Grimm Symphony/Suite in Kanonform (cpo)

[Alan Howe]

The finale has really grown on me over the past few weeks of repeated listening. In any case, many fine symphonies in the 19thC are constructed in similar fashion, e.g. Bruckner 7, Brahms 2, etc.

[Ilja]

It's not just a matter of length, though, but also of two movements that share a similar tempo and a (almost) consistent forward drive. Brahms' 2nd has a much more pastoral scherzo which is very different from the finale; same for Bruckner 7, where the variation within the movements is greater too (and which is altogether a very different beast).

[John Boyer]

Agreed.  It took a moment for me to realize the finale had even begun.  It's as if it were the second half of one long movement, separated only by a double bar.

[Alan Howe]

My reaction was quite different: there's a very obvious minor key ending to the Scherzo which forms a clear contrast with the bright major key start to the finale. I had also been familiar with Reverie's computer realisation, so there was no surprise when I first heard the new recording.
   I mentioned Bruckner 7 and Brahms 2 because they are front-loaded as far as their first two movements are concerned, as is Grimm's Symphony. I've never confused the last two movements of the latter.
   FWIW I had been interested in Grimm's Symphony for years (I have a copy of the score). While Chris Fifield was researching symphonies for his book, I supplied him with copies of recordings and we discussed at some length the candidates for the period post Schumann 4, including the Grimm whose background was (and still remains) something of a mystery, with its origins apparently in the early 1850s, the later addition of a finale (replacing the alternative version now known to be in the archive at Münster) and the story of the elderly Gernsheim remembering the first movement motto/rhythm many years later.

[Mark Thomas]

Another thing which struck me quite forcibly is how similar Grimm's orchestral palette is to Hiller's - more so than to Schumann's. In a way I guess that shouldn't be surprising as Hiller was regarded as a very prominent and influential composer in the 1850s when Grimm started work on the Symphony and, of course, it doesn't detract from his achievement. 

[Alan Howe]

Two aspects of the Symphony stand out for me: first, the sheer memorability of the themes in all four movements and second, the motto/rhythm which permeates the whole of the opening movement. I wonder whether Bruckner could possibly have encountered it?

The performance from one of Germany's many medium-sized regional orchestras is pretty good too. It sounds to me that conductor Golo Berg believes in every bar of the work. Now we need one or two more recordings to see what other conductors and orchestras make of it.