September 14, 2015

  • World Premiere: Leopold Damrosch's Symphony!

     Leopold Damrosch: Orchestral Music

    Azusa Pacific University Symphony Orchestra/Christopher Russell
    Toccata Classics 0261
    Total Time:  63:36
    Recording:   (*)***/****
    Performance: ****/****

    Most who know their American musical history will be familiar with the name Damrosch.  In the early 20th Century, it was Walter Damrosch who would be one of the great conductors of the New York Philharmonic.  Notably, he premiered Gershwin’s An American in Paris  and the Piano Concerto in F.    His brother, Frank, would be responsible for founding the New York Institute of Musical Art whoch would eventually merge with the Juilliard Graduate school to form the Juilliard School.  Their sister Clara would marry David Mannes, founders of the Mannes College of Music.  Their name is given to the park near Lincoln Center.

    Their father, Leopold (1832-1885), was a noted violinist and choral conductor who began life as a student of medicine.  After being noticed by Liszt, he would turn his attentions to music and was among the “new” trends of the time befriending Richard Wagner, Hans von Bulow, and Clara Schumann.  Liszt’s Tasso bears a dedication to him as well. In return, Liszt and Wagner were godfathers to two of his children.  By the time he left Breslau to conduct a German male chorus in New York, he had also composed a number of songs and even an opera.  The first work on this release, the Festival Overture in C, Op. 15, was composed prior to his departure for the New World in 1871.

    As one might suspect, its swells and long lyric lines bear great resemblance to Wagner’s music.  A great use of dissonance to build tension in the opening section also is rather stunning for the time.  The piece is in a sonata form with nice melodic content and plenty of running strings and big fanfares.

    The Symphony in A was composed in New York in 1878—the year Damrosch founded the New York Symphony Society after being dismissed from the NY Philharmonic due to poor profits.  It is possible it was intended to be part of the new orchestra’s debut season—at least that would be in keeping with similar practices by his European contemporaries who straddled composing and conducting careers.  For whatever reason though, the work went unperformed and a new critical edition was prepared in 2005.  The present release then is the world premiere recording made after the Azusa players premiered the work February 8, 2015!

    The 1870s were still a transitional period in music with the symphony form still trying to find the right combination of thematic development in what was becoming an ever sprawling form.  What one might suspect this work finding parallels in the work of Raff and even later, Bruckner, at least structurally at times.  At some 45 minutes, it certainly is not an overly long work.  The piece is scored for a large orchestra of paired winds, contrabassoon, a quartet of horns, and additional brass, with percussion, and a large string contingent.  The beautiful music of the opening movement certainly bears close resemblance to Wagnerian melodic content with leitmotif connections, and romantic gestures that are quite operatic.  The many tempo fluctuations and key shifts are also fascinating.  The fascinating leaps seem to move searchingly through several key areas as it slides through the orchestra before the idea blossoms into the concluding section of the movement.  The second movement is a brief “Intermezzo Scherzo” bearing some interesting rhythmic ideas, perhaps an influence from Damrosch’s American experience?  One never really knows where we might end up harmonically though which adds to the appeal of this movement.  A huge march undergirds a Brucknerian third movement that runs some 18 minutes!  Cast in five sections, it too features interesting harmonic clouding and connections motivically to earlier in the symphony.  That said, it is a fascinating movement with excellent dramatic shaping.  Perhaps considering the length of this movement, the finale makes quick work in sonata allegro form bringing us back to comfortable formal and a strong theme that appears first in clarinet.  A reference to the first movement launches us into an exciting conclusion.

    It was not uncommon for popular classical pieces for other mediums finding their way into the concert hall and American musical traditions.  The rise of the wind band would lead to many classical works finding their way into a more popular repertoire.  As a bonus “encore” of sorts, the program concludes with an arrangement of Schubert’s “Marche Militaire” by Damrosch.  The arrangement would become quite popular on his concert programs and usually was included on his American concert tours as well.

    The recording here sometimes feels a bit dry and bass heavy at times (one might liken it to a radio broadcast feel, but this seems to be mostly evident in the earlier-recorded overture and less noticeable in the rest of the disc recorded the following year).  Still it is a far cry from the old CRI American music recordings because the performances alone are professional quality.  It does capture the orchestra overall quite well and the balance is really excellent.  The music making certainly captures excitement of discovery that helps engage the listener because the work is being tackled like the great piece of literature that it is.  Having that sense that they are part of something historic also certainly impacted the energy and commitment one can hear.  There are few student orchestras that could really navigate a 20-minute slow movement, but it is good to know this group’s exposure to the likes of Bruckner and other grand symphonists has certainly prepared the way for this recording.  The students should be quite proud of their achievement.  Russell has prepared the orchestra here well and the ensemble has tackled other literature of the period enough that this present release fits well.  It serves as a great testament to the music program there at Azusa Pacific.  Perhaps too it can encourage others to explore these pieces.