Witt: Symphony, Flute Concerto / Gallois, Sinfonia Finlandia Jyvaskyla
Naxos
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Aug 31, 2010
WITT Symphony in C, “Jena.” Symphony in A. Flute Concerto in G, op. 8 • Patrick Gallois (fl, cond); Sinfonia Finlandia Jyväskylä • NAXOS 8.572089 (69:37)
Born in the same year as Beethoven, the longer-lived Friedrich Witt (1770–1836) is acknowledged today, if a bit shamefacedly, as the composer of the so-called “Jena” Symphony once attributed to Beethoven. Not a single note of the score changed between the time it was believed to be by the great Ludwig Van and when it was discovered not to be; yet critical opinion of the work plummeted like the stock market on the report of bad news. Funny how that happens—yesterday buy, today sell, though nothing but the name of the note issuer of record has changed.
Recordings of Witt’s works represent but the tip of a sizeable iceberg; fewer than 10 of his works, as far as I can tell, have been recorded. Yet he is believed to have written as many as 23 symphonies, numerous concertos for various instruments, a considerable volume of chamber music, a number of operas, and an oratorio, Der leidende Heiland (The Suffering Savior), which secured him an appointment as Kapellmeister at the court of the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg in 1802.
Prior to this, however—sometime around 1792 or 1793—while Witt was serving as cellist at the court of Oettingen-Wallerstein and taking composition lessons from Antonio Rosetti, he laid eyes upon four of Haydn’s latest “London” Symphonies—Nos. 93, 96, 97, and 98—which Haydn had sent to Wallerstein. This, according to Keith Anderson’s booklet note, and other biographical sources I’ve come across, was Witt’s moment of dawning light, a light that, paradoxically, would eventually dim his own lamp in the pages of music history. Witt’s worst “crime,” it seems, was not simply imitating Haydn to the point of near plagiarism, but doing so at a time when Beethoven was busy “liberating music” from the strictures of classical content and style, if not quite yet classical form. In other words, Witt chose the path of the arch-conservative. History thereby ended up lumping him together with the lesser contemporaries of Haydn and Mozart instead of with the lesser contemporaries of Beethoven and Schubert, whom Witt outlived by the better part of a decade. Which lumping would have been better for Witt’s posthumous reputation I’m not sure; neither changes the music he wrote.
Witt’s G-Major Flute Concerto, newly recorded here, has been recorded before. It was included on an MDG Gold disc that also contained the composer’s Sixth, so-called “Turkish,” and Ninth symphonies. Johannes Moesus led the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, and the concerto was played by flutist Susanne Barner. That release, which I happen to have, was reviewed by Barry Brenesal in Fanfare 29:2.
As for the “Jena” Symphony, don’t believe everything you find, or don’t find, at ArkivMusic. As of this writing, the site lists only the current Naxos recording. But the work has appeared on disc before as far back as the 1950s. An LP on the Concert Hall label with Walter Goehr conducting the Netherlands Philharmonic has been transferred to CD, and there is a downloadable Deutsche Grammophon version with Franz Konwitschny. Versions on Urania with Rolf Kleinert leading the Leipzig Philharmonic and with Wolfgang Hoffmann leading the Rhineland Philharmonia on Musical Heritage Society also exist.
In hindsight, it’s hard to imagine how Witt’s “Jena” Symphony, written sometime before 1796, could ever have been mistaken for a work by Beethoven. Even Beethoven’s earliest orchestral works, namely the first two piano concertos, present an entirely different sound world from Witt’s symphony. Beethoven’s melodic contours are different, as is his way of writing for winds and of extending and developing his thematic material. Witt’s symphony is pure Haydn. Listen to the first movement’s second theme beginning at 2:13. In shape and style, it’s close to a dead ringer for the first movement’s second theme in Haydn’s D-Major Symphony No. 93, which was one of the four “London” Symphonies that Witt had access to at Oettingen-Wallerstein.
The Adagio likewise proceeds in Haydnesque melodic phrases and harmonic gestures, while the Menuetto is big on formal flourishes, curtsies, and that big ballroom-band sound common to so many of Haydn’s minuet movements. It contains none of the sprinting, whiplash elements that, in Beethoven’s hands, would transform the minuet into a scherzo. The last movement, a spirited Allegro, would have brought a London audience to its feet, just as Haydn’s finales did. If you love Haydn (and who doesn’t?), and his 106 symphonies aren’t enough for you, you can listen to Witt’s “Jena” Symphony and pretend it’s Haydn’s 107th, or you can listen to it and appreciate it for what it is, the work of a master copycat.
The A-Major Symphony, written perhaps a year or two before the “Jena,” seems somehow lighter and fleeter of foot. A passage or two in the first movement sounds as if it’s about to lapse into the bubbly, scintillating passagework one hears in Mozart’s “Linz” Symphony. The one surprise Witt has in store for us is that he places his Menuetto in second position, before the Andante. Though not unprecedented—Haydn did it in his C-Major Symphony No. 32—the practice was uncommon before 1830. Beethoven, in fact, didn’t reverse the order of the two inner movements in any of his symphonies until the Ninth, though it’s arguable whether the Eighth even has a slow movement at all.
Though Haydn wrote close to four dozen concertos for various instruments, the medium was not his in the way it was Mozart’s, and Witt seemed instinctively to realize this, turning instead to Mozart’s concertos as the model for his own G-Major Flute Concerto of 1806. With so few of Witt’s works available on record, it would be rash to say that this concerto is his crowning achievement. I think it’s safe to say, however, that it displays a wealth of melodic invention, ample virtuosic challenges for the soloist, a richness of orchestral writing, and an originality of ideas that seemed lacking in the symphonies. With as fine a flute concerto as this, I’m surprised that flutists aren’t lining up to add it to their repertoires.
Until I received this recording, I thought that Susanne Barner on the aforementioned MDG disc was perfectly fine, but compared to renowned flutist Patrick Gallois on this new Naxos CD, she sounds rather laid-back and a bit mechanical in her delivery. Gallois sparkles and tosses off Witt’s arpeggios, runs, and roulades with panache. The Sinfonia Finlandia Jyväskylä, under Gallois’s direction, also sounds more spirited and alert, not to mention better recorded than the Hamburgers under Moesus.
Taking that into account, along with the fact that this, to my knowledge, is the only modern recording currently available of Witt’s “Jena” Symphony, Gallois becomes the entry of choice. A selling point of the MDG is that it contains two of Witt’s other symphonies not duplicated on the current disc. So, I shall be keeping both; but for those wanting to sample Witt’s work that has netted the most ink—the “Jena”—and what may be one of his most masterly works—the flute concerto—Naxos’s CD is a no-brainer and a bargain to boot.
FANFARE: Jerry Dubins
Hands up who has heard of Friedrich Witt. Not many probably, for Witt seldom even makes it to the footnotes of musical history books. His main claim to fame is that his Symphony in C major - which is the first work on this recording - was once mistakenly attributed to Beethoven. In the early 1900s musical researchers uncovered the score and found the master’s name written next to two parts of the manuscript. Remembering that Beethoven himself had intimated that he had once attempted a symphony in C, the researchers put two and two together and got it wrong. It was left to H.C. Robbins Landon to prove that the work was really by Witt, a cellist and composer from Wallerstein.
Nevertheless, the Naxos tradition of bringing the obscure to light has paid off in this recording. The three works presented give a fascinating insight into the kind of music that was being written in the tin-pot courts of Germany while the likes of Beethoven were developing revolutionary new means of expression in Vienna. This does not mean that the music is poor. Quite the opposite. It is bold and attractive stuff.
The C major symphony (nicknamed ‘Jena’ after the city’s university, where the manuscript was discovered in 1909) was composed in 1796 and is clearly influenced by Haydn. This is no coincidence. It is known that in 1792 or 1793 Haydn sent four of his London symphonies - Nos. 93, 96, 97 and 98 - to Wallerstein, where Witt must have seen them. The opening allegro is upbeat and playful, with a touch of Haydn wit. The ensuing ‘Adagio cantabile’ contains an attractive melody, while the finale is a fast-paced race to the finish that makes good use of the comparatively large orchestra at Witt’s disposal - including timpani and trumpets, as well as flute, oboes, bassoons, horns and strings.
The Symphony in A major is less riveting. Written about six years earlier, it lacks Haydn’s positive influence and is hemmed in by simple and rather restrictive sonata-form structures. The Flute Concerto in G is much more satisfying. This work was published in 1806 and benefits from a fuller, heavier, orchestral sound. Nevertheless, it still inhabits the sound-world of Haydn and Mozart rather than ‘Eroica’ Beethoven. Patrick Gallois ably tackles the tricky flute solos while simultaneously conducting the Sinfonia Finlandia Jyväskylä. There is a quasi-Romantic opening to the second movement, followed by a fine flute melody which is developed and decorated. But the final Rondo brings us safely back to the late eighteenth century.
-- John-Pierre Joyce, MusicWeb International
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Witt: Symphony, Flute Concerto / Gallois, Sinfonia Finlandia Jyvaskyla
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Naxos
Aug 31, 2010
8572089
Home For The Holidays / Eaken Piano Trio
Naxos
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Jan 01, 1960
All proceeds earned by the Eaken Piano Trio from this recording will be donated to Habitat for Humanity, International.
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Home For The Holidays / Eaken Piano Trio
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Naxos
Jan 01, 1960
8554099
Brahms, Schubert: Quintets / Szell, Budapest String Quartet
Bridge Records
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Jan 01, 1996
This disc includes a brief interview (3'51") with George Szell, placed between the two chamber works.
Brahms, Schubert: Quintets / Szell, Budapest String Quartet
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Bridge Records
Jan 01, 1996
BCD9062
Legendary Treasures - Segovia And His Contemporaries Vol 3
Doremi
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$20.99
Mar 17, 1998
Includes work(s) for guitar by various composers. Soloist: Luise Walker.
Legendary Treasures - Segovia And His Contemporaries Vol 3
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Doremi
Mar 17, 1998
DHR-7709
Postcards / Timothy Seelig, The Turtle Creek Chorale
Reference Recordings
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Jan 13, 1995
This selection is a High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD) recording.
Postcards / Timothy Seelig, The Turtle Creek Chorale
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Reference Recordings
Jan 13, 1995
RR-61
Prima Voce - Marcella Sembrich
Prima Voce
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Oct 01, 1996
Classical Music
Prima Voce - Marcella Sembrich
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Prima Voce
Oct 01, 1996
NI7901
Mysteries Beyond - Songs And Chants In Praise Of Mary
Delos
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$14.99
Jan 01, 1994
This release was previously available under the title "Ave Maria".
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Delos
Jan 01, 1994
DE 3138
Prima Voce - The Spirit Of Christmas Past
Prima Voce
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Oct 01, 1996
Includes a star was his candle. Soloists: Lawrence Tibbett, Stewart Wille.
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Prima Voce
Oct 01, 1996
NI7861
The Story Of Schubert
Vox
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$14.99
Jan 01, 1993
Includes work(s) by Franz Schubert.
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The Story Of Schubert
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Vox
Jan 01, 1993
MMD 8504
Make A Joyful Noise / Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Sony Masterworks
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Dec 05, 1995
The only noise captured on this 20-track collection is breathtaking renditions of Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Verdi and more legendary composers.
Make A Joyful Noise / Mormon Tabernacle Choir
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Sony Masterworks
Dec 05, 1995
SMK61984
James Galway - Serenade
RCA
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Jul 03, 1989
SERENADE
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RCA
Jul 03, 1989
600332RC
Casals Edition - Schubert, Beethoven: Piano Trios
Sony Masterworks
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Feb 22, 1994
Schubert & Beethoven: Piano Trios
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Sony Masterworks
Feb 22, 1994
SMK58989
Choral Moods / Marlow, Choir Of Trinity College Cambridge
Sony Masterworks
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Oct 13, 1998
Richard Marlow's Trinity College Choir of Cambridge has established itself as one of the premier groups of its kind, recording prolifically for Conifer and staking out a swath of repertorial turf that encompasses devotional music from the sixteenth century to the middle of the twentieth. Unlike their better-known counterparts at King's College, the Trinity choristers are an all adult ensemble, using women instead of boy trebles and achieving a more professional sound as a result. CHORAL MOODS is a well-filled two-disk compilation which offers an excellent survey of sacred choral music, though one might have hoped for a little more J. S. Bach. What is here, above all, is beautiful music, well sung and recorded. There are some substantial pieces, such as the Gregorio Allegri "Miserere," Felix Mendelssohn's anthem "Hear My Prayer" and the complete "Messe Basse" (Low Mass) of Gabriel Fauré, as well as some less frequently encountered works such as Henry Balfour Gardiner's "Evening Hymn" and Camille Saint-Saëns "O Salutaris Hostia." It adds up to make a highly commendable anthology.
Choral Moods / Marlow, Choir Of Trinity College Cambridge
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Sony Masterworks
Oct 13, 1998
75605513082
Best Of Schubert
Naxos
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Jun 27, 1997
Classical Music
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Best Of Schubert
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Naxos
Jun 27, 1997
8556666
Lindblad: Symphonies No 1 & 2 / Korsten, Uppsala CO
Marco Polo
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Jul 01, 1999
A genuine discovery—constantly inventive music of considerable achievement, for which Gérard Korsten obtains performances of real distinction from his orchestra.
First things first. Adolf Fredrik Lindblad was a Swede, born in Skänninge, not too far from Stockholm, in 1801. He was a precocious composer (with a flute concerto premiered at the age of 15) in a country where there was no real audience for serious symphonic composition, other than as middle-class divertissement. Sent to Germany to learn a trade, he returned to Sweden where, thanks to perceptive friends in Uppsala, he was sent back to Germany to study with Zelter in Berlin; another of Zelter 's pupils was one Felix Mendelssohn, and he and Lindblad became friends. On his return to Sweden, Lindblad founded and directed (until 1861) a piano school, composing vigorously all the while; he died in 1878.
Some of Lindblad's 200 songs later gained considerable popularity thanks to his pupil Jenny Lind with whom, P.-G. Bergfors's notes tell us, he had an affair. Those songs earned him the nickname of "the Swedish Schubert"—but the link with Schubert is not only a superficial one of similitude: Lindblad's two symphonies (written in 1831 and 1855) show that he also inherited something of Schubert's symphonic manner, though probably without actually knowing much (or any?) of the music.
The first movement of No. 1 wrestles with a thematic fragment from Beethoven's Ninth, and reminiscences of Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Weber dart and weave through the textures here and elsewhere; Lindblad also shows himself to be particularly fond of the Beethovenian sforzato. The finale—which begins with a bright fugue—brings Lindblad closest to his slightly older contemporary Franz Berwald, especially when he uses the same driving rhythmic figures, stiffened by the trumpets, that Berwald so often deployed. The Second Symphony shows a quantum improvement in confidence: Right from the start of the Maestoso slow introduction of the first movement, there's a sense of power waiting to be released, confirmed by the energetic, optimistic sonata-allegro that follows, again with Berwaldian touches of color in an orchestration, which otherwise owes more to Beethoven and Mozart than anyone else. A dignified, though busy, Poco allegretto instead of slow movement (doubtless learned from Beethoven Seven) and a knockabout scherzo lead to a finale that shows Lindblad to have been following the progress of early Romanticism on the Continent—not that early by 1855, perhaps, but his sound world seems already to have been established by the time of the First Symphony. In its sheer buoyant, lively enthusiasm the closest relative of this Second Symphony of Lindblad's is Bizet's Symphony in C, written in exactly the same year—indeed, the two works sometimes sound uncannily alike, though it's almost 100% certain that Lindblad won't have been acquainted with the Bizet, which was completely unknown until its first performance in 1935 (just after it was discovered in Bizet's papers, bequeathed to the Paris Conservatoire by his wife's second husband).
A genuine discovery, this—constantly inventive music of considerable achievement, for which the South African conductor Gérard Korsten obtains performances of real distinction from his Swedish players. The sound isn't terribly polished, but who cares? The main thing is to put across the music in as lively and communicative manner as possible, and here they succeed admirably.
Good, bright sound with plenty of depth. Recommended with considerable enthusiasm, then, as another corner of musical history is uncovered.
-- Martin Anderson, FANFARE [11/1999]
Lindblad: Symphonies No 1 & 2 / Korsten, Uppsala CO
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Marco Polo
Jul 01, 1999
8225105
Ave Maria - Sacred Arias And Choruses
Naxos
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Feb 19, 1997
Classical Music
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Naxos
Feb 19, 1997
8553751
Alfred Brendel Plays Schubert
Vox
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Jan 01, 1996
Classical Music
Alfred Brendel Plays Schubert
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Vox
Jan 01, 1996
CD3X-3041
BEST OF FRANZ SCHUBERT
WARNER CLASSICS
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Aug 30, 2024
In response to the vinyl craze and to extend very nice successes of vinyls composers best of on Warner Classics (Beethoven, Part, Debussy, Piazzolla and more recently Chopin, Mozart and Bach) the new one focuses on the emblematic composer of German Romantic music: Franz Schubert. A LP using the same refreshed style artwork as the previous Mozart & Bach and which includes highlights from greatest masterpieces performed by first-class musicians: Elisabeth Leonskaja, Barbara Bonney, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Alexandre Tharaud, Alban Berg Quartett, Gautier Capucon, Renaud Capucon, Ian Bostridge, Antonio Pappano
BEST OF FRANZ SCHUBERT
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WARNER CLASSICS
Aug 30, 2024
WCL770475.1
Schubert: Impromptus, Opp. 90 & 142 / Brautigam
BIS
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Sep 01, 2023
Ronald Brautigam performs some of Franz Schubert’s most profound and beloved works: the eight Impromptus. Schubert’s name has become closely associated with this genre, often characterized by a lyrical melody and a free-flowing structure, with a sense of spontaneity. With it, Schubert seems to have found an ideal setting for the expression of his genius. The Impromptus, D 899, are reminiscent of a four-movement sonata. The first begins theatrically, before giving way to a funeral march of sorts, in which the melody is harmonised, amplified and constantly renewed. In the second, everything appears light and fluid. In the third, Schubert offers us one of his most inspired songs with one of his most beautiful melodies. The fourth takes us back to the waterworks of a fairy-tale park. The Impromptus, D 935, were published after Schubert’s death. The first is a great rhapsodic poem in which expression reaches into the deepest recesses of the Schubertian soul. The second demonstrates how Schubert manages to rise high with simple material. The third impromptu is a series of variations on ‘Rosamunde’, one of the composer’s most famous themes. The fourth is a lightning-fast scherzando – a free and whimsical piece that ideally concludes this disc.
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