Johan Wagenaar - Symphonic Poems, Vol. 1 (Antony Hermus)

Information

Composer: Johan Wagenaar

1. De getemde feeks, Op. 25
2. Levenszomer, Op. 21
3. Saul en David, Op. 24
4. Romantisch intermezzo, Op. 13
5. Frithjofs Meerfahrt, Op. 5

Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie

Antony Hermus, conductor

Date: 2009

Label: CPO

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/Johan-Wagenaar-1862-1941-Symphonische-Dichtungen/hnum/6927133

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Review

The Dutch composer Johan Wagenaar is - thank the heavens - another of those late-romantics beloved of CPO. The label has two Wagenaar CDs and the second from the same artists has already been reviewed here. His music is said to be related to that of Richard Strauss; it lacks the utter exuberance of Strauss but is without his tendency to recede into densely clotted textures. As far as I can tell this composer has nothing to do with the American composer-teacher Bernard Wagenaar (1894-1971).

We start this disc with De getemde feeks (The Taming of the Shrew). It's a bustling, brilliant and muscular piece which might well have been influenced by Berlioz's Roman Carnival and Le Corsair (6:00) and by Mendelssohn's Italian symphony. After this comes the silky sleepiness of Levenszomer (Summer of Life) which rises to a glory heedless of summer's transience. It's an indulgent rhapsodic meander but takes in some worthwhile views along the way. In the golden glow of the horns at 10:20 the music stretches contentedly and yawns in the sunlight. This substantial piece is like a full-noon echo of Schoeck's treasurable Sommernacht.

Saul en David broods in the shadows until rising to lush excitement and then evaporates into silence. A rhapsodic section for solo harp is suggestive of David's serenades. Some disconcertingly playful episodes appear but the piece ends suitably amid a concentrated gloom reminiscent of the start of Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet. The Romantic Intermezzo is classy and soothing - a touch of the serene Massenet here. It's also memorable for dignified, measured harp-strokes and woodwind solos that maintain a slow and seemly dignity. There's also a big violin melody at 1:20. We end the collection with something of an anti-climax. Frithjofs Meerfahrt (Frithiof's Sea Voyage) is Wagenaar's earliest orchestral work. The piece starts in slow majesty but becomes treacly, has little 'lift' and tests the listener's attention.

Wagenaar is not a total rarity There is Etcetera KTC1326, including Levenszomer, Sinfonietta, De Philosophische prinses, Elverhoi, Aveux de Phèdre and Larghetto. It is played by the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra conducted by Eri Klas. Major league Wagenaar can be traced to a long-gone November 1990 Decca all-Wagenaar disc (425-833-2) on which the Concertgebouw were conducted by Riccardo Chailly: De getemde feeks; Amphitrion; Driekoningenavond; Wiener Dreivierteltakt; Saul en David; De Cid and Cyrano de Bergerac. The latter was also advocated by Alain Lombard (Olympia OCD504 as part of the "400 Years of Dutch Music" series) and in 1954 by Willem Van Otterloo who the same year also recorded Cyrano de Bergerac.

The notes for this CD, brief but to the point, are by Jaap van Benthem. They are in German, English and French. The recording is excellent radio studio standard with perceptive and lively performances although I continue to harbour doubts about Frithjofs Meerfahrt.

It’s good to report that Wagenaar is worth hearing. Not everything here is admirable but there's enough to justify the outlay.

-- Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International

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Johan Wagenaar (1 November 1862 – 17 June 1941) was a Dutch composer and organist. His teachers included Richard Hol, Samuel de Lange Jr., and Heinrich von Herzogenberg. In 1888, he became organist of Utrecht Cathedral, and earned fame for his skills. In Utrecht, Wagenaar became a teacher at the music school in 1896, and the school's director in 1904. Between 1919 and 1937, Wagenaar was director of the Royal Conservatory at the Hague. Wagenaar's compositions include operas, cantatas, organ music, and orchestral works. His composition were influenced by Hector Berlioz and Richard Strauss.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Wagenaar

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Antony Hermus (born 1973 in Oosterhout, Netherlands) is a Dutch conductor. Hermus studied piano with Jacques de Tiège at the Tilburg Music Conservatory and conducting with Jac van Steen and Georg Fritzsch. He was music director of the Hagen Philharmonic Orchestra (2003-2008), and musical director of the Anhaltisches Theater and chief conductor of the Anhalt Philharmonic in Dessau-Roßlau, Germany from 2009 to 2015. Hermus' repertoire revolves around the great Romantic symphonies and 20th century masterworks. He has recorded works by von Hausegger, Wagenaar, Klughardt, and Auber for cpo label.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antony_Hermus
https://antonyhermus.com/

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