Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2

Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2

• Shrink-wrapped

Following the CD featuring the Piano Concerto Op. 27, cpo is now releasing two symphonies by Robert Fuchs. It was the first serenade by the Austrian composer Fuchs that not only made him famous but also popularly known as the ""Serenade-Fuchs"". Brahms held Fuchs in great esteem, and compositional luminaries like Mahler, Wolf, Sibelius, Zemlinsky and Richard Strauss numbered among his pupils. Moreover, he emjoyed success not only as a serenade composer but also with his other orchestral pieces and his symphonies. This highly imaginative music rich in ideas makes a very strong impression and has room for carefully and lovingly elaborated details, refined colors, and dynamic nuances first revealing its outstanding qualities. Since audible quottions and reminiscences of Schubert, Schumann, and BRahms repeatedly surface particularly in the second symphony, Fuchs may also seem to have been situated between the times. The Brahms pupil Richard von Perger wrote ""Fuchs is - we would almost like to say :Thank God! - no Titan and does not want to be one; after all, the artist must above all recognize the path followed by his talent and its limits. Fuchs calls his own a creative power that very much aims at beauty and is noble and unique in its sphere; he pursues the paths shown to us by the classicists, knowing very well that for the instrumental composer only these paths lead to salvation. He faithfully adheres to his ideals and presses forward with tireless diligence, constantly laying new and welcome offerings on the altar of art .In 1887, during his summer vacation in Berchtesgaden's splendid meadows, Fuchs completed a second symphony, and we heard this work and greeted it with heart applause during the most recent concert by the Philharmonic.