If you love late romantic orchestral music (which I certainly do) this SACD is a must! Of the three Weingartner orchstral release so far, this contains the best music. I also enjoy the other two (syms 1 and 4) but Weingartner hits on all cylinders with the Sym 2. As with most second rank composers, there are plenty of influences with to my ears the main ones being Bruckner, Mahler and Rachmaninov. There are tunes, drama, melancholy - all of the things that characterize a late romantic work. It remains firmly tonal with a pallette of chromatisism tossed in from time to time. I can't imagine a better performance of this work. Conductor Letonja seems to have locked into the idiom very well. The sound is also wonderful. I don't hear a pcm signature (I could be wrong) and the massed strings have a nice body of sound. Overall, my highest recommendation.

Copyright © 2006 Mark Novak and HRAudio.net

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This is the third volume of CPO’s invaluable survey of the music of Felix Weingartner and, as with the other two, makes one regret that for so long Weingartner’s achievements as a composer have been overshadowed by his eminence as a conductor; quite the opposite of his contemporary Gustav Mahler.

Like other works by Rachmaninov and Reger, the symphonic poem Das Gefilde der Seligen (The Elysian Fields) was inspired by a painting by Arnold Böcklin and is a most impressive piece. Its melodic richness and imaginative orchestration is apparent in the course of the sustained opening that sets the mood of the painting perfectly. This is followed by a delightful faster section, full of orchestral colour, enhanced by delicate percussion (tambourine, triangle and glockenspiel) and which eventually returns to the music heard at the start.

The first movement of Symphony No.2 begins with a long mysterious slow introduction followed by an exciting allegro with heroic trumpet fanfares and horn calls that, at times is reminiscent of parts of the opening of Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben which is in the same key. Later in this movement the brassy climaxes bring to mind Bruckner’s 4th symphony.

The short scherzo again invokes the spirit of Bruckner, albeit with a lighter touch, while the trio section has a captivating melody for strings over rippling woodwind.

The main theme of the slow movement is a noble melody for strings that on its repeat is joined by a lovely solo violin. There follows a passage for winds, that highlights the excellent wind section of the Sinfonieorchester Basel and later on the equally superb brass repeat this music over a steady drum tread. It is almost impossible to express, in words, the sheer beauty of this music.

In the warm-hearted finale, recalling the last scene of Die Meistersinger, both melodically and in overall mood, Weingartner re-visits the music of the earlier movements before the music drives forward to its joyous conclusion.

Although Weingartner has absorbed the influences of some of the composers I have mentioned in the course of this review, his music still sounds fresh and original with no trace of pastiche or plagiarism. Thanks to the advocacy of Marko Letonja and his excellent orchestra, who show a real flare for this music, it is presented here in the best possible light.

The recording, as on the other two earlier SACDs, is clean and rich thanks to the excellent engineering and the fine acoustic of the Casino Basel Musiksaal. There is a lovely bloom to the sound, which is further enhanced by the well-balanced surround channels. I cannot recommend it too highly.

Copyright © 2006 Graham Williams and HRAudio.net

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