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.
 

[Alan Howe]

I have just received this reply from conductor Golo Berg in response to my email congratulating him on the release of his recording:

<<Thank you for your kind words! It's truly very satisfying to better understand the context and complete my own picture of this period. With the works of Grimm in my ear, for example, I understand Brahms better.

I would be happy to write to you what I know about your questions:

Grimm himself performed his symphony 11 times in Münster (between 1861 and 1898). He also conducted performances in Göttingen and Leipzig (e.g., at the Gewandhaus on January 16, 1873). Grimm's successor, Wilhelm Nissen, also performed the symphony (including on November 15, 1905, at the unveiling of the Grimm monument). On February 23, 1884, the symphony was heard in Boston (conductor: George Henschel). Older research literature also mentions performances in Philadelphia and London (but without specific dates or corresponding sources). Unfortunately, I cannot tell you whether the symphony was still performed later in the 20th century.

The earlier version of the final movement is quite interesting. It might be worthwhile to produce an edition sometime.

So that you can get a sense of this version for yourself, I am sending you the link to the digitized source: In the DFG Viewer, the sentence can be found on pages 100 to 127:

https://dfg-viewer.de/show?id=9>>

Can anyone help with the link that Mr Berg has sent me?

[cypressdome]

The full url should be Image 100 from Verschiedenen Noten und Kompositionen von Julius Otto Grimm Band 2.

Or you can download the images as a PDF from IMSLP.

From Grimm's digitized estate I was also able to find several unpublished choral works (some incomplete) that are now available on IMSLP: Gesang der Mönche, Lied des fahrenden Schülers, Moltke †, Trinklied an Bakchos, and Bei der Einkleidung. There are also the published full score and parts to two patriotic pieces: An Kaiser Wilhelm II and Zum Geburtsfeste des Kaisers.

[Alan Howe]

Thanks - very kind of you.

And so here's my urgent plea: might we now find out what the alternative finale to Grimm's Symphony actually sounds like?

[Alan Howe]

A review posted at jpc (translated):

Masterworks from Münster
Julius Otto Grimm's orchestral oeuvre is meager - but this Symphony and a Suite, which is a reflection upon older forms such as Bach's orchestral suites, clearly show his range. The high-quality playing of the Münster Symphony Orchestra, the city whose musical life Grimm shaped for four decades, under Golo Berg is astonishing. Their energetic interpretation is well suited to the heroic, propulsive spirit of Op.19 with its brilliant brass accents following a sombre opening, which contrasts with a surprisingly "light", mercurial finale that sounds a little like Schubert's early Scherzi. Grimm, a friend of Brahms, composed conservatively and was also a decided opponent of the "New Germans" such as Liszt and Wagner, but this confident, expansive work doesn't sound like an imitation. The Second Suite, dedicated to Brahms and commented on by him in a characteristically evasive and reserved manner ("Now let yourself go and seek beautiful music!"), nevertheless pleases the listener with its solemn yet festive sound and mastery of form: this music may not exactly be new, but old clearly doesn't mean old hat!

Translated with DeepL.com (free version) - and improved.

[Alan Howe]

Here's another review (improved translation):

One of the most prominent artistic personalities in the Schumann-Brahms circle was Julius Otto Grimm, who served as director of the Musikverein in Münster from 1860 until his death in 1903. The city still benefits from his life's work today as its reputation as a nationally important musical centre is largely due to the work of Grimm who regularly invited world-famous soloists to his concerts and championed contemporary music. The recording of Grimm's two most important orchestral compositions by the Münster Symphony Orchestra under its General Music Director Golo Berg can, therefore, be seen as a way of saying thank-you to his great predecessor.

Dark, obsessive and ultimately light-hearted

Grimm left behind relatively few works, most of which were composed before his 45th birthday - a total of 28 opus numbers. However, his Symphony and Orchestral Suite No. 2 are eloquent testimony to the fact that he had something important to say as a composer. Composed and premièred in 1852, but not published until 1874, the Symphony not only shares its key of D minor with Schumann's Fourth - which in 1852 was still lying in a drawer unpublished - and Brahms' First Piano Concerto - which at that time had yet to be composed - but also has a character similar to both of the works by his friends. An extended, sombre introduction sets the mood for the first three movements. The main theme of the large-scale Allegro is characterised by an obsessive rhythm that dominates long stretches of the movement. The second movement is particularly original, a funeral march which is nominally in F major, but is so shrouded in shadows by the harmonies employed that the major key is never established. After the Scherzo with its cross-rhythms, Grimm's finale forms the greatest possible contrast to what has gone before, concluding the work with a light-hearted, moto perpetuo movement in the major key, similar to that of Schumann's B flat major symphony.

Imaginative symphonic canons

The Second Suite for full orchestra recorded here has the dimensions of a full-blown symphony. In fact, Grimm seems to have toyed with the idea of calling it a 'symphony' - in my opinion, this would have been a more appropriate designation. In all four movements of this thirty-minute work a two-part canon forms the basic structure, while the other parts are freely arranged. The canon runs through the entire movement, interrupted only in a few places by 'free' bars. With the stuctures of the movements corresponding to those usually found in a symphony, expositions, developments and recapitulations are all composed canonically. In transforming such a strict concept into art, Grimm demonstrates remarkable ingenuity. The canon is not always played by the same instrumental voices as the work proceeds. It is usually introduced as a theme, but Grimm arranges some sections in such a way that the canon is not the centre of the listener's attention: in the hymn-like final group of the opening movement it is obviously intended to accompany a non-canonic main voice and this is also the case in the Trio of the Minuet. Ultimately, the work is just as entertaining as a contrapuntal tour de force as it is as a masterly example of symphonic music from the mid-19th century.

Spirited interpretation

Golo Berg and his musicians leave nothing to be desired in their renditions of both compositions. The performances are carried along by a vigour that contrasts favourably with the rather ponderous recording of the symphony by Grimm's successor Fritz Volbach made by the same forces. Berg's performances are marked by a love of detail which particularly benefits the fine texture of the voices in the Suite, but he never gets lost himself in individual moments, always keeping the whole in view. As is so often the case with cpo releases, the CD comes with an introductory text full of valuable information.

Norbert Florian Schuck [10.07.2025]
http://www.klassik-heute.de/4daction/www_medien_einzeln?id=25127

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

[Wheesht]

Interesting, thanks for finding this! Btw, I couldn't say that I consider the recording of the Volbach 'rather ponderous' as Mr Schuck would have it.

[Alan Howe]

Agreed. I think Golo Berg's Volbach recording is terrific.

[Reverie]

And then there are these two ......

[Alan Howe]

Great stuff. Had my wife marching out of the lounge...