CPO diaries

[Florestan]

It seems that Yun was lucky that South Korea was receptive to the international appeals otherwise he might have rotted in their prison, at least for a few more years.

Just as I said, SK was a dictatorship while NK was totalitarian.

[Brian]

Krommer's symphony cycle of 9, with No. 8 missing, spans from 1797-1830, in two groupings. The first three, all on this disc, date from 1797-1807 (age 38-48) and are much like the late symphonies of Haydn or the first four symphonies of Schubert. Then Krommer wrote the rest from 1820-1830, in his 60s and his final decade.

No. 1 is an extroverted, jovial piece with a monothematic first movement and a tick-ticking slow movement. The finale is a romp and the timpani, trumpets, horns, and bassoons all get plenty of work to do. Utterly delightful, and, as usual in my experience with Krommer, of the very highest level of craftsmanship.

No. 2 starts with a stormy minor key introduction, played quite quickly here, so that the arrival of the main allegro is a bit of a surprise. Minor-key outbursts punctuate the movement but it's mainly in D major. The energy never lets up. The slow movement is very Haydnesque, with its bouncing tune subjected to wildly different variations, and the minuet is comically undanceable in the best late classical style.

No. 3 starts with a very grand 2:30 introduction absolutely packed with timpani, and then settles into another delightful early Schubertish allegro with lots of work for the horns and woodwinds. Part of Krommer's appeal is his colorful use of the woodwinds, which are ever-present at least as accompaniment to the strings and usually more. The "andante allegretto" second movement has a walking pizzicato bass, an unusual minor key coloration, and occasional outbursts from the brass (!), a truly wild movement. This proves to be the most memorable feature by a long shot.



No. 4 advances us 13 years and is the first minor key symphony, with the cello-led introduction introducing the gloomy C minor. The cellos also inaugurate the allegro's main motif (not really a melody). This is a bit like Schubert's "Tragic" in that the tragedy is worn rather lightly; the first movement ends in major key and slow movement, like Schubert's, is a calming, lyrical respite from the sturm und drang. The minuet is once again undanceably exciting, with a dramatic minor key syncopated melody. Do I hear trombones, too? The finale is in major key but takes a little persuading; there are minor-key orchestral outbursts at times a bit like in the finale of Beethoven's Eighth.

No. 4 was Krommer's most performed and most successful symphony, premiered in 1820 and kept in the Viennese repertoire until 1840. It helps to situate it in a little context: Beethoven's Eighth was premiered six years earlier, and Schubert's Tragic was written four years earlier but not known to the public. The fully mature Krommer was certainly on a level with the young Schubert, but this timeline also goes to show that, even in his era, Beethoven was almost on another planet from everyone else.

With No. 5 and No. 7 we reach an interesting duo of symphonies that seem to be directly inspired by past models. The intro to No. 5 very clearly pays tribute to Mozart's 39th, in the same E flat, and its minuet is a reworking of Haydn's 99th. The main theme that begins No. 7 is in the same key (G minor) and shape as Haydn's 83rd ("the Hen"). Elsewhere, Krommer is still himself: the Fifth has a slow movement that combines Schubertian lyricism with timpani and brass outbursts, the minuets are still rambunctious to the max, and the timpani parts are still virtuosic by themselves.



These are Krommer's biggest and most grandiose symphonies, a half-hour each. No. 6 has a timpani-driven minor key introduction and, with its ever-present brass, feels ceremonial at times. The minuet is especially grandiose. This makes me love even more the Haydnesque finale, which is good lighthearted fun and at times actually funny (even the brief, rather shocking minor-key turn). One of the best individual movements of the cycle.

No. 9 pulls the same now-familiar trick of the minor-key introduction to a major-key symphony. By my count, this is done in three of the eight. The storminess comes back in the minuet, which is almost Kalliwoda-like. The key change from minuet to finale is a wee bit bizarre: C minor to A minor, eventually winding its way back around to C major, but taking its sweet time to do so.

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Overall, every symphony in the cycle is individually excellent and enjoyable. However, there is not the kind of variety in Krommer's cycle that distinguishes Schubert or Haydn. Instead, he kind of performs the same tricks over and over. They're very good tricks, but they lack a heartstopping melody or dramatic twist that would make one of the eight symphonies stand out from the others. I don't think you could nickname Krommer symphonies in the way you can Haydn's, since the composer's distinguishing features are consistent rather than work-by-work strokes of new genius.

That said, I love 'em all. I will not listen to them again as a cycle, all at once, but the individual CDs and symphonies will be in my listening rotation for many years to come.

The performances are superb: stylish, HIP-informed on tempo and timpani sticks but on today's instruments. Instruments like the bassoon are not afraid to chime in assertively for their solo turns. Howard Griffiths is a very reliable conductor in repertoire like this. I do wonder if they sometimes speed a bit (the "adagio" of No. 2 and "adagio quasi andante" of No. 9), but this is an acceptable flaw given the excellent execution elsewhere.

[Florestan]

Overall, every symphony in the cycle is individually excellent and enjoyable. However, there is not the kind of variety in Krommer's cycle that distinguishes Schubert or Haydn. Instead, he kind of performs the same tricks over and over. They're very good tricks, but they lack a heartstopping melody or dramatic twist that would make one of the eight symphonies stand out from the others.

My thoughts exactly.