed it multiple times in concert as recently as 2024. And then someone else shows up and just does it better.
Over the years, Martínez' view of the work has become even more expansive, and my explanation is that he attempts to turn it into a kind of "Brahms' Fifth". The recent live performance on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azStgzJt6dQ&t=30s) sounds like a quest for the older composer's lyricism, but it does rather bring everything to crawl. Griffiths, who slices more than ten minutes off that performance, appears to use Woyrsch' (actual) first symphony in B-flat minor for reference; a work written in 1884 twenty years before the C major when the composer was 23 years old, on which he kept tinkering for decades without ever releasing it for publication. My guess is that Walter Zielke, who created performance editions of both that work and the Sixth Symphony (or Seventh) on this release, was involved in that choice. I'll come to Zielke again further below.
The result is a symphony that comes across as much more dynamic, but without feeling rushed once you get the Martínez recording out of your head. The exception is perhaps the Adagio (Sehr Langsam) which I feel could have benefited from a bit more space, not least to create some contrast with the following movement ("In ruhig schreitender Bewegung", not really a Scherzo but more of a Beethoven 7th-type Allegretto).
The whole CD is up to the normal cpo standard; an excellent performance brought to us through a well-balanced and transparent recording; a bit dark in places perhaps, but that is a matter of preference. The old Martínez recording for MDG now feels a bit lumpen by comparison; mainly because of the slower tempi, but the greater dynamic differences in the recording don't help: it's either loud or very soft, and in the latter passages that makes it harder to keep focus because it can get quite indistinct. Combine that with the somewhat scruffy Hamburg SO and this new Griffiths is an improvement in every way.
By the way, Brahms isn't the sole influence in the symphony, even if it is the most evident one; the use of woodwinds is almost Mahlerian in places, and Beethoven makes an appearance every now and then. What is particularly interesting in this recording is that we can get a sense of Woyrsch' symphonic development; although he didn't really change his musical language in a fundamental way, it did become more pared down as time went on, particularly with the F major symphony (No. 4/5) of 1921. The whole sound image becomes more austere, and the pieces become briefer. The C major of 1913 clocks in at almost fifty minutes, and with the Sixth (again in C major) we're down to under 20 minutes.
That length seems to be inversely proportionate to the ambition of the work. Many of Woyrsch' late works (he was 78 when this symphony was premiered in 1939) are religiously inspired, and this "Sinfonia Sacra" especially so. According to the excellent booklet text by Norbert Florian Schuck, the work was probably consciously written as Woyrsch' last symphonic "word", and a reference of sorts to the Symphoniae sacrae by Heinrich Schütz. The religious overtones are also programmatic, particularly in the second Via Crucis movement, where Jesus' Way of the Cross is depicted in a set of 14 brief variations.
A few years ago, Walter Zielke published a digital rendition of the symphony (but removed since), and it's interesting to see that Griffiths' version keeps very close to that version. This leads me to believe that Zielke was closely involved with this recording; let us hope that he stays attached to the project, and that we may be able to welcome Woyrsch' actual first symphony of 1884 at some point; from the first two movements, which Zielke put on his YouTube channel as well (unfortunately, these appear to have vanished too) it's an attractive, youthful work.
I found that very interesting,Ilja.
On balance,I have decided that this current recording by Griffiths is likely to be too-late Romantic for me, but I have also decided,on the strength of what you say, that the real First Symphony, when recorded, will be a must-buy.
You can just try out the whole thing on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81GiicBPrMs&list=OLAK5uy_m1EBPeLjOdXJE0ywiJvst7gzKB29qjNg8) and decide then, of course.
It is definitely a "borderline" case for me.
Am I "leaning towards recommending that {approbation} be denied"?
I am still having aesthetic problems with the final movement. So,it's going to have to be a number of playthroughs for me, before I can accept the "reputational risks" involved with this composer's close association with the too-late Romantics such as Mahler.
.
Agree with Terry; this is a fascinating analysis, Ilan. Where I differ is that this release was a must-buy for me before I even read it. 😏 Ordered just now alongside the new Weigl String Quartets disc and, somewhat blind, the Oscar Strauss symphonic poem & ballet.
I always found the Martinez recording g a little too stodgy: looking forward to hearing this new reading.
It's a great pity that Woyrsch didn't have the faintest idea of how to compose the finale. If he had studied how Gernsheim.say.went about it in his glorious Second Symphony, he might have learnt something. It manages to be both meandering and bloated ,and in urgent need of a "great tune" - or any decent tune, for that matter. I fear it reminds me of Hans Rott - trying too hard and failing so conspicuously as to ruin what had gone before.
Released yesterday, and on jpc's website (https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/felix-woyrsch-symphonien-nr-1-6/hnum/11441147).
Quote from: terry martyn on Friday 24 April 2026, 16:06It's a great pity that Woyrsch didn't have the faintest idea of how to compose the finale. If he had studied how Gernsheim.say.went about it in his glorious Second Symphony, he might have learnt something. It manages to be both meandering and bloated ,and in urgent need of a "great tune" - or any decent tune, for that matter. I fear it reminds me of Hans Rott - trying too hard and failing so conspicuously as to ruin what had gone before.
Aside from personal taste, I don't think that there's the lack of a tune. If anything, the theme is a bit too prevalent. But I have to concur partly with Terry, although the problems mainly affect the first half of the finale. After about the six minute mark, things become more cogent.
The "First" is not an unproblematic work, which makes it a bit ironic that among Woyrsch' symphonies it has gained by far the most attention. However, its two successors, the C major 2nd and E-flat major 3rd, are the more interesting works for me, not least because it shows Woyrsch had paid attention to contemporaries such as Mahler, Weigl, Schreker and even a bit of Reger, and incorporated these influences into his own still largely Brahmsian framework.
Fairly sure the 3rd is in E-flat minor, especially after skimming the score, but I may be being too picky, and I agree as to the rest, anyway.