Originally Posted by
Suffolkcoastal
The latest installment in the journey through my symphonic collection.
1918
Atterberg: Symphony No 4 in G minor 'Sinfonia Piccolo'
Kaski: Symphony in B minor
Madetoja: Symphony No 2
Miaskovsky: Symphony No 4 in E minor
Miaskovsky: Symphony No 5 in D major
Pejacevic: Symphony in F sharp minor
Saminsky: Symphony No 2
1919
Alfven: Symphony No 4 'From the outermost skerries'
Andreae: Symphony in C major
Buttner: Symphony No 4
Rangstom: Symphony No 2 in D minor 'My Country'
Sibelius: Symphony No 5 in E flat (revised version)
Wetz: Symphony No 2 in A major
Atterberg's 4th Symphony is a highly attractive and relatively brief symphony of about 20 mins duration. It uses Swedish folk material effectively to create a light work of great charm and no great pretentions.
Heino Kaski's only symphony was written during the turbulent year of the Finnish Civil War. It isn't particularly Sibelian, perhaps slightly more influenced by his teacher Palmgren. Though for a relatively early work it is accomplished, for some reason it has never stayed in my memory.
Madetoja's 2nd Symphony is a different matter, the Finnish Civil War and World War 1 seem to cast their shadow over this highly impressive 40 minute long work.The 2nd movement makes a particularly strong impression, a landscape which for all its pastoral overtones is subdued with am impending darkness and uncertainty. This erupts in the aggressive 3rd movement, before the short resigned finale ends the work uncertainly. Madetoja isn't quite able to shake off Sibelius's influence in places, but this really is a rewarding work, well worth investigating.
Miaskovsky managed to composed two symphonies during the upheavals of 1918 in Russia. In the 4th we are on now familiar Miaskovsky territory, restless sombre but with a now increasing confidence of purpose. The 5th was Miaskovsky first popular success and his first major key symphony. It starts almost as if it could have been written by his younger colleague and friend Prokofiev and the 1st movement is generally relaxed in nature. The 2nd is a rather strange movement sparse at times. The symphony alludes to Russian folk elements and this is particularly well displayed in the scherzo and finale. The scherzo being attractive and more popular in tone.
Dora Pejacevic was the daughter of a Croatian Governor, her symphony is a fairly long work, written in a later romantic style and is worth an occasional revival as it is by no means insignificant.
Lev Saminsky's 2nd Symphony is an odd little work, which occasionally reminds me of earlier Scriabin and with the occasional French touch, but overall is difficult to really note any significant influences but at the same time it doesn't make a lasting impression.
Alfven's 4th Symphony, has a very loose programme attached to it and uses a solo soprano and tenor vocalise in the manner of Nielsen's 3rd. It is a highly descriptive and atmospheric work, which one feels becomes rather diffuse at times. For all the beauty of sound the symphony's continual ebb and flow becomes occasionally slightly monotonous and lacks focus. The tenor tessitura is also rather high at times and this takes away the romantic longing that Alfven was aiming for. Certainly not as appealing as his first 3 symphonies IMO.
The Swiss composer and conductor Volkmar Andreae's C major symphony is an interesting but variable work. The first movement is quite compact and comes off nicely, but the last two movements perhaps over-relax and lack focus, the slow movement though is quite startling, very sombre, often quite dissonant with a distinctly Mahlerian feel, the symphony is worth investigating for this movement alone.
Paul Buttner 4th Symphony is certainly his best. The late romantic German idiom is here confidently handled and there is more purpose, drive and consistancy, something absent from his earlier symphonies.
Ture Rangstrom's 2nd Symphony is a somewhat better achievement than his rather dire 1st symphony. The lighter more pastoral writing he employs in places is quite pleasant, however there is still a lot of the rather empty rhetorical gesturing which so seriously marred his first effort in the medium.
The revised 5th Symphony of Sibelius needs no introduction, now the earlier version has been recorded (which I commented on under 1915) we have a real idea of Sibelius's symphonic thought processes. I cannot help but admire the drive, clear purpose and inevitability of this symphony in its revised version, even if it isn't among my favourite Sibelius works.
Finally Richard Wetz's 2nd Symphony. As in 1st symphony he seems incapable of shaking off the spectre of Bruckner. In fact the very opening could almost be described as pastiche Bruckner. The 2nd and 3rd movements are marginally better but rather undistinguished even though the orchestral handling is secure enough.
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