The Sunday times / On record: classical
The Sunday Times
The four symphonies of Franz Schmidt span the first 30 years of the 20th century, his first a remarkable, if not startling, essay of a budding composer in his twenties. By the standards of his peers his works may sound old-fashioned, but his melodic material and gift for orchestration, especially his writing for solo woodwinds, make these works worth exploring, especially in Järvi's new Frankfurt set. His father, Neeme Järvi, shared them between the Detroit and Chicago symphony orchestras in his mid-1990s recordings, originally coupled with rare Strauss. The famous Bavarian makes a fleeting "appearance" in the first movement of No 2, but Schmidt's influences are not easy to place and the cycle inhabits its own sound world. The Frankfurt band - conducted with luminous transparency - bring a more Central European sound to the music than Neeme Järvi's high-gloss Americans.
Hugh Canning
17.01.2021
Photo: Kaupo Kikkas
Album of the week
Franz Schmidt
Complete Symphonies
Frankfurt Radio Symphony, cond Paavo Järvi
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