Hello all,
As part of the background to my/our upcoming book about the Hans Franke case, I undertook an interview with Eric Matser, the biographer of the decidedly unsung Zeeland composer Gerard von Brucken Fock. You may read it here (https://www.archaeopteryx.nl/a-second-life-for-an-unsung-composer-how-eric-matser-rediscovered-gerard-von-brucken-fock/).
I wanted to preserve the way Matser talks, which may account for the somewhat staccato dialogue. But I thought it was an interesting conversation which highlights some of the ways composers can be forgotten en uncovered.
Thanks, interesting interview! Glad to participate and help do justice to some of his amazing works
Hereby sharing my simulations for the 2nd symphony (lacking the finale, sorry!)
1st movement (https://youtu.be/dk8QAFDFb_8)
2nd movement (https://youtu.be/AJzVcj6LQNQ)
3rd movement (https://youtu.be/I99Yv_8H1Mk)
It made me want to hear his First.
My ears pricked up when some kind of comparison was made with the Zweers Third, which happens to be a favourite
I had trouble with the longueurs in the opening movement of the Second. I made a few listening cuts. Now, I am trying to get to grips with the Adagio in which I feel Elgar meets Tchaikovsky (and it is an uneasy meeting).
Quote from: terry martyn on Tuesday 23 June 2026, 16:16It made me want to hear his First.
My ears pricked up when some kind of comparison was made with the Zweers Third, which happens to be a favourite
I had trouble with the longueurs in the opening movement of the Second. I made a few listening cuts. Now, I am trying to get to grips with the Adagio in which I feel Elgar meets Tchaikovsky (and it is an uneasy meeting).
It's quite a different work from Zweers' Third: much more Beethovenian, without those long arcs, and more consistent as well. In fact, it's quite like Zweers slightly earlier second symphony in E-flat, although darker.
For good measure, like Zweers, Von Brucken Fock (it's a German title, not a Dutch one, hence the "von") wrote three symphonies:
- No. 1 in C major (1886)
- No. 2 in B flat major (1908)
- No. 3 in C sharp (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC9Blm0aeK4) (1916)
The variation is style between the three is quite extreme - we go from the semi-Beethovenian first to the much more personal and ambitious (but admittedly also more inaccessible) second, and finally to the third symphony, which is clearly influenced by contemporary French music. The Second is a difficult beast; it's very attractive in sections but it does require some perseverance to get through it. Unfortunately, we don't have the finale yet (or the 2nd and 4th movements of the 3rd) to listen to.
There's also a not insignificant piano concerto of 1888, of which only the first movement survives (for a rendition by forum member Promusician, click here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWwOQgQy22Q)). Apparently, he rehearsed the concerto in Baden with the local orchestra under Könnemann, but wandered off during a rehearsal break in a bout of stage fright, never to return to the hall. I've contacted the orchestra, but it's not in their archives so it probably got lost afterwards. Thankfully, what we have (now as a
Konzertstück) is quite good and possibly his most accessible orchestral composition. His Requiem (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWFGMdOT3b8&pp=ygUUYnJ1Y2tlbiBmb2NrIHJlcXVpZW0%3D) (1894) is also a substantial and beautiful work.
There are numerous other works in various genres, but I have a soft spot for his
Watergeuzen overture of 1888 (a good year, as Matser says), a patriotic piece celebrating the Dutch Republic's "navy" in the war of independence from Spain during the 16th century. Click here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGzsjVepEqg&pp=ygUYYnJ1Y2tlbiBmb2NrIHdhdGVyZ2V1emVu) for a rendition by Marinus Degenkamp (MDMusics).
Also incidentally a CD of piano and vocal music from Zefir from 2008, another of his preludes from 2023, and a 2-CD set of chamber music.
1st symphony (my simulation):
1st movt (https://youtu.be/wsatgICWy08)
2nd movt (https://youtu.be/ovbduMhSqWM)
3rd movt (https://youtu.be/EZwxZ9eHv68)
4th movt (https://youtu.be/9V3S7dCEjfw)
Konzertstuck (my simulation):
link (https://youtu.be/a_DHVgpCJNQ)
(Ilja, the above is by MD, not me)
Thanks for the posting the interview, Ilja, it's a fascinating read - both for what Matser says about Fock and his legacy, but also for what Matser reveals about himself and his attitude towards Fock. Trying to promote an "unsung" can often be a lonely and frustrating pastime, takes decades and needs patient single-mindedness, as Matser readily recognises. I wish him luck with Fock, although it looks as if he might be getting some traction, in the Netherlands at least.