BERNARD ZWEERS: Symphony No. 3 “An mij Vaderland” (1886-1890) – Het Residentie Orkest, Den Haag /Hans Vonk – Sterling

by | Jun 6, 2010 | Classical CD Reviews | 0 comments

BERNARD ZWEERS: Symphony No. 3  “An mij Vaderland” (1886-1890) – Het Residentie Orkest, Den Haag /Hans Vonk – Sterling CDS-1088 2, 63:04 [Distib. by Qualiton] ****:

Bernard Zweers (1854-1924) was born in Amsterdam and apart from studying with Salomon Jadassohn in Leipzig from 1881 to 1882 remained there, becoming in 1895, a much-loved teacher of composition and theory at the Amsterdam Conservatoire.  He was profoundly taken by a performance of The Ring in Berlin and became a committed Wagnerian, though his music was influenced in the main by his Dutch surroundings.  Of his three symphonies, the Third is his most well-known, and on a Brucknerian scale.

The first movement,  “In the Dutch Forests”, themes recur rewoven in different textures, more a fantasia than an exercise in sonata form. “In the Country” is a scherzo and trio of bucolic joy, “On the Beach and at Sea” a seascape with undulating rhythms and the last movement, “To the Capital” is energetic as well as reminding the listener of many of the earlier themes.  

A symphony lasting over an hour can fall into the trap of being prolix for its content, yet Zweers’ construction with long breaths and broad vistas ensures the material has most of the warp and weft necessary for a strong work.  (For this recording a few small cuts were made in the last movement.)

Recorded in August 1977 in the Niewe Kerk, The Hague, the excellent full-bodied analogue sound is a credit to the engineers at AVRO, with just a little hiss as evidence of the tape original.  The Hague’s Residentie Orkest plays very well indeed for its Dutch conductor, the late Hans Vonk.  The booklet accompanying this CD has an excellent extensive essay by Luc van Hasselt about Zweers and his work.  

This release joins Sterling’s extensive catalogue of Romantic music and completes its cycle of Zweers’ three symphonies.  Well worth investigating.

— Peter Joelson

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