As I'm still in a rather incapacitated state, I thought I'd begin listening through all the symphonies in my collection chronologically from Beethoven 1 (1799/1800) through in to the 21st century. I've got around 1500 to get through!
Today we had
1799-1800
Beethoven: No 1,
Pavel Vranicky: Symphony in D op36,
Weyse: Symphony no 6 in c minor
1801
Wilms: No 3 in E flat op14
1802
Beethoven: No 2,
Reicha: Symphony in C minor,
S Wesley: Symphony in B flat
The Vranicky strikes one as the most original outside of the Beethoven, very energetic an engaging. The Weyse too is good, very Haydnesque and only a somewhat weaker finale lets it down. The Wilms and Reicha seem typical of the period, though the Reicha is the stronger of the two works. There is something distinctly English about the Wesley in a strange way, the finale is a real contrapunctal tour de force. I wonder if he hadn't had the unfortunate fall when he was younger, whether he would have turned out to be a much finer composer.
Today we had
1799-1800
Beethoven: No 1,
Pavel Vranicky: Symphony in D op36,
Weyse: Symphony no 6 in c minor
1801
Wilms: No 3 in E flat op14
1802
Beethoven: No 2,
Reicha: Symphony in C minor,
S Wesley: Symphony in B flat
The Vranicky strikes one as the most original outside of the Beethoven, very energetic an engaging. The Weyse too is good, very Haydnesque and only a somewhat weaker finale lets it down. The Wilms and Reicha seem typical of the period, though the Reicha is the stronger of the two works. There is something distinctly English about the Wesley in a strange way, the finale is a real contrapunctal tour de force. I wonder if he hadn't had the unfortunate fall when he was younger, whether he would have turned out to be a much finer composer.
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