Théodore Gouvy - Symphony No. 6; Sinfonietta (Jacques Mercier)

Information

Composer: Théodore Gouvy

• Symphony No. 6 in G minor, Op. 87
• Sinfonietta in D major, Op. 80

Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern

Jacques Mercier, conductor

Date: 2009

Label: cpo

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/Louis-Theodore-Gouvy-1819-1898-Symphonien-Vol-2/hnum/1842290

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 8 / SOUND QUALITY: 9

Ah, the joys of the European subsidy system–yes, we get interesting projects recording unfamiliar music like Gouvy symphonies, but if these players really had to make a living playing in public, how long would they be able to call themselves the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern? It’s ridiculous, even in German (I checked with some of my German friends just to be sure). Sorry, but I just had to vent. From now on, they will be known as the DRPSK, pronounced “dripsk”.

The previous release in this series revealed a conservative but interesting composer. This composer is still conservative, and somewhat less interesting. The Sixth Symphony has a few good tunes, the trio of the scherzo especially, but is otherwise so predictable that most fans (if any) of, say, Max Bruch and his crew could hum the piece before hearing a note. The Sinfonietta is just blandly pretty–it features nice, unassuming music, and that’s about it. Jacques Mercier’s performances reveal both works in a positive light; he secures lively, alert playing from the Dripsk, and he’s very well recorded, but it just may be that one disc of Gouvy is enough. We’ll see.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

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Théodore Gouvy (3 July 1819 – 21 April 1898) was a French/German composer. He studied music mostly in private courses in Paris and Berlin. Drawn toward instrumental music rather than opera, Gouvy chose to live the last third of his life almost entirely in Germany where he felt more appreciated. He wrote twenty-four compositions for full orchestra, including nine symphonies, as well as overtures and variations. Chamber music also comprises a large portion of Gouvy's work, as well as many melodies, lieder and five dramatic cantatas. During his lifetime, his compositions were held in high regard.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Théodore_Gouvy

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Jacques Mercier (born 11 November 1945) is a French conductor. He studied at the Paris Conservatory and won the First Prize for Orchestral Conducting in 1972. From 1982 to 2002, he was artistic directo of the Orchestre national d'Île-de-France. From 1990 to 1995, he was principal conductor of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, with which he conducted the French premieres of Sibelius' Kullervo and the Lemminkäinen Suite. Mercier took over the direction of the Orchestre national de Lorraine in 2002. He has collaborated with internationally renowned soloists such as Roberto Alagna, Nicholas Angelich and Natalie Dessay.

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Mercier_(chef_d'orchestre)

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