The symphonies of Louis Spohr

[Alison]

Ive been enjoying a brief foray into this repertory.

Any views, likes, dislikes and sundry other comments please.

With the compliments of the season to you,

Alison

[Stanfordian]

Hiya Alison,

Compliments of the season to you to.

This is my very brief and generalised take on Spohr. The case for Louis Spohr is made from time to time. I guess people are looking to discover and proclaim another of those unjustly neglected composers. Admired in his day as a travelling virtuoso violinist and for his compositions his music soon sank into near oblivion when he was unable to promote his own works. An all too familiar situation with composers.

I have a considerable number of Spohr recordings and I have been collecting the performances conducted by Howard Shelley of the symphonies on Hyperion. I keep giving Sphor chance after chance and fall into that financially expensive trap that he is one of those composers whose music needs time and repeated listening. But the same thing invariably happens to me when I play his works. I commence with great enthusiasm and before long my mind begins to drift I guess primarily owing to Spohr’s inability to generate emotional tension and provide sufficient melodic memorability.

[Suffolkcoastal]

Spohr's importance is harmonically in that his sometimes more adventurous harmonic palette does point the way in to the later romantic era. His earlier symphonies are fine works, especially the 3rd. Of the later ones the 7th shows imagination in its combination of symphonic and programmatic elements. Their main weakness is memorability of melodic material which is also true of the concertos and chamber music, but there is still a lot to enjoy and dip in to.

[verismissimo]

...

This is my very brief and generalised take on Spohr... the same thing invariably happens to me when I play his works. I commence with great enthusiasm and before long my mind begins to drift I guess primarily owing to Spohr’s inability to generate enough emotional tension and provide sufficient melodic memorability.

Same for me, Stanfordian. I've had his Nonet for 40 years or more. And more recently Hilary Hahn's recording of his VC 8. Zzzzz...

His violin concertos were a staple part of the fiddler's repertoire until around the First World War. I've never really understood what sustained them in that role...

[Stanfordian]

Same for me, Stanfordian. I've had his Nonet for 40 years or more. And more recently Hilary Hahn's recording of his VC 8. Zzzzz...

His violin concertos were a staple part of the fiddler's repertoire until around the First World War. I've never really understood what sustained them in that role...

Hiya verismissimo, I have that disc on DG. Wonderful soloist Hilary Hahn does a great job in the violin concerto No. 8 but she cannot make the music better than what it is!

[richardfinegold]

Hiya Alison,

Compliments of the season to you to.

This is my very brief and generalised take on Spohr. The case for Louis Spohr is made from time to time. I guess people are looking to discover and proclaim another of those unjustly neglected composers. Admired in his day as a travelling virtuoso violinist and for his compositions his music soon sank into near oblivion when he was unable to promote his own works. An all too familiar situation with composers.

I have a considerable number of Spohr recordings and I have been collecting the performances conducted by Howard Shelley of the symphonies on Hyperion. I keep giving Sphor chance after chance and fall into that financially expensive trap that he is one of those composers whose music needs time and repeated listening. But the same thing invariably happens to me when I play his works. I commence with great enthusiasm and before long my mind begins to drift I guess primarily owing to Spohr’s inability to generate emotional tension and provide sufficient melodic memorability.

i also have dipped the toe into these waters, looking for the great unjustly neglected composer. I think that your assessment is spot on.

[Barbirollians]

I have long been bored by Spohr especially his violin concertos .

I have , however, recently discovered his Clarinet Concertos on the Michael Collins recordings on Hyperion . I think they are much more interesting than anything else of his I have heard- outstandingly played too . The adagio of the a Third Concerto is particularly fine .