I've always greatly admired composers who can take a short and simple motif, and effectively use it as the foundation for a massive symphonic edifice. Mind you, too many composers have achieved this by cleverly judged, but nonetheless tedious repetition. I'm talking about slow, meticulous, methodical but non-contrived development through rhythmic and harmonic variation and contrapuntal expansion which intrinsically brings an idea to its culmination and resolution. Austrian born Johann Nepomuk David (1895-1977) was such a composer. He himself admitted that work on his Symphony no. 2, op. 20 (1937–38), DK 339 was strenuous. He was highly impressed by the music of Mahler, Reger, Schoenberg, Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky and Scriabin, but it was Bach's contrapuntal genius that generated the heaviest influence on his writing technique. Counterpoint was to him not only a compositional method but the 'musical manifestation of a theocratic principle' (Booklet notes). And this highly evolved counterpoint manifests itself very clearly in the second movement of his Symphony no. 4, op. 39 (1948), DK 401 whose partial manuscript, along with other works, was destroyed by fire during the Leipzig air raid of December 1943.

This is music that requires attentive listening in order to reveal its narrative and intent, but then doesn't all great music deserve our deepest focus and attention. Otherwise it wouldn't even be worth considering, and be a waste of the paper it's written on. It's the second recording by CPO featuring the ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien conducted by Johannes Wildner of symphonic music by Johann Nepomuk David. The first volume which featured Symphonies 1 and 6 came highly recommended. And from what I can tell, this seems to be the only available recording of these symphonies right now. So if you enjoy putting your mind to work deciphering music in order to benefit from its discourse, then don't hesitate obtaining this important release.

The opening of the Symphony No. 2