Adolf Reichel - Symphonies 1 and 2

[Justin]

Sounds great, Fred! Will definitely be purchasing this.

[terry martyn]

Absolutely!

[Justin]

This will be released in June.

[Justin]

https://www.schweizerfonogramm.com/en/cd/the-reichel-adventure-goes-symphonic/#

Available now for download. June 1st for physical release.

[Mark Thomas]

These are excellent recordings of two enjoyable symphonies. They're very conservative in idiom for their time (1869 and 1870), being strongly Beethovenian, especially in their expansive first movements. Elsewhere, Reichel seems to allow himself to be more individualistic and the nervy energy of the final three movements of both symphonies, so well conveyed by Mueller and his Bernese orchestra, reminded me of Berwald. Highly recommended.

[Justin]

Mark, I'm seeing 1860-1863 for the first symphony according to the booklet. Regardless, that is still conservative for the early 1860s.

My favorite movement is the second from the second symphony. It is quite fast compared to the old Niklaus Aeschbacher radio recording, but very well played.

[Mark Thomas]

Mark, I'm seeing 1860-1863 for the first symphony

You're quite right, I stand corrected but, as you say, it's still a very conservative work.

[Ilja]

These symphonies have been a bit of a head-scratcher for me. They don't sound bad at all, are structurally well-crafted, the performance and sonics are more than fine, but they left me entirely cold. I think the problem is the lack of an artistic fingerprint. They're entirely generic, the epitome of a conservative mid-19th-century symphony.

Now, to avoid misunderstanding, I think derivative works can be fine: take Bortkiewicz's symphonies, for instance, which are conceptually arch-conservative - but what does make them stand out (and even exciting) is that the personality of the composer, their personal expression within a tested framework, is so clearly audible (for better or worse). Ignaz Brüll is another example, and closer to Reichel's time.

As much as I have to appreciate Reichel's craft, nowhere could I sense anything similar in these symphonies. Part of that is down to aesthetic sensibilities no doubt (I think mine lie more towards the late romantic era than the average on this forum), and others may have more sympathy, but for me there's just nothing there.

[terry martyn]

It's mere coincidence I come to the Reichel immediately after Ilja's post (and just having read his slight disagreement with me on Hiller).

I would have placed these charming works much nearer to 1850.  To my ears, he is a conjuror of musical sounds rather than melodies ,and he shows a lightness of touch in both ( more markedly,perhaps, in the thistledown first symphony).  The second is genial, and,on occasions, bucolic.

What Reichel succeeds in doing is to stir the imagination. The First Symphony transported me back to a moonlit night at Tivoli, listening to Dream Pictures, polishing off gravad lax, and puffing on a fine Havana that Miguel Angel Jimenez would  be proud of.  The crowds are dispersing,but the ambience is all that is right in the world.

I am teleported back to Switzerland by the Second.  It is a fine summer's morning on the outskirts of a (small) country town in the Emmental and the farmers are coming to market. Contented livestock sounds abound.

Am I being - just a trifle - subjective?  I certainly hope so.

Warmly recommended.

[Wheesht]

Europadisc's weekly column, the Spin Doctor, discusses Reichel in its latest post, here.

[Florestano]

Dear all, here I am back at last, after a long absence due to advanced age and to sheer lack of time (unfortunately, mainly for reasons unrelated to music, alas). Now that the CD with Adolf Reichel's symphonies has finally been released, it is high time I expressed my heartfelt thanks to you members of the blog. Without your posts on Unsung Composers, neither this recording nor Sinnaj's monograph on Adolf Reichel – 650 pages thick – would have come about. The initial spark was the very first post by Wheesht, which I came across when searching for 'Adolf Reichel' online. The first post of my own, announcing that my wife Regina Reichel had found her great-great-grandfather's manuscripts, brought Sinnaj onto the scene, who happened to be planning his doctoral thesis on Reichel. And Sinnaj's book, in turn, encouraged my wife Regina and me to print selected manuscripts by her great-great-grandfather (some of which can now be downloaded from imslp.org) and to campaign for recordings to be made. To us, you are all "unsung heroes" in your own right, but Regina and myself are singing your praises fortissimo! You are an indispensable bunch of music lovers with ears, heats and brains. I shall write a few things about the symphonies later.

[Mark Thomas]

That's very kind of you Florestano, and I'm sure we're all pleased that your efforts have prompted a revival of well-deserved interest in Reichel and his music. I look foward to reading your comments on the symphonies.