Symphony No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 16 (1940)

A powerful rediscovery from the twilight of Romanticism. With this world premiere recording, Fabian Enders and the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra revive a forgotten gem of early 20th-century symphonic writing. Composed in 1926 and premiered by famous conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler, Günter Raphael's Symphony No. 1 combines Romantic intensity with formal clarity and subtle modernist undercurrents. {Label Notes}

If you enjoy symphonic music by composers who thrive in the deep structural undergrowth, and slowly but ingeniously propagate these roots to emerge into surges of powerful energy, than the music of Günter Raphael (1903-1960) is for you. If you read this prior review of some of his String Quartets you will see that he struggled through a rather hard life, and these labors are reflected in his music. Music that is rather difficult to decipher, and yet highly rewarding. His strongly chromatic harmonic language, though highly complex, remained rooted in tradition, but with a unique approach to thematic development. Even in his later years when he was flirting with 12-tone music, he insisted on defining it as "tonal 12-tone".

Unlike most composers from that era who handed you a road map with which you can see and feel where the music is headed, Raphael's music offers no clear indication as to its destination. No compass or clear lodestar along the way to guide you along. Yet it doesn't meander endlessly. There are discernible signposts along the way which sprout like trees out of the thick vegetation, and eventually lead to the intended forest. The wonder of his writing lies in its minutiae, which is hard to fathom when you consider that by the age of eighteen he had become a self-taught composer.

The ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and conductor Fabian Enders do this music full justice by defining its unique traits and shedding light on the myriad of details within its lush orchestration.

If you're a serious discophile who's heard it all many times over and are looking to explore hitherto unheard music grounded in tradition ("dramatic, colourful and full of emotion" - press release), than the music of Günter Raphael deserves your attention and undivided scrutiny.