Symphony No. 3 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 11
Symphony No. 4 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 21

In a previous review of Incidental Music by Albéric Magnard (1865-1914), I had remarked that "his harmonic writing is where he stands apart and is what forms the backbone of his music. He studied music under Massenet, D'indy and Théodore Dubois, who himself had written a strong thesis on harmony, which explains Magnard's solid grasp of the matter. Most of his works display a keen manipulation of a natural harmonic progression from start to finish, favoring an economy of gestures and loud statements, and simply letting the innate harmonic flow dictate the music's direction, but with such a solid command of form, that everything fits in a neat little package." That statement certainly holds true for his symphonic writing as well. And be they Berlioz, Debussy, Bizet or Roussel, his music sounds nothing like his French compatriots. Listening blindfolded, one would assume this to be the music of a German composer.

Albéric Magnard was a withdrawn and austere man, who didn't really care if his music "impressed" the public or not. He was more preoccupied with perfecting his highly organic treatment of harmony. Wagner and Brahms influences are most prominent in his music, but don't expect recurring motifs or memorable themes. His ideas unravel organically, one melding into the next, and may seem slightly amorphous at first, but there's a method to his madness. It's in the final denouement of each movement that everything resolves into one.

At first glance, deciphering scores like these must prove difficult for conductors as there is nothing tangible that immediately comes to the surface, but as conductor Fabrice Bollon points out; "working on the pieces with the orchestral musicians, they discovered its real secrets, having found hidden doors and successfully opened them." The members of the Freiburg Philharmonic serve the music very well.