Search - Richard Wetz, Werner Andreas Albert :: Richard Wetz: Symphony No. 2; Kleist Overture

Traditional German late Romantic fare

Larry VanDeSande | Mason, Michigan United States | 09/22/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Richard Wetz is surely among the last of the great German Romantic era composers. Born in 1875 and dead in 1935, Wetz's lifeline spanned the popularity of both Brahms and Bruckner, as well as the career of Mahler, and lasted into the heyday of Richard Strauss. For me, this composer is reminiscent of both Brahms and Bruckner in his Symphony No. 2 -- a true rarity! -- and also shows signs of the coming chromatics from Richard Strauss.



The Symphony No. 2 is typical Wetz, whose recorded output incudes three long-winded symphonies, a requiem, violin concerto and a few overtures. Working from themes reminiscent of early Bruckner, Wetz's Symphony 2 is a three-movement tapestry of varied Germanic themes and Brucknerian thematic development with some Brahmsian touches, especially in slow movements. Indeed, the brief central movement, which is less than 10 minutes in duration, provides a gentle respite from the lengthier outer movements. It all ends in a fiery and loud display of traditional German music from the late Romantic period.



Werner Andreas Albert and the Rheinland-Pfalz State Symphony seemingly have a lock on recording the Wetz symphonies, having produced CPO recordings of two of the three, with Roland Bader leading another regional orchestra in a CPO recording of the Symphony No. 1.



The Albert-led recording of Symphony No. 3 is similar in conception to the first two symphonies and is accompanied by a brief major key "Gesang des Lebens" Op. 39 (song of life), sung by an all male chorus. No text comes with it but the message is easily understood through the pastoral nature of the musicmaking.



As a Bruckner lover that owns and enjoys all three Wetz symphonies, I wonder about the lack of recognition this composer has received in the legitimate classical music press. Neither the Penguin Guide to Classical Compact Disks nor the more recent Third Ear Classical Music give even a sentence to this composer, about whom I first read in American Record Guide. There are reviews of both recordings of the Symphony No. 3 on [...] in its Gramophile database.



The print media has otherwise shut him out. The most recent edition of Penguin Guide could not find room to fit this composer's output between that of Nigel Westlake and Robert White. The enormously popular Westlake, a Briton born in 1958, authored something called "Antarctica" for guitar and orchestra. White, from the Renaissance, wrote Latin choral music on a CD with music from Thomas Tallis. Nor is there mention of Wetz in the more complete 1999 version of the Penguin Guide.



The sometimes more reliable Third Ear (which covers a broader range of music than Penguin Guide) leapt from a discussion on the merits of recording by Silvius Leopold Weiss to those of Charles-Marie Widor with no mention of Richard Wetz in between. No wonder no space exists for a pitiful German copycat of Bruckner when lineage must be dedicated to the likes of compositional giants Weiss and Westlake!



If you enjoy the music of Bruckner, Mahler or Wagner and want to find another symphonic composer of the era, lend an ear to this recording of the Albert-conducted versions of the Wetz Symphony No. 1 or 3. You will probably hear a new voice that speaks in a familiar tongue that you will enjoy on repeated listening.



For me, the great sadness of being a Bruckner-Mahler devotee is that, once I memorize all their work, there is nothing left for to pursue. After having found the symphonies of Richard Wetz, the melancholy is substantially reduced."

A masterpiece!

Aaron Z. Snyder | CHESTNUT HILL, MA USA | 05/07/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Finnish composer Yrjö Kilpinen is supposed to have deemed this work a masterpiece, and then wondered why it was rarely performed. I wonder the same thing. Although I admire Wetz' 1st and 3rd Symphonies for their massive sonorities, which often are organlike and show the influence of Bruckner, I find this very late romantic music to be, at times, a bit self-indulgent and even a little embarrassing. Not so with #2! Despite long-lined musical themes and expansive paragraphs of musical thought, this is a rather concise work with a huge emotional impact. The three movements last about 43 minutes, but the listener is is left emotionally drained at the end. Movements 1 and 3 are in fairly strict sonata form, so that following them isn't difficult once one becomes familiar with the thematic materials. Movement 1 has some of the most achingly beautiful music I have ever encountered; at times one feels that Wetz has found the same brook which Beethoven immortalized in his Pastorale Symphony. Movement 2 provides a contrasting scene: one of loneliness and despair. There is really only one theme which inhabits the movement, despite all the commentary and contrast which surrounds it. This same theme, which speak of so much despair, is transformed in the third movement into one of hope; this theme becomes the second subject of the movement, while the first subject is a jaunty, yet nostalgic, tune, and serves not just as contrast to the more thoughtful second subject, but even provides a sense of the scherzo movement which is absent from this work. This symphony ends on a note of hope, with the first movement's brook-like first subject undulating below the massed orchestra. This is no smiley face painted on a bleak scene; it merely implies that life's struggle is still worth the effort, no matter how discouraging circumstances are.
The Kleist Overture is a solid, dramatic early Wetz work, not surprisingly in sonata form. While not a *great* work, it is clear why the work received very positive comments at its premiere.
Performances and recording are superb! Take a chance: buy it, get to know it, and be moved!"

Very much in the German Late Romantic tradition

Benjamin | UK | 12/08/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Richard Wetz (1875-1835) a German composer very much in the Late Romantic tradition, and a great admirer of Bruckner was far from a prodigious writer and completed only three symphonies.



From the very first chords of the opening movement of his second symphony one is aware of Bruckner, and the broad sweeping and memorable melody which ensues confirms this impression. The second movement is rather sorrowful, a lament, but not without its climaxes. The final movement of this three movement symphony opens with sense of urgency before easing back into another relaxed and spacious theme yet with an underlying tension, all the time working towards typical Brucknerian like climaxes. There is even a touch of Mahler evident especially in the first movement.



The overture which is also included here, intended as a symphonic poem rather than an introduction to a play, is a satisfying dramatic work of contrasts with broad melodies sweeping to frequent climaxes. However neither this nor the symphony manages to match the giddy heights which Bruckner achieved, and while listening to these works one can't help feeling Wetz is driving with the breaks on.



The recording is good with rich full bodied sound. There is no doubt that if you like Bruckner you will find the two works here, as well as Wetz other two symphonies, appealing and very interesting.

"