Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Sym No.1 'Versuch Eines Requiems': I. Intro: Elend: Ich Sitze Und Schaue Aus - Cornelia Kallisch
2. Sym No.1 'Versuch Eines Requiems': II. Fruhling: Als Jungst Der Flieder Bluhte - Cornelia Kallisch
3. Sym No.1 'Versuch Eines Requiems': III. Thema Mit Vier Vars
4. Sym No.1 'Versuch Eines Requiems': IV. Tranen: Tranen, Tranen, Tranen! - Cornelia Kallisch
5. Sym No.1 'Versuch Eines Requiems': V. Epilog: Bitte: Ich Horte Die Allmutter - Cornelia Kallisch
6. Sym No.2 - Arno Bornkamp
7. Sym No.3: I. Largo Ma Non Troppo - Allegro Con Fuoco (Virtuose Fuge)
8. Sym No.3: II. Adagio (Mit Bewegtem Ausdruck) - Andante - Allegro Moderato - Andante - Adagio

Disc 2:

1. Sym No.4: I. Lento Assai - Con Passione
2. Sym No.4: II. Allegro Di Molto, Risoluto
3. Sym No.4: III. Adagio Appassionato
4. Sym No.5: I. Toccata (Lebhaft)
5. Sym No.5: II. Melodie
6. Sym No.5: III. Rondo (Lustig - Sehr Lebhaft)
7. Sym No.6: I. Adagio
8. Sym No.6: II. Toccata Variata. Presto - Allegro Assai

Disc 3:

1. Sym No.7: I. Intro Und Ricercare
2. Sym No.7: II. Adagio Mesto Cantanto E Tranquillo
3. Sym No.7: Finale. Scherzoso Virtuoso
4. Sym No.8: I. Cantilene. Lento Assai, Con Passione
5. Sym No.8: II. Dithyrambe. Scherzo, Lebhaft

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #262501 in Music
• Released on: 2002-11-05
• Number of discs: 3
• Format: Box set

Customer Reviews

Accurate Cover Depicting the Conductor in Fuzzy (Sound) Quality
I agree that the conducting/execution could be more VIVID and PASSIONATE, but my major complaint is the sound quality. Sym 1 sounds like it was recorded in the 1940s (not the 1990s) and in a very dry room (similar to how Toscanini recorded for RCA many moons ago). That nearly ruined an otherwise successful reading. Furthermore, although the other symphonies sound a little better aurally, I find them all recorded low in volume, so the softer passages are all but inaudible on my CD player.

I wish the Wergo set was still in print but I don't feel the need to splurge on another box set at $70 or so from an Amazon seller.

My two cents.

a lost mid-20th century symphonic cycle parallel to Shostakovich
This year, 2005, is the centenary year of Karl Amadeus Hartmann, and his music is being celebrated widely in Germany and Central Europe. Unfortunately he continues to be largely unknown here in the U.S. Hartmann has a higher profile for his resistance to the Nazis than for his music, but perhaps this will begin to change. I wouldn't place Hartmann on quite the same level as Mahler, Sibelius, Shostakovich or Simpson as a 20th-century symphonist, but these are fine works that deserve a wider audience.

Though he studied during the war years with Webern, Hartmann's music does not sound especially similar to Schoenberg, Webern or Berg. Advanced in its deployment of chromaticism, and generally abstract by comparison to Beethoven, Bruckner or Mahler, it seems to me that Hartmann's music occupies a space that overlaps with Shostakovich in some of its extremes of emotion and dynamics, while overlapping with the English composer Robert Simpson in its internal rigor and forward drive.

The 6th Symphony is Hartmann's best known and most often performed, and while this is an excellent performance, it doesn't touch the great 1955 recording on DG with Ference Fricsay conducting (see my review). The highlights of this 3-disc set for me so far, after perhaps a dozen or so listenings, are the 3rd, 4th and 8th Symphonies. Ingo Metzmacher and the Bamberger Symphoniker are superb, captured in excellent sound.

My only complaint about this EMI disc, which I obtained through Amazon.co.uk, is the booklet. The liner notes, which are supposed to be in German, French and English, are botched and most of the English notes are missing. I had to do a search for information on the compositions, as there was none to be found in the booklet.

A collection of fascinating symphonies
Hartmann's 8 symphonies are among the few pieces that make sense out of the expressionist ethos first propagated by Arnold Schoenberg in pieces like "Verklarte Nacht." While this music is intensely chromatic, Hartmann never assails us with unfocused dissonance for the sake of dissonance. And, because he sticks to established forms (like fugues and variations), his music never descends into incoherent mush the way much of Schoenberg's later music does.

Instead, Hartmann provides an intense, frequently tragic ethos based on thematic material that is constantly evolving. Clear themes are more evident in the earlier symphonies, but the remain recognizable figures in the later works. In addition to Schoenberg, there are clear echoes of Hindemith (in the 5th symphony) and Stravinsky (in the single movement 2nd Symphony especially, which sounds like a glyph on the opening to Igor's "Rite of Spring." Overall, this is quite memorable music, though there are places where Hartmann rambles on too long and some stretches where one wishes he's lighten up a little.

As for these performances, I think the reviewer who complained about them being too tepid has a point. Metzmacher clearly reins in his forces in some places where wild abandon is needed. Partially, I think this reflects and orchestra that is taxed to its limits. However, there is a stiffness to Metzmacher's phrasing that lends a bland sameness to movements that have more variety then he finds.

All that said, there is a distinct advantage to the clarity Metzmacher brings to this complex music. I haven't heard the Wergo set, but I'll bet that the "wildly passionate" playing on that set can get wearing at times if there is limited contrast. So, I guess you'll have to decide what type person you are.

Ask yourself: Do I like Haitink or Bernstein (on DG) to conduct my Mahler? If you like Haitink's musicality, go with Metzmacher. If you want Bernstein's wayward passion, then the Wergo set might be your cup of tea. For me, the Metzmacher is fine, though if Kubelik's DG versions of a few of these return, I'll probably invest for times I want to let my hair down and really feel depressed.