Search - Johann Wenzel Kalliwoda, Frieder Bernius, Hofkapelle Stuttgart :: Johann Wenzeslaus Kalliwoda: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6, Opp. 106 & 132

A real pleasure..

anonymous | Los Angeles | 10/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The glib way to describe Kalliwoda's Symphonies here would be to say that if Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Schumann collaborated to write a symphony, and Dvorak or Smetana edited the final result, it might sound a lot like these symphonies. But that's the glib way, and totally unfair to the composer, who had a genuinely original voice, for all the influences on it from elsewhere..



Kalliwoda was a superhuman craftsman of music, and a brilliant orchestrator. These symphonies are beautifully wrought throughout, with not a single dull moment. Another reviewer elsewhere complained that Kalliwoda's melodic invention is deficient. I disagree strongly. The man wrote beautiful melodies, and they are his alone, not especially derivative.



Even more impressive though, is the way Kalliwoda sets his melodies. His harmonizations, voice-leading, counterpoint and modulations are all original and beautiful, and most important, often unpredictable. In particular, both these symphonies are full of what you might call "wait, what the hell was THAT?" moments! Moments so beautiful you have to go back and listen to them again. Kalliwoda is a master at this kind of thing.



In short, listening to both these symphonies is a pure pleasure, and exciting too..to hear this work as brand new.



I've known the 6th symphony for many years, in the recording on Centaur, but the performance and recording there are both pedestrian at best. This new recording makes it clear the Kalliwoda was a major talent, deserving of far wider exposure in the here-and-now.



These performances are beautifully judged throughout, recording quality is at the highest level. The orchestra plays with great fire and lyricism, the balances are perfect, the dynamics exciting. Bernius does some very fine things with the symphonies, things that are not necessarily obvious. He clearly studied this music and lived with it for a long time before recording it. Or so it seems.



In short, this is a recording that belongs in any serious collection, and will give much pleasure in the listening."