Since there is discussion about great 3rd symphonies, so I how about composers that wrote only one symphony, but it came out as a masterpiece. I think one is Chausson.
Chausson pulls two other composers immediately from my mind: Dukas and Franck.
I would nominate Korngold whose only symphony is – even if it was written in the 40s and early 50s as far as i know – a real masterwork, at least regarding the fantastic slow movement!
Well, depends on how picky one's going to be. Korngold's early sinfonietta really is also a symphony, in all but exact name. It's not even a brief (or light, I gather) symphony; it's about 3/4 an hour.
A number of composers to whom we attribute only/from whom we know only one symphony seem on further investigation to have written several, even if the others are in ms. (but are nevertheless complete.) (Albert Dietrich is one such, I think; he seems to have after all written two. Then again, his one better-known one I gather was really good, but not strictly speaking great. ... Is there a "strictly-speaking" great? Oh-oh...)
One great symphony - that's a tough one amongst the unsung: Dietrich, perhaps? Julius Otto Grimm potentially., One not at all bad symphony - that's easier: Bargiel, Biarent, Boellmann, Brüll, Brzowski, Dukas, Goetz, Heinrich Hofmann, Lalo, Mielck, Moscheles, Paderewski, Pejacevic, Xaver Scharwenka, Stojowski, Sullivan, Volbach...
Finding agreement as to which are "great" is liable to be even tougher.
Absolutely, a really subjective judgement which I suppose is validated by consensus. I'd never claim that my own list of not bad symphonies is based on anything other than my own whims and fancies.
Can't stand the word 'great' myself, though of course I use it (alas). But substitute 'marvelous' and I'll move the Lalo to the uppermost layer of the pile. Astonishing vitality and really first class material. Not to mention compact: four movements packed into about 26 minutes. The problem is that it's hard to pull off...for me Kees Bakels and his Mayasian orchestra are completely convincing, whereas the well-regarded Beecham performance makes it sound fluffy (like just another delightful Beecham 'lollipop'.) It's a formidable piece, and recognizable throughout as Lalo, something that can't always be said about the other symphonies (fine as they may be) on Mark's list. Maybe it's just me, but I can't picture myself slapping my head and exclaiming "By Jove, that symphony could only be the work of Woldemar Bargiel!"
On the other hand, a really unmistakable compositional personality is no guarantee of the highest quality. It can just be mannerism. See under Spohr ;).
David
My post is n.8 (and my English limited). IMHO I would recognize the status of masterpiece ( no less) to two already named symphonies , the Dukas and the Chausson (in the order) fairly recorded, severely underperformed even in France.
The Franck is decidedly sung. About actual performances of the two : once I attended a performance of the Chausson under Plasson. Asking Maestro Lawrence Foster to sign a copy of his recording of the Dukas, he kindly informed me to have conducted the symphony (like on Cd, with the Monte Carlo Orchestra) in New York.
If I should add a name, It would be Pizzetti's symphony (tonal and romantic) ; very fine, even great; I would not dare the word "masterpiece".
When first written in 1855, the Symphony in G by Georges Bizet was considered as a masterpiece..it is a very enjoyable piece not to be missed for sure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_in_C_(Bizet)
last time the question was raised (by me, I know) whether Bizet's C major was his only symphony, there seemed to be some agreement that the answer was "No!" (Bizet's Suite-Symphony Roma was considered a symphony by its composer, for one.)
And when it (the C major) was composed, I think what happened to it was "he put it in his desk drawer, and it wasn't discovered or performed by anyone until 1935". (He may have been concerned that it was a bit derivative of one of Gounod's symphonies, memory serves. And it is- and it doesn't matter. And the Bizet is a masterpiece, I agree.)
For me, the greatest unsung "only" symphony is the one in C# minor by a young Ernst Bloch. It's passionate, deeply moving, brilliantly orchestrated - epic. The first time I ever heard it was on the Marco Polo recording. Good as it is, the BIS out classed it in every way. The score is fascinating to study. Anyone who responds to Mahler, Korngold, Bruckner and the like would have no problem with Bloch. It's his only symphony in the old, European tradition. Sadly, I can't imagine it ever showing up live.
I'd certainly include the Karlowicz and Vierne among the arguably great, both, to my ears, works of high and consistent inspiration. I'd say Bernard Herrmann's lone symphony is both a masterpiece and fits comfortably within the UC definition of romanticism.
Bloch's is not his "only" symphony by far. He wrote some ... six? (Symphony in C-sharp minor, America, Israel, Symphony in E-flat, Symphony for Trombone, Symphonia Brevis...)
If memory serves, Albert Dietrich did indeed compose 2 symphonies, and the 2nd, in D minor is the one we have. But I'm not entirely sure that the MS of the earlier work survived. Same with Hermann Goetz, although it seems to be fairly certain that the MS of his 1st Symphony, in E minor was destroyed in a fire.
Bernard Herrmann was working on a 2nd symphony it seems but didn't finish it (not sure from the description whether it was a symphony for organ and orchestra or for organ alone), an interesting detail...
I seem to recall finding notice in RISM of a symphony, quite possibly the one symphony, by a (very little-known) friend (no, not Grimm- much less-known than Otto Grimm...) of Brahms and Dietrich (I think?) to whose manuscript, according to RISM, Brahms added a number of annotations- will have to have another look... "one, but intriguing, symphony" would be more the category there, for me.
Edit: Wilsing. Daniel Wilsing (1809-1893). Symphony in D, copy made in 1832 (so composed at least a year before Brahms was born.) see here (http://opac.rism.info/search?documentid=201008533) for information about a copy held at the Schumann-Haus, Zwickau library.
I first got to know the Chausson Symphony via the old Decca Eclipse LP conducted by Robert Denzler. Searching for this this evening on various sites I couldn't find any mention of it, so maybe it is quite a rare pressing now, which would surprise me, as I thought that series was very common.
But it is a well-known work. One really major work from around the same period that has not been mentioned, and is a lot less well-known, is the solitary symphony of Louis Vierne. A very powerful and moving piece, composed, if I remember correctly, after the death of the composer's son.
I think his son died in WWI, which - in a sense - led to his (wonderful...) piano quintet. (Or did he have two sons and one died in WWI, the other in the early 1900s?... could be...) The violin sonata op.23 (1903-5) and symphony op.24 (1908) did also, i seem to recall, have their origin in a trauma but I don't recall what it is.
From about the same time as the Chausson, I think the Beach symphony has majesty and sweep in its outer movements (not necessarily evident in Jarvi's "Mendelssohnian" performance), real drama in its slow movement, and more than its share of good tunes throughout.
I have this bad habit of relying on my memory, which is not as good as it once was. The trigger for Vierne's symphony was not a death, but the collapse of his marriage - I just checked.
I'd like to nominate Frederic Cliffe's Symphony 8)
Cliffe wrote a second symphony, which has yet to be performed although I believe that the manuscript has now been tidied up.
ahh!.. Thanks Mark..
Quote from: izdawiz on Tuesday 07 May 2013, 21:14
I'd like to nominate Frederic Cliffe's Symphony 8)
The the cover of the Sterling recording clearly says 'Symphony No.1', not simply 'Symphony'.
your right Alan.. :-[.... well in that case I'd nominate Dora Pejačević Symphony in F minor ;D
That's an excellent choice. It's a marvellous work.
Pardon the interruption, but...don't you mean F-sharp minor? For the Pejacevic, I mean.
*snake goes fisssss!* That did sound wrong.
I like to add the Symphony in G minor by the Flemish composer August de Boeck (1865-1937). Maybe not a 'great' symphony compared to many others, but this four movement work (1896) is certainly a (late) romantic work, featuring an impressive flow of beautiful passages.
The Ludvig Irgens-Jensen, his Symphony in D minor from 1942, now available in its original version , including the deleted third movement. Bjarte Engeset conducting the Bournemouth SO for Naxos.
I'm inclined to add the Moeran (even though his attempt at a 2nd has been reconstructed). A bit flawed, but if "great" doesn't apply (I'm not sure it doesn't) then thrilling and stunning can, at least...
Arriaga?
Vorisek (1821)? The third Movement appears to me un uncanny premonition of Schumann.
Well, count me in as a fan of Vorisek's symphony in any case at all (though the name I seem to recall thinking when I first heard it was either Schubert or Brahms. I think it was Brahms, oddly. Well, I probably hadn't heard -that- much for comparison yet... !)
Once again at the borders between classical and romantic, I would suggest Cherubini's only effort a masterful work (if not really a masterpiece).
For me, Hans Rott is a great composers ,and he has composed one? but great symphony
One symphony in E (1878-80?), sketches of a second, but more importantly than those sketches, 3 movements of a symphony for strings in A-flat (ca.1874-75?) (see description (http://www.hans-rott.de/werke/strsympe.htm).) I think that incomplete string symphony's complete enough that it's been performed despite the absence of a finale (ah. Yes, a recording is noted. Still, wouldn't consider it a counterexample, not really.) (Besides this incidentally and by the way there are some other complete works listed at the site.)
Rott's symphony was finished by the end of July 1880 (except for some edits made in August). There are only a few crazed pages of Rott 2, which he had worked on from January-July 1880 concurrently with composing the 1st symphony finale and polishing the whole thing. It is apparent that he intended to go straight on with a second one and possibly he got somewhat further on paper than what has survived.
Probably the last of his orchestral works to be premiered (in 2014 - 25 years after the symphony was first performed in its entirety and recorded) will be the Hamlet Overture (composed 1876).
I go along with the comments so far. Hard to pick a truly great one-only symphony by an unsung composer, and there are so many that fall into that "not bad at all" category.
I was going to nominate Frederic Cliffe's 1889 Symphony in C minor .... then checked to make sure it was indeed his only symphony and was shocked to see that a 2nd was published in 2010 - I missed that along the way! So, I'll go with Amy Beach's Gaelic, which I think falls into the 'rather good' category! ;D
Edit: Oh! I just read the thread about the Toccata recording of Mielcke - so must definitely add here his wonderful Symphony in F minor, Op.4.
Ernest Chausson's Symphony in B-flat Major
Juan Crisostomo de Arriaga's only symphony in D is (to me) a masterpiece.
To honor his passing, I must mention Harold Shapero, whose 1947 Symphony for Classical Orchestra is a masterwork in my book.
-J
--
Jim Moskowitz
The Unknown Composers Page: http://kith.org/jimmosk/TOC.html
My latest list of unusual classical CDs for auction: https://tinyurl.com/jimmosk42
Thank you for that Jim! You are indeed correct. He was my great friend. I was reluctant to post this due to the Ten Commandments. :P
Well, it's not great either, but Nepomuceno's only symphony seems to me to be very very good too.
How about the Symphony of Felix Blumenfeld. I love that piece and which he had written another. Actually if he's written a lot more for the orchestra it would have been interesting as his orchestration is fantastic in his only symphony.
aside from at least one other orchestral work, an Allegro for piano and orchestra I don't know if he did. Hrm. (Oh. There's both that op.7 and also a mazurka op.10 for orchestra.)
Biarent's Symphony in D minor is a masterwork IMO-full of sweeping drama worthy of Tchaikovsky and Wagner. The influence of Franck is also noticeable, but the work is far from overly derivative. Biarent is a really special composer and everything, yes everything I've heard from his pen is either a masterpiece or comes pretty darn close to being one.
I'll also second the praise for the lone symphonies by Pejacevic, Irgens-Jensen, Shapero, Karlowicz, and Herrmann. Is Arthur Benjamin's magnificent only Symphony outside the remit of this forum? It's a magnificent , stormy wartime work with echoes of VW (Symphony 6) and Bax (Symphony 5).
Blumenfeld's passionate Symphony in C minor has been mentioned-equally wonderful is Georgy Catoire's Symphony in the same key, which is discmates with the Blumenfeld on the Dutton CD.
Oh, mustn't forget Marx's Herbstsymphonie-a masterwork of sensuous beauty and voluptuous orchestration. Rumor has it that CPO is planning an SACD recording of it-let's hope they are true!
Paderewski's Symphony in B minor Polonia has been accused by some of being overlong and overblown, but it's just my kind of music! :D It's almost like a Polish counterpart to Gliere's Third.
Also, Basque composer Jesús Guridi's Sinfonia pirenaica is a splendid work, full of unbridled joy and epic sweep akin to, yes, my beloved Braga Santos. (What is it with these Iberian composers?) Lasting 50 minutes, the symphony does not suffer from prolixity and is filled with delightful folksy melodies and luscious orchestration.
The lone symphonies of Adolf Wiklund and Finnish composer Heino Kaski, which I have discovered through YouTube, are great examples of impassioned Nordic late-romanticism, as is Cyrillus Kreek's Setu Symphony, which has a strong "ethnic" flavor to it.
Glad to hear that someone likes the Paderewski symphony.... although the people of Poland would obviously have a natural attachment to it, it seems to evoke a "ho-hum" response among many commentators. As an aside, the Wiki page notes Elgar's beautiful Polonia, equally Polish in its inspiration but (IMHO) of a quite different order.
I also see from Wiki that the symphony received its premiere in Boston, and "The score very unusually calls for three sarrusophones, a tambour de Basque, a thunder sheet and an organ." :)
I'm quite fond of the Paderewski myself because I think the musical materials are of high quality. However, for my taste Paderewski is a bit too predictable in the way he deploys his materials for me to call this a symphony to stand with the greatest. On the other hand, the same charge could be made against Schubert and Bruckner, so perhaps I'm demanding too much from Paderewski.
On a side note, there is a passage in the first movement of Paderewski's first symphony that reappears almost verbatim in Furtwangler's first symphony and in precisely the same musical context. A tribute, perhaps.
Quote from: chill319 on Saturday 07 December 2013, 15:46
..............
On a side note, there is a passage in the first movement of Paderewski's first symphony that reappears almost verbatim in Furtwangler's first symphony and in precisely the same musical context. A tribute, perhaps.
Well, well - must go and check that - and, if true, also possible explanations. Perhaps someone on the forum knows the details(?). Interesting!
I'm afraid I disagree about Paderewski's Symphony. It's certainly enjoyable, but it's too long for its material and has no real individuality. It's far from being a great symphony.
My nomination would be Dietrich's Symphony in D minor. Along with Volkmann's 1st, it's probably the most important symphony in the conservative tradition between Schumann and Brahms. It's a magnificent work, full of drama and superbly worked out on a large canvas. Its themes are memorable and there is much lovely orchestration - e.g. the horn solo in the slow movement. If the name 'Brahms' had appeared on the manuscript, it would have been played by orchestras all over the world.
The Paderewski is not a "great" work by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a guilty pleasure for me, at least. It's certainly not a bad work, in my estimate.
I agree with Alan about the Dietrich symphony. My appreciation for mid-romantic symphonies is more sporadic than for those of the late-romantic period, but the Dietrich (along with Volkmann's two) made a great impression on me.
Not a fan of the Paderewski symphony at all.
Anyone who likes Czech/Bohemian symphonies could do worse than a listen to the Symphony in A major by Otakar Ostrcil. I don't think it has been mentioned on this thread yet. A 'happy' work, full of great melodies and a joy to listen to.
Welcome to the forum and I will investigate this further.
Tom
Never heard of Ostrcil before, I must admit. But the audio excerpts (http://www.allmusic.com/album/otakar-ostrcil-symphony-in-a-major-sinfonietta-mw0001354982) sound interesting.
New to me is also Wuasi Maestoso.
The Sinfonietta seems to me also an interesting piece. Especially the first movement gives a dreamy impressionistic atmosphere...
Haven't heard his music, but have seen recordings of those works and his Calvary Variations. Have been intrigued, anyway...
You can hear the whole of Ostrcil's lovely, post-Dvorakian Symphony on YouTube (albeit in a performance taken from a rather crackly-sounding LP):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImADsCYKt_4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImADsCYKt_4)
I love the Ostrcil symphony. It was one of my first acquaintances with an unsung composer, back in the LP days. I think we had a thread devoted to him, where I noted what a tragedy his death was. His orchestral music is always engaging, and some of it was/is available via the downloads section.
Quote from: saffron200 on Wednesday 11 December 2013, 14:16
Anyone who likes Czech/Bohemian symphonies could do worse than a listen to the Symphony in A major by Otakar Ostrcil. I don't think it has been mentioned on this thread yet. A 'happy' work, full of great melodies and a joy to listen to.
Thanks for bringing that one up-I recall enjoying it quite a bit. Ostrcil's Suite for Large Orchestra (recorded by Supraphon) is a more modern-sounding and equally excellent work, which reminds me more of Mahler or Rudi Stephan than Dvorak.
Oh I have been listening to Chausson: Symphony in B Flat all week long... what a wonderful work. Wish we had others from Chausson. The Chandos release is what I've been playing. Any other versions that might be comparable?
Do sinfoniettas count (in Ostrcil's case- or Moeran's?) I'm guessing unfinished symphonies don't (in Chausson's, e.g.)
Of the many versions of the Chausson Symphony i have heard, I would prefer Munch (old acceptable sound).. Among the relatively recent, Fournet.
musiclover said How about the Symphony of Felix Blumenfeld.
Yes I would agree his Symphony is wonderful..... the recording on RussianDisc is esp. my favorite.
Reasons, please! Otherwise this is just another list.
yes that is what I have on the CD player now.
Blumenfeld symphony imho shines with the best of Tchaikovsky's pathos and lush string writing but avoids (again a very personal opinion) the excess of Tchaikovsky's sentimentality. It's a very powerful work.
A reminder: Sylvio Lazzari's Symphony in E-Flat! Still in the tradition of Franck's and Chausson's, but with more dissonant chords and more complicated rhythmics. And much more difficult to play!
And in Switzerland: Robert Ouboussier's Symphony of 1935/6: a great work I am struggling to have recorded since ages!