Franz Berwald: Symphonies Nos. 1-4

Franz Berwald (Composer), David Montgomery (Conductor), Jena Philharmonic (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Jena Philharmonic
• Conductor: David Montgomery
• Composer: Franz Berwald
• Audio CD (September 13, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Arte Nova Classics
• ASIN: B000AMPZOY
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #384,224 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Symphony No. 1 in G minor, 'Sérieuse': 1. Allegro con energia

2. Symphony No. 1 in G minor, 'Sérieuse': 2. Adagio maestoso

3. Symphony No. 1 in G minor, 'Sérieuse': 3. Stretto

4. Symphony No. 1 in G minor, 'Sérieuse': 4. Finale: Adagio. Allegro molto

5. Symphony No. 2 in D, 'Sinfonie Capricieuse': 1. Allegro

6. Symphony No. 2 in D, 'Sinfonie Capricieuse': 2. Andante

7. Symphony No. 2 in D, 'Sinfonie Capricieuse': 3. Allegro assai

Disc: 2

1. Symphony No. 3 in C, 'Sinfonie Singulière': 1. Allegro fuocoso

2. Symphony No. 3 in C, 'Sinfonie Singulière': 2. Adagio. Scherzo: Allegro assai. Adagio

3. Symphony No. 3 in C, 'Sinfonie Singulière': 3. Finale: Presto

4. Symphony No. 4 in E flat, 'Sinfonie Naïve': 1. Allegro risoluto

5. Symphony No. 4 in E flat, 'Sinfonie Naïve': 2. Adagio

6. Symphony No. 4 in E flat, 'Sinfonie Naïve': 3. Scherzo: Allegro molto

7. Symphony No. 4 in E flat, 'Sinfonie Naïve': 4. Finale: Allegro vivace

Editorial Reviews

Franz Berwald (1796-1868) and his music were largely forgotten until the late 20th century, when his works, especially his four symphonies, were revived with overwhelming success. After decades of almost total neglect, Berwald has come to be considered what one modern critic called "the most individual and significant musical personality Sweden has ever produced". Although Berwald used isolated features of Nordic folk music, he was more of a romantic nationalist and also differed clearly from his national contemporaries who deferred to Liszt and Wagner in matters of tonal idiom, form and structure. Conductor David Montgomery was the last pupil of the legendary conductor René Leibowitz. He made his debut in 1969 at the Schönberg Festival in Lyon. That same year, he began his work as Associate Conductor with the Santa Fe Opera. Numerous appearances as conductor and pianist in Europe and the United States followed. Montgomery’s film debut took place at Columbia! Pictures as conductor in 1993, and behind the scenes as historical consultant for Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Regional German orchestra performs Berwald, August 2, 2011

By 

jt52 "jt52" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Franz Berwald: Symphonies Nos. 1-4 (Audio CD)

Franz Berwald tried haltingly to launch a compositional career in the unsupportive Sweden of the muid-19th-century. Though he experienced some success in continental Europe in the 1840s, he had to support himself through several day jobs, including managing a factory in the far north of Sweden and a medical venture, while haltingly advancing his musical career through concerts and opera performances. The current recording is a double-disc set which includes all four of Berwald's symphonies, written in the early 1840s. They show Berwald to be seemingly incapable of writing music that isn't interesting. There are numerous attractive, captivating themes and unorthodox organizational devices within and between movements. It's overall very worthwhile music that I recommend if you haven't had the pleasure of getting to know it.

That said, I don't recommend this performance by the Jena Philharmonic led by the American conductor David Montgomery. The Jena Philharmonic doesn't qualify as even a second-rate orchestra based on this recording. While the wind playing is ok, the strings sound thin, with recurring intonation problems. Even more problematically, I found the interpretation undeveloped. It's really more of a run-through or a reading than a polished actual interpretation. An example is the soft end of the Andante from the Symphony no. 2 (the "Capricieuse" - disc 1 track 6), where the performers almost stop playing instead of shaping the work with a diminuendo. I compared it to the Naxos versions done by the Helsingborg Symphony led by Okko Kamu, which is also an inexpensive set. The Helsingborg orchestra is hardly on the tip of anyone's tongue when it comes to preeminent orchestras, but -- hey -- they perform with polish and present a musical approach to Berwald. The aforementioned Andante from the "Capricieuse" is very well-done, with more clearly defined phrases, more breathing space and just more feeling. So the comparison is just comprehensively in favor of the Naxos instead of the Montgomery/Jena.

Sonics are good. But not a recommended disc.