SSO'S FORGOTTEN RECORDINGS: LACHNER & SPOHR SYMPHONIES on MARCO POLO / NAXOS

 

LACHNER Symphony No.1

SPOHR Symphony No.2

Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Choo Hoey (Conductor)

   Marco Polo 8.220360

   Naxos 8.573507

This is SSO’s very first symphony album, recorded in June 1985. It coupled two rather obscure symphonies by German composers Lachner and Spohr, which now looks like an album the German label CPO (Classik Produktion Osnabruck) might put out today. It seemed like the Hong Kong-based Marco Polo label had the idea first, and SSO under founding music director Choo Hoey became part of the story. I do not remember attending any concert in which SSO performed either of these symphonies, and this album just appeared out of the blue.

Franz Lachner (1803-1890) was close friend of Schubert, and also wrote eight completed symphonies. He was a student of Simon Sechter, who also taught Bruckner, and gave a single lesson to Schubert. Composed in 1828 (the year of Schubert’s death), his First Symphony in E flat major is an ambitious 35 minutes in four movements. Although shorter than Schubert’s “Great” C major Symphony, it has similarly lofty ideas. The musical content is very enjoyable, even if not ultimately memorable. The third movement’s Scherzo is proto-Bruckner, with that feel of an outdoor hunting trip further enlivened with a play of counterpoint. The finale is also a Schubertian romp, with a touch of Berlioz’s pomp, that will win many friends.

It is hard to believe that Ludwig Spohr (1784-1859), a violin virtuoso who composed 15 violin concertos, was once spoken in the same breath as Beethoven and Mozart. He was a contemporary of Carl Maria von Weber, whose music his Second Symphony in D minor (1820), particularly in the spirited and playful finale, resembles. A solid half hour, the Sturm und Drang elements are there but underplayed, the idiom being a transition from Classical to Romantic. Schumann and Mendelssohn also belong to this period. That alone makes this music, and performance, worth listening to.

Of all of SSO’s early recordings, this is the one I played the most times, gaining more insight with each listen. Originally released on the full-priced Marco Polo label, it can now be enjoyed in the budget-to-mid-priced Naxos label. The original drab cover art of composer portraiture by Chai Ben-Shan (which used to accompany all the early Marco Polo releases) has now been replaced by a nice photo of Vienna’s Upper Belvedere Palace. The SSO performs with zeal and commitment, and that was typical of its early years.