Josef Bohuslav Foerster - Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4 (Hermann Bäumer)

Information

Composer: Josef Bohuslav Foerster

• Symphony No. 3 in D Major, Op. 36
• Symphony No. 4 in C Minor, Op. 54

Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra

Hermann Bäumer, conductor

Date: 2009

Label: Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm

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Review

Josef Bohuslav Foerster (1859-1951) is one of those unlucky composers, who despite a very fruitful and active career, and an extremely long life, still hover on the very fringes of the whole musical establishment. A highly educated man, he was a master of his métier, also being drawn towards literature and printing, apart from being a prolific writer for German and Czech language newspapers. He was also a diligent teacher and Mahler's confidant and loyal counsel.

Unfortunately, Foerster's fame as a composer suffered as a result of the Mahler connection and his music still languishes in almost total neglect. Apart from his 4th symphony, "Easter Eve" and a couple of other orchestral works, his other output hardly gets a look-in on the concert platform, so this MD&G issue, coupled with that of the 1st and 2nd symphonies (MDG6321491-2) is of the utmost importance to the Foerster cause, this year being also the 150th from his birth.

The Third was written in 1894, at the beginning of his stay in Hamburg, and although the piece is basically intimate and inward looking, its many hidden subtleties are wrapped up in a massive brass structure. The symphony also contains a wide range of moods; from the humorous to the dramatic; from a songful tenderness to a despairing loneliness.

The 4th dates from 1904 and Foerster started its composition precisely on Good Friday of that same year. The work evokes the Saviour's walk to Calvary, the seasonal Spring breezes, primroses and shepherd's song, a sorrowful yet magical prayer and the glory of the Risen Christ together with the joy of this momentous event. A masterly "darkness to light" journey filled with moments of outstanding musical beauty.

Baumer and his German counterparts perform magnificently; their vivid accounts do full justice to this quite exceptional music. Excellent notes and sound complete an inspiring addition to the still all too lean Foerster discography.

— Gerald Fenech

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Josef Bohuslav Foerster (30 December 1859 – 29 May 1951) was a Czech composer educated at the Prague Conservatory, where he later became a professor and director. He served as an organist and music critic in Prague, Hamburg, and Vienna. From 1893 to 1903, he lived in Hamburg, befriending Gustav Mahler and teaching at the conservatory. Foerster composed primarily for chorus and solo voice, often using religious texts. His works include five symphonies and operas such as Nepřemoženi, Srdce, and Bloud. While influenced by Mahler's Romanticism, his lyrical style reflects the legacy of Dvořák and Smetana.

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Hermann Bäumer (born 28 January 1965 in Bielefeld) is a German trombonist and conductor. He received his degree in trombone from the Hochschule für Musik Detmold, and studied conducting at the Hochschule "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig while being a member of the Berlin Philharmonic. From 2004 to 2011 he was General Music Director of the Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra and received an ECHO Klassik for his recording of Josef Bohuslav Foerster's Symphonies. Since 2011 Bäumer has been Chief Conductor of the Mainz Philharmonic State Orchestra and General Music Director of the Mainz State Theater.

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