Just out on Capriccio:
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9745589--charles-koechlin-symphony-no-1
...and reviewed in the June issue of Gramophone where it is described as 'in the lineage of Franck, Chausson and Dukas'. Just one problem, though: it sounds nothing like them - in fact it doesn't sound like a symphony at all, but rather a series of somewhat inert tone poems. I don't follow all Dave Hurwitz's reviews, but surely he's right about Koechlin's very strange 1st Symphony:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkGjUJZmx5c
So, does it fit with Franck, Chausson and Dukas? No! This is almost an 'Anti-Symphony', such is its rejection of standard symphonic 'motion', if you get my meaning. The music's not really about arriving somewhere, musically speaking - it's more about enjoying the scenery as one travels.
I've never heard such an odd symphony: 44 minutes of extreme strangeness...
Not sure when I shall want to hear this again...
I like Koechlin, but for the most part he leaves me wanting more - of something else.
I agree - anything but more Koechlin!
I'm afraid that I too found Koechlin's Symphony a real bore. It's just an indulgent series of generally static sound pictures, which goes nowhere and leaves one wanting less. I hesitated before buying, and I should have known better.
I'm really something of a Koechlin fan, but the symphonies leave me entirely cold with the exception of the Seven Stars' Symphony (which describes movie stars rather than the astronomical kind). The atmospheric (rather than programmatic) symphonic poem is really his strong suit, and even there he's like no one else. A true "marmite" composer, and I can understand why many would avoid him. Repeated listenings can reveal a lot, though, but I'd start at the Livre de la Jungle, which I find much better.
Whereas I very much enjoy the wartime 2nd symphony, and it sounds like the first symphony might be along the same lines...
Chacun à son goût, Eric.
I genuinely wish I hadn't bought the CD. It's all Dave's fault - he describes the Symphony as 'gorgeous'.
I may occasionally agree with that reviewer but am no more inclined to follow or read his reviews than formerly...
Not everyone was meant to write a symphony. I think Koechlin's chamber music is quite lovely, so I'm not going to let his failure as a symphonist deter me from his other works. If my first encounter with Robert Fuchs had been with his symphonies, I never would have returned to his music again.
Suppe is another example of someone who wasn't born to compose symphonies (and Dave went right over the top with his review of the trash that resulted when he did)
As for Koechlin, I would add "opaque" to "static". I will be steering well clear.
I'd add 'drab'.
I don't know Koechlin's string quartets, but the symphony was his own orchestration of his second quartet, not that that per se excuses the symphony's odd, aimless construction. I quite like the accompanying symphonic poem Au Loin and the 3 Mélodies on this new disc, but this isn't first-rate Koechlin, to be sure.
Another disc of French music that has disappointed me in recent weeks. I had some hopes that Reynaldo Hahn's Le Dieu Bleu might offer something in the vein of Daphnis et Chloé, but it turned out to be turgid stuff. C'est la vie ...
Incidentally his 2nd symphony (which I believe there are plans to make the first commercial recording of; I think I uploaded my copy of a radio tape to our uploads, erm, downloads board years ago) is mostly (that is, except for one movement, iirc) orchestrations, but of works probably unknown even to people fairly familiar to the composer- including a piano fugue on a theme by a late pupil of his, which made for a nice opener (I did not know the circumstances.)
Belated edit: the first movement of the second symphony (Op.196, 1943-4) is an arr. of "Fugue sur un sujet d'Ernest le Grand, op. 126". The fugue on a theme of Catherine Urner- his pupil who died in a car accident in the early 1940s, iirc - is the 4th of the 5 movements, not the first. (The other movements are "II. Scherzo: l'âme libre et fantasque, III. Suite of 6 Chorales - for V. Finale I have just Finale :) Perhaps the notes to what I gather is an upcoming and first commercial recording of Op.196 may clarify that point, if it does nothing else at all. The info I have comes from Orledge's Koechlin biography/works book.)
I'll have to give this a whirl; my negative opinion was based primarily on the rather discombobulated archival version on YouTube.
Do tell us what you think. At least the performance and sound seem good...
I'm happy to disagree with everyone else about Koechlin's Symphony No. 1. A beautiful, pensive, eloquent, even thought-provoking (an epithet that often comes to mind whenever I hear something by this composer) piece. I don't mind if it doesn't follow a formal symphonic structure/development, that's his own taking on the form after all (in this case it's an orchestration, though). His ear for orchestration and ecstatic harmonic language is second to none. And truth be told, he's a much more interesting composer than many others who are mentioned on this forum (sorry, I couldn't help myself).
Actually, I'm genuinely glad that someone values the Koechlin so highly. Although I don't share this opinion at present, maybe the penny will drop for me at some point in the future...
Absolutely, no apology needed, it's always good to be challenged by different opinions.
Having taken my time to inhale Koechlin's symphony, I've reversed my earlier rather negative view on the work (which was based on an older recording, and also quite some time ago). As Alan indicated, this is music that is about the journey, not the destination. And if it's aimless, that is by intention. For that reason alone, the comparison with Franck seems a bit off to me; if there is any prevailing influence in Koechlin's very individual musical language it's probably Fauré. Of course, that also makes it difficult to find one's orientation, and penetrate the structure of the music – and I can see how that may turn some people off it. However, the rich textures and, following Tapiola, "ecstatic harmonies" make it a rich listening experience nonetheless even if it is one that I at least need to be in the right mood for. Don't take this on if you're in a hurry, it does need full attention to be rightly appreciated.
Quote from: Mark Thomas on Monday 02 June 2025, 08:04I hesitated before buying, and I should have known better.
Before you buy, you always have the option to know whether you'll listen to it a second time...
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lv1WdJ1SsiEBVTuVhs7DxMaJ4Xrryazac
It's not always that simple. Sometimes curiosity can be piqued on first listening, only for one to be disappointed on subsequent hearings having actually bought the recording. But I take your point.
I've just listened to Koechlin's Seven Stars Symphony in the hope of a Road to Damascus moment, but I'm afraid that my reaction is the same as I had to the Symphony No.1. To be fair it does have a little more life to it, but Koechlin's mixture of heavy chromaticism, generally slow tempi and extremely lush orchestration is just not to my taste. As my mother would say: "I'm sure it's very nice if you like that sort of thing", but I'm afraid it's just not my cup of tea.
The chromaticism is not as pronounced in his early pieces, such as the symphonic poem A Loin (1900) or the suite from Les heures Persanes (by far my favorite piece of his, mostly because it does break the mould somewhat), but the slow tempi are mostly consistent throughout his works. I mean, Koechlin's Allegro con fuoco (e.g., the scherzo of the 1st symphony) could be another composer's Allegretto (or even Andante). But I also think Koechlin's very individual language can work against him: it's very marmite and if it doesn't "click", there's little you can do. And to be honest, even I can't alway suffer it.
Quote from: Mark Thomas on Tuesday 10 June 2025, 15:22[...] Koechlin's mixture of heavy chromaticism, generally slow tempi and extremely lush orchestration is just not to my taste. As my mother would say: "I'm sure it's very nice if you like that sort of thing", but I'm afraid it's just not my cup of tea.
To paraphrase Abe Lincoln, "For those people who like that sort of symphony, I suppose it was the sort of symphony that those people would like."
But do you know the chamber music? I have a number of his chamber pieces for wind and piano which I think are quite lovely and are an excellent introduction to Koechlin. Give them a try.
I doubt the distinction is only chamber vs. orchestral Koechlin as something else, of course (consider that his first and second symphonies are - in the latter case mostly - orchestrations, again.)
Good point, but I think Koechlin benefits from the greater clarity of a chamber piece. Think of the difference in the sound picture of the orchestral works of Debussy versus his chamber works. They're clearly the same composer, but the chamber works take on a different quality absent the lush orchestral sound.
As a general thing, yes (I can vouch for one claim made for orchestration, as I recall I paid much less attention to what is now one of my very favorite works until I heard it arranged (years ago now though), just once even, for full string orchestra rather than its original for string quartet. Anyhow, I apologize for digressing from Koechlin.)
The conductor's name is more familiar than I thought; besides recording Dohnanyi's Veil of Pierrette (and other Dohnanyi works for Capriccio around 2020), and some other works in recent recordings she made a (freely available online) recording of Mayer's F minor symphony for SWR2.