VA - Nova: Sinfonik in der DDR (2008)

Faced with five discs of 14 symphonic works by 11 composers from the former German Democratic Republic, the general listener might well throw up his/her hands in dismay. After all, the most famous names here, Hanns Eisler and Paul Dessau, have received scant recognition outside the former East Germany, while names like Goldmann, Geissler, Katzer, and Weiss will be completely unfamiliar. And yet even the general listener cannot deny the extrinsic interest of the symphonies produced by a state that now exists only in the dustbin of history.
However, there is little of intrinsic interest in the music here. The earliest work, Eisler's 1938 post-expressionist Fünf Orchesterstücke, sounds like lesser Berg, while the later works sound like lesser Hartmann (Wagner-Régeny's 1952 post-romantic Drei Orchesterstücke), lesser Shostakovich (Cilensek's 1958 modernist Sinfonie für Streicher), lesser Henze (Geissler's 1963 post-modernist Sinfonia No. 2), or lesser Schnittke (Katzer's post-post-modernist Konzert für Orchester No. 1). Most of the time, the forms are conservative with few flashes of inspiration, the harmonic language ranges from almost-but-not-quite tonal to hardcore atonal, the colors range from austere gray to sheets of red and violet with occasional splashes of harpsichord or electric keyboards, and the content, to be brutally honest, is quickly forgotten. Though composed with skill and sincerity and performed with professionalism and dedication by a host of East German conductors and orchestras, this five-disc set will likely be of interest primarily to those with a scholarly interest in the period. The general listener may well want to pass it by.

Track List:

CD 1:
Hanns Eisler (1898-1962):
01. Fünf Orchesterstücke - 1. Andante [0:03:31.20]
02. Fünf Orchesterstücke - 2, Allegro [0:04:05.70]
03. Fünf Orchesterstücke - 3. Kleine Passacaglia [0:01:39.73]
04. Fünf Orchesterstücke - 4. Presto [0:01:09.05]
05. Fünf Orchesterstücke - 5. Finale. Improvisation [0:04:28.57]
06. Kammer-Symphonie - I. Invention [0:03:03.32]
07. Kammer-Symphonie - II. Choralarbeitung [0:04:27.52]
08. Kammer-Symphonie - III. Scherzo [0:01:42.55]
09. Kammer-Symphonie - IV. Etüde [0:03:16.59]
10. Kammer-Symphonie - V. Finale [0:04:44.27]
Paul Dessau (1894-1979):
11. In memoriam Bertold Brecht - 1. Lamento [0:03:21.46]
12. In memoriam Bertold Brecht - 2. Marcia [0:07:14.58]
13. In memoriam Bertold Brecht - 3. Epitaph [0:03:11.46]
14. Meer der Stürme [0:14:40.00]

Leipziger Kammermusikvereinigung des Gewandhausorchester
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester Leipzig
Max Pommer - conductor
Paul Dessau - conductor
Herbert Kegel - conductor

CD 2:
Rudolf Wagner-Régeny (1903-1969):
01. Drei Orchestersätze - 1. Langsam, emphatisch [0:04:45.57]
02. Drei Orchestersätze - 2. Andante rubato [0:03:24.10]
03. Drei Orchestersätze - 3. Lebhaft [0:05:43.71]
04. Einleitung und Ode für symphonisches Orchester [0:20:43.06]
Max Butting (1888-1976):
05. Sinfonie Nr.9 op.94 [0:27:46.68]

Berliner Sinfonie-Orchester
Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin
Hans-Peter Frank - conductor
Kurt Sanderling - conductor
Franz Konwitschny - conductor

CD 3:
Johann Cilenšek 1913-1998):
01. Cilenšek - Sinfonie Nr.4 - I. Allegro energico [0:07:28.23]
02. Cilenšek - Sinfonie Nr.4 - II. Adagio [0:08:26.60]
03. Cilenšek - Sinfonie Nr.4 - III. Allegro assai [0:07:57.19]
Fritz Geissler (1921-1984):
04. Geissler - Sinfonie Nr.2 - I. Andante [0:05:11.19]
05. Geissler - Sinfonie Nr.2 - II. Adagio [0:05:30.14]
06. Geissler - Sinfonie Nr.2 - III. Quasi presto [0:01:55.32]
07. Geissler - Sinfonie Nr.2 - IV. Variationen [0:16:41.58]

Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester Leipzig
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Herbert Kegel - conductor
Václav Neumann - conductor

CD 4:
Siegfried Matthus (b.1934):
01. Matthus - Sinfonie Nr.2 - I. Sostenuto [0:09:08.55]
02. Matthus - Sinfonie Nr.2 - II. Allegro assai [0:02:51.13]
03. Matthus - Sinfonie Nr.2 - III. Lento [0:08:10.40]
04. Matthus - Sinfonie Nr.2 - IV. Allegro moderato [0:08:16.37]
Friedrich Goldmann (1941-2009):
05. Goldmann - Sinfonie Nr.1 - I. Allegro energico [0:07:10.71]
06. Goldmann - Sinfonie Nr.1 - II. Lento [0:08:12.40]
07. Goldmann - Sinfonie Nr.1 - III. Vibo [0:06:17.45]
Georg Katzer (b.1935):
08. Katzer - Konzert für Orchester - 1. und 2. Satz [0:11:59.70]
09. Katzer - Konzert für Orchester - 3 und 4. Satz [0:06:29.04]

Orchester der Komischen Oper Berlin
Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester Leipzig
Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin
Siegfried Matthus - conductor
Herbert Kegel - conductor
Wolf-Dieter Hauschild - conductor

CD 5:
Manfred Schubert (b.1937):
01. Manfred Schubert - Sinfonie Nr.1 - I. Andante [0:14:03.11]
02. Manfred Schubert - Sinfonie Nr.1 - II. Agitato - calmo, quasi andante [0:19:53.15]
Manfred Weiss (b.1935):
01. Manfred Schubert - Sinfonie Nr.1 - I. Andante [0:14:03.11]
02. Manfred Schubert - Sinfonie Nr.1 - II. Agitato - calmo, quasi andante [0:19:53.15]

Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Staatskapelle Dresden
Kurt Masur - conductor
Herbert Blomstedt - conductor