Walter Braunfels' Bullpen

[kyjo]

I'll revoke my quasi-dismissal of Braunfels' orchestral music, as I remembered how much I enjoyed this Dutton CD:



The Sinfonia Brevis (not so "brevis" at around 30 mins. in length) is a late work, overall quite dark in tone and unsettlingly chromatic in language. Stylistically, it reminded me a bit of the two substantial Sinfoniettas by Zemlinsky and Otakar Ostrcil. Not an immediately memorable work, perhaps, but a compelling one.

The two other works on the disc, the Symphonic Variations on a French Children's Song and the Suite from The Glass Mountain, are much earlier and lighter in tone, full of tunefulness, glittering orchestration, and a naivety of spirit (as befits the subject matter). Really charming stuff, but at the same time never too facile or "cutesy". So, it's very much a disc of two contrasting halves, both equally rewarding and convincingly performed.

[Symphonic Addict]

I'll revoke my quasi-dismissal of Braunfels' orchestral music, as I remembered how much I enjoyed this Dutton CD:



The Sinfonia Brevis (not so "brevis" at around 30 mins. in length) is a late work, overall quite dark in tone and unsettlingly chromatic in language. Stylistically, it reminded me a bit of the two substantial Sinfoniettas by Zemlinsky and Otakar Ostrcil. Not an immediately memorable work, perhaps, but a compelling one.

The two other works on the disc, the Symphonic Variations on a French Children's Song and the Suite from The Glass Mountain, are much earlier and lighter in tone, full of tunefulness, glittering orchestration, and a naivety of spirit (as befits the subject matter). Really charming stuff, but at the same time never too facile or "cutesy". So, it's very much a disc of two contrasting halves, both equally rewarding and convincingly performed.

The other day I was listening to the another recording of the Sinfonia brevis and I agree, a marvelous, substantial and serious work that has nothing of 'brevis'. Another work with a misleading title is Reger's long and stodgy Sinfonietta, a symphony in all but name.

[Symphonic Addict]

To be released on 6 September. The second recording of this opera.

[ritter]

To be released on 6 September. The second recording of this opera.

Interesting! The older recording, also conducted by Honeck and with Juliane Banse as well —on Decca— is unobtainable.

I'm not the greatest fan of Braunfels (I remember disliking the Te Deum that has so many admirers here on GMG), but these Francophile works of his intrigue me (I should revisit Verkündigung, his "mystery" based on Claudel).

[Mirror Image]

Interesting! The older recording, also conducted by Honeck and with Juliane Banse as well —on Decca— is unobtainable.

I'm not the greatest fan of Braunfels (I remember disliking the Te Deum that has so many admirers here on GMG), but these Francophile works of his intrigue me (I should revisit Verkündigung, his "mystery" based on Claudel).

I wouldn't say that the Decca one is unobtainable as I bought a copy not too long ago via Discogs. You might want to try there before springing for this newer one on Capriccio.