Symphony No. 1 in E Major
Symphony for String Orchestra in A-Flat Major
Symphonic Movement in E Major

As I pointed out in my review of Volume 1 of this recording project, "Austrian composer and organist Hans Rott (1858-1884) studied organ with Anton Bruckner, and while he was studying at the Conservatory, one of his classmates happened to be Gustav Mahler, two years his junior. They admired each other's work, shared ideas, studied each other's scores, etc ..." so much so that you can draw parallels between the two. For example, the Scherzo movements of both their First Symphonies are so much alike that one could believe that some degree of plagiarism on Mahler's part was involved since his work was written a few years later. But then they were also very different in influence and outlook. What I see when I picture both composers in my mind's eye, is both of them standing back to back, facing in opposite directions, with Rott still soaking in Wagner's influence, and Mahler boldly gazing into the future.

The Symphony No. 1 in E Major by Hans Rott is an impressive achievement, on par with Wagner's motivic control and Bruckner's large-scale architecture. The only thing lacking when compared to Mahler's is individuality and bold innovation, and the clash of strongly opposing moods and orchestral colors that Mahler excelled at. The main theme of the first movement is highly memorable. The final three minutes of the Adagio match the orchestration magic of Mahler, and the way he recapitulates the main ideas at the very end of the symphony is very well achieved. All of this is very well projected by conductor Christopher Ward in this impressive Capriccio recording.

It's unfortunate that this composer died at the age of 25. Based on the refined level of music he left behind, one has to wonder what masterworks lay ahead. If you enjoy the profundity and grandeur of the music of Bruckner and/or Mahler, you should feel right at home when listening to Hans Rott's output.