Franz Schmidt - Symphony No. 4; Variations on a Hussar’s Song (Vassily Sinaisky)

Information

Composer: Franz Schmidt

• Symphony No. 4 in C major
• Variations on a Hussar's Song

Malmö Symphony Orchestra

Vassily Sinaisky, conductor

Date: 2010

Label: Naxos

-----------------------------------------------------------

Review

Let there be no doubt, Franz Schmidt’s Fourth (1933) is one of the finest of 20th-century symphonies. Its alternately winsome and tragic atmosphere, where even the major instrumental solos bear autobiographical resonances, make it a very special work emotionally. Unapologetically lyrical and melodic from first bar to last, it is also very closely constructed, the themes deriving from the long opening trumpet solo (which instrument Schmidt played as a student). In design its four sections run continuously, built from three movements, the slow movement featuring prominent solos for Schmidt’s own instrument, the cello. The recapitulation of the first movement is delayed and extended to form the finale. Even Liszt and Nielsen did not think of that!

Sinaisky’s previous recordings in this series have shown him to be a most sympathetic Schmidt interpreter, albeit a touch cautious in choice of tempi. So generally it proves here – compare this account with Järvi’s, which is four minutes swifter – and if I would have preferred a touch more impulsion in the Allegro molto moderato, Sinaisky undeniably makes his pacing work. I would still select Welser-Möst’s beautifully played account with Schmidt’s own Vienna Philharmonic as first choice in both the symphony and the Hussar’s Song Variations (1930) but Sinaisky is a fine alternative and preferable to Luisi, who offers no coupling (Järvi has Strauss’s symphonic fragment from Josephslegende). Naxos’s sound is most serviceable without being spectacular and not as rich as the Chandos and EMI rivals. At super-budget price, though, this is unreservedly recommended.

— Guy Rickards

-----------------------------------------------------------

Franz Schmidt (22 December 1874 – 11 February 1939) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. A piano student of Theodor Leschetizky and a composition pupil of Anton Bruckner, he began his career as a cellist with the Vienna Court Opera, where he experienced professional tensions with Gustav Mahler. Schmidt later taught composition at the Vienna Staatsakademie and served as director of the Musikhochschule (1927–31). His music, sometimes compared to Max Reger, includes the opera Notre Dame, the oratorio Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln, four symphonies, left-hand works for Paul Wittgenstein, and organ works.

***

Vassily Sinaisky (born 20 April 1947) is a Russian conductor. Trained at the Leningrad Conservatory, he began his career assisting Kirill Kondrashin at the Moscow Philharmonic. He gained international reputation after winning the Gold Medal at the Herbert von Karajan Competition in 1973. Sinaisky has held prominent leadership roles, including Chief Conductor of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Moscow Philharmonic and the Bolshoi Theatre. He has also collaborated with leading orchestras worldwide and produced acclaimed recordings. He teaches at the St Petersburg Conservatoire.

-----------------------------------------------------------