Music Monday: Franz Lachner Symphony No. 5 in C Minor "Preis Symphony" Op. 52

Franz Lachner is one of the composers of the Romantic Period of classical music that should have more exposure.


The 5th symphony that I have chosen to introduce you to him is a giant one, lasting an hour. It takes its time to develop, in a Schubertian manner. I consider him a transitional period between Beethoven/Schubert and Bruckner/Brahms and hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Franz Lachner - Symphony No. 5 in C Minor "Preis Symphony" Op. 52 (1835)


I. Andante - Allegro - 20:46
II. Andante Con Moto - 15:58
III. Menuetto - 10:48
IV. Finale - Allegro - 12:48






Franz Paul Lachner (2 April 1803 – 20 January 1890) was a German composer and conductor.


Lachner was born in Rain am Lech to a musical family (his brothers Ignaz, Theodor and Vinzenz also became musicians). He studied music with Simon Sechter and Maximilian, the Abbé Stadler. He conducted at the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna. In 1834, he became Kapellmeister at Mannheim. In 1835 he received the first prize for symphonic composition at Vienna with his Sinfonia passionata, and became royal Kapellmeister at Munich, becoming a major figure in its musical life, conducting at the opera and various concerts and festivals. His career there came to a sudden end in 1864 after Richard Wagner's disciple Hans von Bülow took over Lachner's duties. Lachner remained officially in his post on extended leave for a few years until his contract expired.


Lachner was a well-known and prolific composer in his day, though he is not now considered a major composer. His work, influenced by Ludwig van Beethoven and his friend Franz Schubert is regarded as competent and craftsman-like, but is now generally little known. Among his greatest successes were his opera Caterina Cornaro (1841), his Requiem and his seventh orchestral suite (1881). In the present day it may be his organ sonatas (Opp. 175, 176, 177) as well as chamber music, in particular his music for wind instruments, that receives the most attention, though his string quartets and some of his eight symphonies have been performed and recorded. His songs, some of which are set to the same texts that Schubert used in his songs, contributed to the development of the German Lied.
For performances of Luigi Cherubini's Médée in Frankfurt in 1855, Lachner composed recitatives to replace the original spoken dialogue, and it was this version, translated into Italian, which was used in many twentieth-century revivals and recordings of that opera.


Source: Wikipedia 


Conductor: Paul Robinson Website 


Orchestra: The Slovak State Philharmonic, Košice (ŠfK) 




Music:


Wikipedia partial list of compositions 


Classical Archives 


Naxos Discography 


Amazon


Amazon MP3's