Customer Reviews

Symphonies 1-4

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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I am compelled to write this review today not just because I recently listened to the 3rd symphony of Friedrich Gernsheim and find it to be of the highest quality, but because I am also struck by the uncanny resemblance to Brahms. Many Romantic-era composers have had aspects of their music compared to his, but in Gernsheim I hear more than just the sharing of a musical milieu. The very shape of the musical phrases, the orchestration (though slightly more adventurous), the modulation of dynamics, and the process of thematic development are highly like that of Brahms. Not since I first listened to the symphony of Hans Rott have I been so surprised by the sameness of the music produced by two composers, though on repeated hearings of the former I find less similarity to Mahler than on early listenings.

Brahms is one of those composers who has made me so glad to have invested my time in actively listening to classical music. Despite being bored by the highly-regarded 2nd symphony, I consider his 1st, 3rd, and 4th to be among the greatest of musical compositions. And here comes Gernsheim, using not just the language of Brahms, but very nearly producing music of equivalent quality. Given that he produced 4 symphonies, it is like discovering Brahms all over again. Recommended without reservation.

As soon as Symphony No1 commenced I knew here was music by a genius. The texture, the working of themes and the superb command of the orchestra reveals a composer on a par with Schuman and Brahms. Why has the man been so ignored ? Buy this and you will experience one the great moments in symphonic music.

The orchestra and Conductor deserve special thanks for their superb rendition of these truelly great works.

A MUST buy for any classical music lover.

If you like to delve into hitherto little-know regions of the repertoire, you are often pleasantly surprised by what you find and dismayed at the lack of exposure of so much great music. Over the years, I discovered Joachim Raff, I found Joseph Marx and Sergei Taneyev. However, I set out with little expectations when I'd purchased this set for a ridiculously low amount of money. I had never, ever expected to find anything of the quality that is present on this set.

This is not just great music, it is testimony to an inspired, inventive and incredibly talented composer whose neglect should end here and now. Gernsheims acquiantance with Brahms and their different musical fates are recalled in the (excellent) liner notes. Whilst Brahms supremacy is easily explained from historical reasons, the difference between his fame and Gernsheim's obscurity is altogether more difficult to fathom if you listen to the latter's work. All four of these symphonies are better than Brahms' third, and I would rate Gernsheim's second symphony above any of Brahms's (don't be fooled by its rather prosaic-sounding title).

Köhler and the Rheinland-Pfalz Orchestra play impeccably and do these complicated scores full justice.

Of Brahms' first symphony (1876), with its (too?) striking similarity to Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" theme in the fourth movement, Johannes defended against his critics: "Any horse's arse knows that!" In a more subtle way, Friedrich Gernsheim's first symphony (1875) echoes the purely orchestral textures and figurations of Beethoven, but without cashing in on a tune that everybody could already whistle. I love Brahms too- don't make faces now. Is it a wonder then, that these two men who were friends premiered their 1st symphonies 1 year apart, both of which grappled with the legacy of writing a symphony after Beethoven? Well, Gernsheim's orchestral writing is just as polyphonically well-crafted and gratifying to repeated listening as Brahms, and I can't understand his neglect. His music is completely accessible, structurally sound, and musically interesting and not to mention the fact it sounds like Brahms wrote 4 more symphonies with little hints of Beethoven: a perfect recipe!!!

The four symphonies fully deserve equal time with Brahms, and I hope to hear him occassionally in the concert hall in place of all those other musical chestnuts. (Incidentally, I was reading that Claudio Arrau used to play some piano pieces of Gernsheim's in his early touring days.) No major issues with this recording. Bottom line: if you like Brahms, Gernsheim deserves a place in your collection.

These symphonies are solidly good.
1.The first Symphony is Schumannesque with a Beethovian Scherzo.

2. The Second Symphony is Brahmsian and is akin to Brahm's second symphony. Even the opening with the French Horns is reminiscient of the beginnings of Brahms 2nd Symphony. The last movement is just as similar to the last movement of Brahm's second but without the audacious flare and fire of Brahms.

3. The third Symphony is Mendelsohhnian but with enough Gernsheim originality to make it worth listening.

4. The fourth symphony seems harkens back to Schubert's 6th Symphony "Little C" and is quite akin to Herzogenberg's second symphony in the same key. The symphony is joyous, exuberant and sparkling, but not wild.

In summing it up, Gernsheim wrote the best symphonies he could, and these symphonies turned out to be solid symphonies. Don't expect Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schubert of Beethoven, but expect their influences.

While I am not quite as enthusiastic as some of the other reviewers, I certainly enjoyed listening to these previously unknown (to me) works. Yes, there is a relationship between the form and content of Brahms and Gernsheim. But, to my unsophisticated ears, Gernsheim's textures are lighter and his rhetoric less convincing. The overall listening experience is that of "lite" Brahms. Nevertheless, highly recommended as a refreshing change to hear a composer who is obviously a major "minor master."

Listeners should not come to these symphonies expecting works worthy of Brahms, Mendelssohn and Schumann. They lack the melodic inspiration of these composers and the ingenuity of development and form of Schumann and Brahms. Having noted this, they are still fine symphonies, worth an occasional listen. The orchestration is very similar in places to Brahms, so that if you're not listening very closely, you might think actually think you're hearing an obscure Brahms orchestral piece, perhaps a discarded movement from the First Serenade. What they lack, besides the raw melodic inspiration, is the depth of expression and the entirely successful symphonic climax. Even when he comes up with an attractive tune (and there are several such tunes in these symphonies, particularly in the finales), he is not particularly inventive when it comes to developing his ideas or drawing something special from them. The codas of these works stumble and stammer a bit, as they frantically try to work themselves into eloquence, until, floundering in several false starts, they wave the white flag of surrender and throw up their hands in a finale blazing, Brahmsian chord.

Its the clear, ringing yet rich and warm digital sound of these recordings that is perhaps what recommends them most to the intrepid listener. For those who delight in having their ears tickled by the late romantic orchestra, particularly in its Brahmsian guise, these symphonies, despite their limitations, are a treat. Kohler's interpretations are solid and free of eccentricities. So to sum up: good but not great music with attractive, occasional catchy tunes but little in the way of depth and nothing in the way of the grand symphonic epiphany that one finds in masters like Beethoven, Schumann, and Brahms.

As one of the other reviewers pointed out, Gernsheim is not strong on melodic invention. For those listeners who find technical mastery to be enough, then these symphonies may be enjoyable. I have listened to them several times and they have not grown on me. To my ear they're rather dry, lacking the inspiration of Brahms, Raff, or Rott.