Felix Woyrsch’ First Symphony in Spain

[Ilja]

Thank you! Any word about a release date yet?

[Tapiola]

the cover of cpo new release soon

Do you know what other interesting recordings will be released by this label (other than the ones on Presto)?

[eschiss1]

Not offhand. That said: I find myself looking at some of the repertoire, as listed on their homepages, say, of their regulars. Has Oliver Triendl in fact recorded Wilhelm Berger's Op.28 cello sonata, which he includes? (Has anyone?)...

[tuatara442442]

Triendl's repertoire list also includes such interesting works as Ewald Straesser's Piano Quintet, Piano Trio and Horn-Vioin-Piano Trio. And even George Szell's Piano Quintet (though recorded by others). I gather some works were only performed during chamber music festivals in the past, and he didn't seem to have recorded them...

[Tapiola]

The Woyrsch release already appears on Presto. Date release: April 23rd.

[eschiss1]

I should try to get a listen to that Straesser disc, of course- now if someone would release a CD set of his 5 quartets, e.g. ...

[emi122]

the cover of cpo new release soon

Do you know what other interesting recordings will be released by this label (other than the ones on Presto)?

the new cd of CPO will be released in May

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[Tapiola]

@emi122 thank you so much!

[tuatara442442]

The Woyrsch release already appears on Presto. Date release: April 23rd.

It has been released today!

[Ilja]

I feel a bit sorry for poor old Miguel Ángel Gómez Martínez. No one has done more to promote Felix Woyrsch' symphony in C minor (1907; usually called his No. 1 even if it is No. 2 in order of composition) than he; he led the first commercial recording of the piece (on MDG back in 1995) and performed it multiple times in concert as recently as 2024. And then someone else shows up and just does it better.

Over the years, Martínez' view of the work has become even more expansive, and my explanation is that he attempts to turn it into a kind of "Brahms' Fifth". The recent live performance on YouTube sounds like a quest for the older composer's lyricism, but it does rather bring everything to crawl. Griffiths, who slices more than ten minutes off that performance, appears to use Woyrsch' (actual) first symphony in B-flat minor for reference; a work written in 1884 twenty years before the C major when the composer was 23 years old, on which he kept tinkering for decades without ever releasing it for publication. My guess is that Walter Zielke, who created performance editions of both that work and the Sixth Symphony (or Seventh) on this release, was involved in that choice. I'll come to Zielke again further below.

The result is a symphony that comes across as much more dynamic, but without feeling rushed once you get the Martínez recording out of your head. The exception is perhaps the Adagio (Sehr Langsam) which I feel could have benefited from a bit more space, not least to create some contrast with the following movement ("In ruhig schreitender Bewegung", not really a Scherzo but more of a Beethoven 7th-type Allegretto).

The whole CD is up to the normal cpo standard; an excellent performance brought to us through a well-balanced and transparent recording; a bit dark in places perhaps, but that is a matter of preference. The old Martínez recording for MDG now feels a bit lumpen by comparison; mainly because of the slower tempi, but the greater dynamic differences in the recording don't help: it's either loud or very soft, and in the latter passages that makes it harder to keep focus because it can get quite indistinct. Combine that with the somewhat scruffy Hamburg SO and this new Griffiths is an improvement in every way.

By the way, Brahms isn't the sole influence in the symphony, even if it is the most evident one; the use of woodwinds is almost Mahlerian in places, and Beethoven makes an appearance every now and then. What is particularly interesting in this recording is that we can get a sense of Woyrsch' symphonic development; although he didn't really change his musical language in a fundamental way, it did become more pared down as time went on, particularly with the F major symphony (No. 4/5) of 1921. The whole sound image becomes more austere, and the pieces become briefer. The C major of 1913 clocks in at almost fifty minutes, and with the Sixth (again in C major) we're down to under 20 minutes.

That length seems to be inversely proportionate to the ambition of the work. Many of Woyrsch' late works (he was 78 when this symphony was premiered in 1939) are religiously inspired, and this "Sinfonia Sacra" especially so. According to the excellent booklet text by Norbert Florian Schuck, the work was probably consciously written as Woyrsch' last symphonic "word", and a reference of sorts to the Symphoniae sacrae by Heinrich Schütz. The religious overtones are also programmatic, particularly in the second Via Crucis movement, where Jesus' Way of the Cross is depicted in a set of 14 brief variations.

A few years ago, Walter Zielke published a digital rendition of the symphony (but removed since), and it's interesting to see that Griffiths' version keeps very close to that version. This leads me to believe that Zielke was closely involved with this recording; let us hope that he stays attached to the project, and that we may be able to welcome Woyrsch' actual first symphony of 1884 at some point; from the first two movements, which Zielke put on his YouTube channel as well (unfortunately, these appear to have vanished too) it's an attractive, youthful work.

[terry martyn]

I found that very interesting,Ilja.

On balance,I have decided that this current recording by Griffiths is likely to be too-late Romantic for me, but I have also decided,on the strength of what you say, that the real First Symphony, when recorded, will be a must-buy.

[Ilja]

You can just try out the whole thing on YouTube and decide then, of course.

[terry martyn]

It is definitely a "borderline" case for me.

Am I "leaning towards recommending that {approbation} be denied"?

I am still having aesthetic problems with the final movement.  So,it's going to have to be a number of playthroughs for me, before I can accept the "reputational risks" involved with this composer's close association with the too-late Romantics such as Mahler. 
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[Droosbury]

Agree with Terry; this is a fascinating  analysis, Ilan. Where I differ is that this release was a must-buy for me before I even read it. 😏 Ordered just now alongside the new Weigl String Quartets disc and, somewhat blind, the Oscar Strauss symphonic poem & ballet.

I always found the Martinez recording g a little too stodgy: looking forward to hearing this new reading.

[terry martyn]

It's a great pity that Woyrsch didn't have the faintest idea of how to compose the finale. If he had studied how Gernsheim.say.went about it in his glorious Second Symphony, he might have learnt something. It manages to be both meandering and bloated ,and in urgent need of a "great tune" - or any decent tune, for that matter. I fear it reminds me of Hans Rott - trying too hard and failing so conspicuously as to ruin what had gone before.