By Carl Bauman
American Record Guide
01-May-2009
This is an interesting assortment of symphonies from the classical period. None is a first recording, though there haven’t been many.
Francois-Joseph Gossec (1734–1829) wrote this rather unusual five-movement work that includes a fugue and concludes with a pair of minuets. He published it as his Op. 6:6. It is a rather odd work that begins with a sense of reserve that seems almost timid. It also lacks a significant second theme. III is an almost fumbling sounding slow movement that is followed by the fugue, which has a confident, lilting theme. V is two minuets that lack a true dance rhythm. Yet the whole is a very pleasing combination. I wish the notes indicated when it was composed.
Jan Krtitel (Johann Baptist) Vanhal (1739–1813) greatly impressed the Englishman Charles Burney in the 1770s. This symphony gives ample grounds for his opinion, for its sprightly themes are most interesting. II begins like a violin concerto. III has a fine dance-like trio, while IV is suitably agitated. Vanhal remains one of my favorite late 18th Century Czech-born composers.
Antoine Mahaut (c1720–85) is the most conservative of these composers. His (and Kraus’s) symphony is in only three movements. It really sounds late baroque rather than classical. I am not fond of it.
Joseph Martin Kraus (1756-92) has gradually become much better known. He lived almost the same period of time as Mozart, but was based at the Swedish court and wrote quite prolifically. (I have recordings of 18 symphonies by him.) It is interesting to note that Haydn referred to him in the same breath as Mozart. The first movement begins with an impressive sense of passion with amazingly dissonant passages. It lasts longer (10 minutes) than Mahaut’s complete symphony. II is an andante that is carefully balanced and filled with a sense of power; III is a fast movement that races along.
Most of these are 20+-year-old recordings, from 1982 to 1986. No recording date is given for the Gossec, though I suspect it is more recent. The notes are very brief and quite uninformative, and their translation into English is a bit awkward. Hans-Martin Linde and the Cappella Coloniensis give very fine period instrument performances of these works. The recordings are very good despite their age.
more....
