Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Beginning of a Series of Recordings of Röntgen's Orchestral Music? One Hopes So., 27 April 2007
"Röntgen's compositions, published and unpublished, cover the whole range of music in every art form; they all show consummate mastery in every aspect of technique. Even in the most facile there is beauty and wit. Each series of works culminates in something that has the uniqueness of a living masterpiece." -- Sir Donald Francis Tovey
It is a mystery to me why the music of Julius Röntgen (1855-1932) isn't better known and more frequently played. In a lifetime of concert-going I've never heard a single work of his played live. Thank goodness then that the cpo record label is bringing out what appears to be the beginning of a series of recordings of his symphonic music. Röntgen, born in Germany -- his father was concertmaster of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra -- but long-resident in Holland, wrote perhaps twenty symphonies and a raft of other orchestral music. On the basis of the music recorded here I'd guess there will be an audience for it; certainly David Porcelijn and the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz (based in Ludwigshafen am Rhein) make a convincing case for it.
The Third Symphony in C Minor (1910) is admittedly conservative for its time -- but from the distance of 100 years, what difference should that make? -- and has tints of Brahms, Schumann and even Bruckner but is in Röntgen's unique voice. He is a master orchestrator -- I particularly like his use of woodwinds and subtle brass -- and has a knack for instantly memorable melodies. There is also rhythmic inventiveness. The opening Allegro molto e passionato is Beethovenian in its breadth and urgency. The Andante is serene and lyrical but with an Elgarian tread in the lower strings. The Scherzo, marked Presto feroce, has the rhythmic insistence of a Bruckner scherzo but does not, like Bruckner, wear out its welcome or convey false bonhomie; it is indeed 'feroce'. The minor-key finale, marked 'Largamente - Allegro - Largamente' has a length portentous, even hieratic, opening succeeded by an agitated allegro with swirling strings and winds over a chorale-like main theme and with subdued but urgent brass interjections. The symphony ends with a majestic peroration that conveys a sense of hard-won but thorough triumph.
Röntgen and his first wife Amanda were fast friends of Edvard and Nina Grieg and the two couples visited back and forth frequently. Röntgen became fascinated with Norwegian folk music and folk tales. His suite 'Aus Jotúnheim' came out of that fascination. (Jotúnheim, in Norse mythology, was the home of the giants.) Written originally as a violin-piano duo as a present for the Griegs on their twenty-fifth anniversary, it was played for the Griegs by the Röntgens (Amanda was a fine violinist). That same year Röntgen orchestrated the suite. The movements do not have descriptive titles but one hears throughout a Norwegian-ness that does indeed remind one of Grieg's music. The second movement, vivo e energico, has folkdance-like verve. The fourth movement reminds one of the Hardanger fiddle music that infuses much of Grieg's (and Tveitt's) music. The fifth and last movement features a lament for violin (played lusciously here by the orchestra's unnamed Konzertmeister and later echoed by the plangent tones of the English horn) and a quiet, solemn and ineffably beautiful brass chorale. Norway's ethos is present throughout this delightful (and memorable) suite.
Recommended for lovers of late Romantic orchestral music looking for new corners of that genre to investigate.
Scott Morrison
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Imaginative and individual - Rontgen's music richly deserves to be heard, 16 Jun 2009
I hesitated a while before I decided to review this disc, the previous reviewer (Scott Morrison) having written, as usual, such an excellent review himself; I felt there wasn't much I could really add but, after becoming more familiar with the CD, I finally decided that the more positive reviews there are of this wonderful music the better. My own responses to the third symphony are I think somewhat similar to the previous reviewer's, though I find less shades of Brahms and other firmly nineteenth century composers in the music than perhaps other commentators have; certainly in its structure and dimensions, it is on the surface a conservative piece for its time, but I think - within a generally Late Romantic frame - Rontgen's sound world is quite modern.
The first movement opens with propulsive energy, and this momentum launches a long and memorable first theme. It is a rugged movement at times and one that has an impressive, almost dogged, persistent quality in its direction. Generally it is dark-hued - in the development section, the tuba produces minatory rasps in the depths of the orchestra - though there is a transitory glimpse of sunlight from around 6'40" in, before the prevailing tone of struggle returns.
The `andante, un poco sostenuto' that follows I find hard to place in its emotional range; certainly there are quixotic elements - the alternations of woodwind and strings in the opening, contrapuntal section display a certain wit but one that doesn't necessarily sound very genial; there are welcome passages of lyrical effulgence - but there is also a latent ominous feeling, something reinforced by the ever-present and sinister tread that carries this movement forward.
Perhaps the foreboding quality of that movement presages the 'scherzo' - a ferocious piece indeed, as the other review notes. It opens with a crescendo from the timpani, at first appearing as if heard from the distance but rapidly and insistently pounding into the foreground, eventually in conjunction with the full orchestra. This striking opening unleashes a veritable storm of a movement that fully lives up to the `presto feroce' directions from the composer.
The finale commences with a shattering chord, leading into a `largamente' section - in this tripartite movement - that is too large scale to be considered `just' a slow introduction; this really is "darkness before the dawn" music - just listen to the dark, baleful chords in the depths of the orchestra from around 3 minutes in. There follows a faster central section: throughout the symphony, Rontgen's ability to give a sense of forward movement impresses and nowhere more so than here. Something in the swirling woodwind and string figures and the strong sense of momentum reminded me of Sibelius (think `Nightride and Sunrise', for example) but really this is only a personal impression I give to put this pretty much unknown music into some sort of context; without any doubt, the composer's voice in this work is very distinctively his own. We return to a final `largamente' section to conclude the symphony - this brass-led climax has almost an epic or heroic feel to it and it struck me the second time I played the piece that that `heroic note' is one that has sounded recurrently throughout the whole work.
The accompanying work, `Aus Jotunheim', is a more relaxed work - an example among many of the orchestral suites (with or without regional allegiances) that were so popular with late-nineteenth century composers. I say `relaxed' but that is not to imply that there are no passages of good-humoured vigour. The fourth movement features the striking use of the celesta, bringing a delightful and unexpected twinkle to the rustic proceedings. The whole suite is beautifully orchestrated and the folk tunes chosen and treated judiciously. The final movement is the most extended and has some exquisite writing for the solo violin, cor anglais and harp. `Aus Jotunheim' is an unaffected and warm-hearted piece and the contrast with the symphony works well in the context of the disc and in giving a rounded picture of what Rontgen was about.
Yet again CPO has produced first-class sound quality that does Rontgen's fine orchestration full justice; and I can't imagine better advocates for his music than David Porcelijn and the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz.
It's good news indeed that CPO has launched a Rontgen Edition because this disc reveals a musical imagination of the highest order and a remarkably individual voice. But don't just listen to the reviewer, try the music for yourself - highly recommended!
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~ Julius Rontgen
~ Jan Van Gilse
~ Heinrich von Herzogenberg
~ Julius Rontgen
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~ Siegmund von Hausegger
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