LOUIS GLASS: Symphony No. 2; Fantasia for Piano & Orchestra – Romeo Smilkov, piano / Philippopolis Choir /Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra / Nayden Todorov – Danacord

by | Jan 4, 2010 | Classical CD Reviews | 0 comments

LOUIS GLASS: Symphony No. 2;  Fantasia for Piano & Orchestra – Romeo Smilkov, piano / Philippopolis Choir /Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra / Nayden Todorov –  Danacord DACOCD543 [Distrib. By Albany]; 71:02 ***:

Louis Glass (1864-1936) was a contemporary of Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) and until the end of the First World War his music had considerable success in performance. A late Romantic by inclination, Glass’s work fell from favour as Nielsen’s more adventurous and modern works grabbed listeners’ attention.

Like Nielsen, Glass studied with Niels Gade – for whom he had great respect – in Copenhagen, after which he went to the conservatoire in Brussels. He was considered one of Denmark’s finest pianists until an affliction – partial paralysis in one arm – caused him to stop playing.

The second of six symphonies appears on this CD, part of a series on Danacord encompassing all of the symphonies, and it is a work conceived on a grand scale. Like Langgaard, he could gravitate towards the bizarre, and this symphony is well on its way there, with large orchestra, including contrabass tuba, male-voice choir, expanded percussion, and organ. While much of the work is written with much care and ability, some listeners may feel buffeted in the end by too many ideas. Glass was much taken with the music of Bruckner and his Wagnerian influence shows especially in the first and last movements with their long-breathed themes.  The second movement is a presto, too weighty to be called a scherzo; the slow movement has the addition of the choir, singing sadly of longing and darkness.

The last movement, suffering somewhat from over-egging, has fugal and chorale construction with underpinning from the organ and ends the work in grandiose late Romantic style. While not as successful a composition as the Fifth Symphony, which would be a good starting point for investigating Glass, it certainly has its interesting and individual aspects.

Glass wrote just the one work for piano and orchestra, the Fantasia, in 1913. Here the influences are Scriabin and theosophy in which Glass had become very interested a year or so before, and the impressionist aspects of the piece are quite captivating. As with the symphony, the Fantasia was well received in concert, the composer giving many performances including at least one under Nielsen. Here, Romeo Smilkov gives a fine account of what sounds a pretty demanding piano part, and he is ably supported by the orchestra.

The Plovdiv Philharmonic, under Nayden Torodov, plays with enthusiasm for these scores and its members obviously relish the big displays! Upper strings do suffer from a lack of power and possibly numbers, but there are some nicely turned wind solos. The recording quality is very good.

— Peter Joelson

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