Topic: Single symphony

[André]

Some composers did not dabble in the standard symphonic model at all (Chopin, Ravel, Revueltas, Verdi etc) while some others tiptoed around the symphonic form but did not adhere to the standard four movement model (Liszt and Strauss for example). Franck, Lalo, Chausson wrote just one. As if out of a sense of duty...  Franck's symphony is famous for its ingenious combination of scherzo/andante in a single central movement. It's probably the best known of those symphonic "orphans" out there.

What are those symphonies with no siblings in a composer's output that you really like?

Here's one I particularly like: Bernard Herrmann's lone Symphony. It's been recorded twice if I'm not mistaken.  It's a confident, majestic work, superbly orchestrated. Not for a single moment does one feel the composer laboured to make it through. Indeed, a sequel or two would have been most welcome !

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[Cato]

Some composers did not dabble in the standard symphonic model at all (Chopin, Ravel, Revueltas, Verdi etc) while some others tiptoed around the symphonic form but did not adhere to the standard four movement model (Liszt and Strauss for example). Franck, Lalo, Chausson wrote just one. As if out of a sense of duty...  Franck's symphony is famous for its ingenious combination of scherzo/andante in a single central movement. It's probably the best known of those symphonic "orphans" out there.

What are those symphonies with no siblings in a composer's output that you really like?

Here's one I particularly like: Bernard Herrmann's lone Symphony. It's been recorded twice if I'm not mistaken.  It's a confident, majestic work, superbly orchestrated. Not for a single moment does one feel the composer laboured to make it through. Indeed, a sequel or two would have been most welcome !

.

Many thanks, Andre'!

The symphony by Chausson is really great also!

Never to be forgotten:

Hans Rott:

[André]

Yes, Leo! Of course, Rott's E major symphony is also a work of the first rank. According to Wikipedia he left an unfinished second symphony. I doubt anything will ever be made of it, so this E major work is the only one we'll ever hear from this lamented composer.

Mine is another version, from the Cincinnati Symphony under Gerhard Samuel. All told, I counted 7 recordings, enough of a critical mass to allow for diverse interpretive POVs. I wonder which are recommended ?

[Edit: make that 8 recordings!]

[Christo]

Single symphonies by:
* Ludvig Irgens Jensen
* Arthur Benjamin
* Alf Hurum
* Zoltán Kodály

And, of course:
Johannes Verhulst (1816-1891) – 1
Anton Berlijn (1817-1870) – 1
Johannes Franciscus Dupont (1822-1875) – 1
Willem Frederik Gerard Nicolai (1829-1896) – 1
Gerard Hamm (1835-1904) – 1
Leander Schlegel (1844-1913) – 1
Henri Viotta (1848-1933) – 1
Hubert de Blanck (1856-1932) – 1
Willem Kes (1856-1934) – 1
Gotfried Hendrik Mann (1858-1904) – 1
Willem Henri Lucas (1858-1936) – 1
Anton Averkamp (1861-1934) – 1
Pieter Anne van Westrheene (1863-1929) – 1
Cornélie van Oosterzee (1863-1943) – 1
Carel Oberstadt (1871-1940) – Unfinished
Constant van de Wall (1871-1945) – 1
Dirk Schäfer (1873-1931) – 1
Hubert Cuypers (1873-1960) – 1
Anna Lambrechts-Vos (1876-1932) – 1
Elisabeth Kuyper (1877-1953) – 1 (lost)
Hugo van Dalen (1888-1967) – 1
Jan Bartelsman (1889-1948) – 1
Jaap Kool (1890-1959) – 1
Jakob van Domselaer (1890–1960) – 1
Johanna Bordewijk-Roepman (1892–1971) – 1
Atma Kenswil (1892-1985) – 1
Marius Monnikendam (1896-1977) – 1
Hans Bunge (1898-1973) – 1
Henk van Kempen (= Henri Carf, 1899-1984) – Sinfonia brevis
Leo Smit (1900-1943) – 1
Wim van Hoek (1901-1957) – 1
Julius Hijman (1901-1969) – 1
Iet Stants (1903-1968) – 1
Géza Frid (1904-1989) – 1
Kees van Baaren (1906-1970) – Sinfonia
Jan Felderhof (1907-2006) – 1
Johan Franco (1908-1988) – 1 
Jaap Drijfhout van Hooff (1912-1993) – 1 (unf.)
Cor de Groot (1914-1993) – 1
Marius Flothuis (1914-2001) – 1
Bernard Renooij (1915-2007) – 1
Alfred J. van Rossum (1917-1991) – 1
François Steenhuis (1918-1956) – 1 (unf.)
Nico Hermans (1919-1988) – 1
Nico Schuyt (1922-1992) – 1
Wim Franken (1922–2012) – 1
Sas Bunge (1924-1980) – 1
Ludwig Otten (1924-) – 1
Piet Kingma (1926-1994) – 1
Robert Heppener (1925-2009) – 1
Daniël Wayenberg (1929-) – 1
Tera de Marez Oyens (1932–1996) – 1
Bernard van Beurden (1933-) – 1
Louis Andriessen (1939-) – 1
Daan Manneke (1939-) – Sinfonia
Geert van Keulen (1943-) – 1
Frank den Herder (1952-) – 1
Jeff Hamburg (1956-) – 1
 

[André]

"Of course"  indeed  ! And that's just the Dutch contingent, right ?

[SymphonicAddict]

These ones are my 'orphan' favorites (not mentioned yet):

Dietrich
Dukas
Bargiel
Grieg
de Boeck
Beach
Vierne
Hausegger
Karlowicz
Respighi
Moeran
Guridi
Garofalo
Lindberg, Oskar
Korngold
Tovey

[Sergeant Rock]

I wonder which are recommended ?

I own five.

SEGERSTAM
WEIGLE
DAVIES
P.JÄRVI
ALBRECHT

They all have strong points in their favor. Our Clydebankian Rott fan thinks Segerstam the best (or he did at one time; not sure of it's still his favorite). Jens and I prefer Weigle (who makes the incessant triangle part in the finale less irritating). Järvi is my second choice with Albrecht third (he brings out the Bruckner influence in the score).

Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

.
What are those symphonies with no siblings in a composer's output that you really like?

Korngold above all, with Rott and Herrmann not far behind. Then Moeran and Franck.

Sarge

[André]

I own five.

SEGERSTAM
WEIGLE
DAVIES
P.JÄRVI
ALBRECHT

They all have strong points in their favor. Our Clydebankian Rott fan thinks Segerstam the best (or he did at one time; not sure of it's still his favorite). Jens and I prefer Weigle (who makes the incessant triangle part in the finale less irritating). Järvi is my second choice with Albrecht third (he brings out the Bruckner influence in the score).

Sarge

Thanks for the input, Sarge ! I notice Segerstam's timings are some 7-9 minutes over the competition. I suppose he manages to make it sound both heavier and more accented ? I'll check the Weigle and Järvi for sure.

Must listen to the Korngold (never heard it  ). Is Previn a good buy ? Is Worse Than Most better than his reputation allows ? The symphony is nicely coupled with other Korngold goodies in a few twofers.

[André]

These ones are my 'orphan' favorites (not mentioned yet):

Dietrich
Dukas
Bargiel
Grieg
de Boeck
Beach
Vierne
Hausegger
Karlowicz
Respighi
Moeran
Guridi
Garofalo
Lindberg, Oskar
Korngold
Tovey

I know the Vierne, de Boeck, Karlowicz, Lindberg and Moeran symphonies. Some nice things in that list ! From Belgium there is also Mortelmans' Homerische symfonie that I enjoy. A strong work.

[Sergeant Rock]

Thanks for the input, Sarge ! I notice Segerstam's timings are some 7-9 minutes over the competition. I suppose he manages to make it sound both heavier and more accented ? I'll check the Weigle and Järvi for sure.

Must listen to the Korngold (never heard it  ). Is Previn a good buy ? Is Worse Than Most better than his reputation allows ? The symphony is nicely coupled with other Korngold goodies in a few twofers.

W-M is is excellent, especially if you think you might prefer a swifter account. But my favorite is Previn. Intensely dramatic even though considerably slower than W-M in the first movement.

Korngold Symphony F sharp major
                            I         II         III        IV        Total
Welser-Möst         12:50    9:48   14:45   10:11   47:34
Kempe                 14:12    9:14   15:04   10:23   48:53
Albrecht               14:50    9:56   15:20   10:25   50.31 
Downes                14:14  10:14   16:28   10:24   51:20
Previn                  15:55  10:32   16:09   10:31   53:07
Storgards             15:55  11:03   15:36   11:11   53:48


Sarge

[BasilValentine]

My favorite singleton symphony is Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra. You weren't really fooled by the title, were you? It was a good choice because it obviates the centuries of "What, only one? How sad" that would have followed had it been called Symphony. 

[André]

Thanks for that, Sarge. Now I might decide between Welser-Möst and Previn based on the couplings - and eventually acquire both!




These are 2 versions of the Welser-Möst, differently coupled. Then there is the Previn on DG (now Eloquence):

[kyjo]

The Korngold Symphony in F-sharp is a magnificent work that makes me wish he had written more symphonies. He was working on a second symphony at the time of his death, apparently...

[some guy]

Webern's, which is in two movements (of which one is made up of lots of short variations)

Ah good. A mention for Webern.

You probably know Zimmermann's, too, no? That's a real stunner.

Also Z'ev's so-called symphony #2.

And, again, since we're talking about things called symphonies, Dhomont's Frankenstein Symphony.

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

So far, there is only one Henning Symphony.  (Just saying.)

[Maestro267]

One that hasn't been mentioned yet is George Dyson's Symphony in G major.

I enjoy Franck's Symphony from time to time, and Moeran's too.

[Cato]

Louis Vierne composed six large symphonies for organ, but only one for the symphony orchestra: a wonderful work, but... you knew that! 

On YouTube:

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/WmFEN1xtf6I" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/WmFEN1xtf6I</a>

[vandermolen]

Definitely agree with Andre about the Bernard Herrmann of which I have both recordings and with Johan about Alf Hurum's Symphony which is a wonderful work.

Now, let me think:

Jean-Michel Damase: a lovely work.
Moeran (I know he started to compose a second one)
Hubert Clifford: Symphony 1940
Cesar Frank
Korngold (Kempe/Previn versions although I also like the poorly-reviewed Storgards)
Arthur Benjamin
Ippolitov-Ivanov (think he only wrote one)
Holst: First Choral Symphony  (there was no second and I'm excluding the early Cotswold one)
Tovey
Rott
Bliss: A Colour Symphony (Morning Heroes is even better but more of an oratorio)
Austin
Roslavets: Chamber Symphony

[The new erato]

Frank Martin has one, fine, symphony.