Felix Weingartner

[foxandpeng]

In my recent traversal of spring-inspired works, I listened to Weingartner's tone poem Frühling (1931) for the first time:



It's a substantial work at 19 minutes in length. Perhaps surprisingly, it begins in a darkly chromatic style, perhaps depicting the transition from winter into spring. Eventually, the sun breaks through with imitations of birdsong in the woodwinds. The work then proceeds in the melodic, diatonic style typical of the composer. It's not on the same level of inspiration of, say, Bridge's Enter Spring, but it shares with that work a seriousness of purpose that goes beyond just depicting the "pretty" aspects of the season. Overall, I'd say it's one of Weingartner's finest works, along with the 2nd Symphony, Violin Concerto, Sextet, Octet, and a few of the string quartets.

Interesting. Weingartner is completely new to me, but I like this.