Siegmund von Hausegger - Natursymphonie (Ari Rasilainen)

Information

Composer: Siegmund von Hausegger

1. Natursymphonie: I. Gehalten und mit Dehnung - Schnell
2. Natursymphonie: II. Langsam und gedehnt
3. Natursymphonie: III. Stürmisch bewegt
4. Natursymphonie: IV. Sehr breit - mit größter Kraft

WDR Rundfunkchor Köln
WDR Symphony Orchestra
Ari Rasilainen, conductor

Date: 2008
Label: cpo

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10

If you're a fan of Mahler, Strauss, or late Romanticism in general, this disc is a must-listen. Siegmund von Hausegger (1872-1948) wrote only five orchestral works, but this 1911 "everything but the kitchen sink" hour-long extravaganza is a whopper of a piece. Scored for a generously outfitted orchestra including harps, celesta, organ, lots of percussion, and a chorus in the last movement, much of the piece sounds a lot like the "Keikobad" music in Strauss' opera Die Frau ohne Schatten--and that's a good thing. In other words, you might describe it as "darkly glittering", in that Hausegger's basic sonority includes lots of warm lower strings and deep brass, German style, gilded with harp, celesta, high woodwinds, and percussion. The result often has a primal feel that justifies the symphony's title.

That said, there is nothing overtly pictorial about the music. The second movement, a funeral march that would have made Mahler proud, is perhaps the most impressive single section, while the piece closes with a typically Teutonic chorus about the sacred and infinite wonderfulness of creativity (or words to that effect). To be honest, the symphony doesn't really need the choral finale, but it's only 10 minutes long out of an hour, and it does build to an impressively rousing concluding peroration--brass and organ well to the fore.

One thing is certain: right from the opening brass calls, Ari Rasilainen leads a remarkably confident and urgent interpretation of this difficult and unfamiliar work. Everyone involved seems to have realized that the music deserves the best they have to offer, and the engineering captures it all with plenty of impact in both SACD and normal stereo. In short, this is a real discovery.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
MusicWeb International  RECORDING OF THE MONTH
https://www.allmusic.com/album/siegmund-von-hausegger-natursymphonie-mw0001568949
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Siegmund-von-Hausegger-Natursymphonie-Hybrid/dp/B0013PS4AY

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Siegmund von Hausegger (16 August 1872 – 10 October 1948) was an Austrian composer and conductor. Hausegger studied music initially under his father, and a strong Wagnerian tinge is found in his own compositions, which included masses, operas and symphonic poems as well as many choruses and songs. At the beginning of the 20th century, he was considered as one of the next great talents after Strauss and Mahler, but despite several successes, his music was forgotten when his post-Wagnerian style went out of fashion. As a conductor, Hausegger was the first to perform Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 in its original form.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegmund_von_Hausegger

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Ari Rasilainen (born 18 February 1959 in Helsinki) is a Finnish conductor. Rasilainen studied under Jorma Panula (conducting) at the Sibelius Academy, and later under Arvid Jansons (conducting) and Alexander Lobko (violin) in Berlin. He started his career as a violinist and was leader of the 2nd violins with the Helsinki Philharmonic (1980-1986). Rasilainen was Chief Conductor of the Lappeenranta City Orchestra (1984-1989), the Norwegian Radio Symphony (1994-2002), and the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz (2002-2009). He has recorded More than 50 recordings for various labels.
https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ari_Rasilainen
http://www.arirasilainen.fi/

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