Search - Ferdinand Ries, Howard Griffiths, Zurich Chamber Orchestra :: Ferdinand Ries: Symphonies Nos. 7 & 8 [Hybrid SACD]

The Completion of this Wonderful Series of Ries Symphonies

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 05/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ferdinand Ries (1784-1837) was a younger contemporary and, some say, acolyte of Beethoven. His music could easily be seen, on superficial examination, to be epigonal, but indeed these two symphonies show us that his music does indeed differ from that of Beethoven's if only in his rather more imaginative orchestration and idiosyncratic turns of phrase and harmony. Of course his music partakes of the same musical world as Beethoven's; still, here he sounds a bit like Schubert, there like Mendelssohn and even occasionally like Schumann, but ultimately only like himself. I will not state that he is as great as Beethoven - who is? - but his music does not deserve to languish in obscurity either; these works certainly deserve as much attention as, say, the symphonies of Niels Gade or Franz Berwald, to name only two formerly poorly known composers. Howard Griffiths and his Zürcher Kammerorchester have, with this CD, done an inestimable service by recording all of Ries's known symphonies. These two were never published in Ries's lifetime; in fact, the Seventh Symphony may be receiving its world première here. A word about the provenance of the two symphonies. Ries wrote six published symphonies and then there were two that went unpublished. He generally didn't number his symphonies until they had been published, but uncharacteristically he gave a number to the Seventh, written in 1837, even though it was never accepted by a publisher; it is his last symphony. The E flat symphony, called here No. 8, was performed a number of times but never published. It was probably written in 1822; cpo have seen fit to call it the No. 8, although more correctly it is simply 'Symphony in E flat, WoO 30.' (I would refer you to previous reviews here at Amazon - written by a reviewer simply calling himself 'A Music Fan from Lawrenceville, Georgia' - of the recordings of Symphonies 3 & 5, and Symphonies 4 & 6 by the same performers. They contain a wealth of information and informed opinion.)I shall not try to describe the music in detail, movement by movement, except to point out several felicities. The dramatic rhythmic opening gesture of Symphony No. 7 becomes the basis for a strongly argued and ultimately quite effective first movement. The second movement is graceful, perhaps closest to Schubert in its gentle tunefulness. The scherzo actually sounds a bit like ballet music; the second theme is lightly accompanied by pizzicato strings and has striking interjections by the solo horn. The finale is a clever mixture of rondo and sonata form. The E Flat Symphony opens with a Haydnesque slow introduction--I have to admit that the peremptory opening E flat chords put me in mind of the opening of Beethoven's 'Emperor' Concerto!--before taking off on an uncharacteristically square opening theme that harkens back to, say, Haydn's Drumroll Symphony. And then in the slow movement we get more reminiscences of Haydn's Drumroll; I wonder if this was intentional? The third movement is indeed, as the Italian word 'scherzo' implies, a light-hearted joke imparted primarily by some quirky harmonic juxtapositions and a capering horn part. Delicious! The finale is, like that of the Sevemth Symphony, a combination of rondo and sonata form (which includes an exciting fugal passage), primarily dramatic in thrust but with several islands of lyrical repose.These performances are not likely to be bettered. I say that not only because it is probable--unless there is an unexpected surge in Ries's popularity--they may never be recorded again, but because Griffiths and his chamber orchestra do a bang-up job with them. Recorded in a church (Neumünsterkirche, Zurich), the sound is warm, slightly reverberant (positively so) and clear. This is the only one of the series to have been recorded, as far as I know, in SACD. I listened to this SACD disc with a regular CD player and have no idea how it would be in surround sound, but in my own music room it came across with notably lifelike impact. Much to my own amazement--music of this period is not really my strongest love--I recommend this disc fervently. TT=67:16Scott Morrison"