Unsung Composers

The Music => Digital Realisations => Topic started by: Ilja on Tuesday 21 July 2026, 12:29

Title: Henri Rabaud, Symphony No. 1 in D minor (1893)
Post by: Ilja on Tuesday 21 July 2026, 12:29
I just wanted to draw your attention to member ProMusician's rendering of Henri Rabaud's first symphony of 1893 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AXvlFJ0-I0&t=781s), written when he was 19 years of age. It's an interesting work, clearly not as mature as his second (written six years later) but already hinting at the grand lyric gestures that characterize that work.
Title: Re: Henri Rabaud, Symphony No. 1 in D minor (1893)
Post by: Mark Thomas on Wednesday 22 July 2026, 10:04
Thanks, Ilja. It's an extraordinarily accomplished piece of juvenilia, and a fascinating listen. Three of the movements are compact and move along at a sprightly pace, nothing (not even the 12 minute-long slow movement) outstays its welcome, the material is memorable, well-developed and inventive. Some of the transitions are a bit clumsy, and the finale is too abrupt, harming the work's balance, but generally it's an impressive Op.1.