Johann Wilhelm Wilms: Symphony in C minor, Op.23, Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra, A. Halstead

Описание: Johann Wilhelm Wilms - Symphony in C Minor, Op.23, Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra, Anthony Halstead (conductor)
1. Adagio - Allegro non molto – 00:00
2. Andante – 11:27
3. Menuetto - Trio – Menuetto – 19:35
4. Rondo. Allegro – 24:03
Johann Wilhelm Wilms (March 30, 1772 (baptized) – July 19, 1847) was a Dutch-German composer.
Wilm's dates, 1772-1847, make him a near contemporary of Beethoven by birth (1770-1827) and a near contemporary of Mendelssohn (1809-1847) and Chopin (1810-1849) by death. Spohr, Weber, Berwald, Meyerbeer, Schubert... - to name only the composers most remembered today that one associates with the early romantic style - were born, still in the 18th century, but after Wilms. Wilms was a contemporary of the ascent of Berlioz (1830: Symphonie fantastique), Mendelssohn (1830 Symphony "Reformation", 1833: "Italian" Symphony).
„After local training in music from his family members and a short stint in the pious, Calvinist town of Lüttringhausen, Wilms relocated in 1791 to Amsterdam, where he would spend the remainder of his life and career. Wilms was proficient at both flute and piano, but his ability on the flute earned Wilms his first engagements as an orchestral player, most importantly in the Amsterdam-based orchestra of the Felix Meritis Society. In 1796, Wilms was one of the founding members of Eruditio Musica, the first presenter of public concerts in Amsterdam run by professional musicians; as pianist and composer, Wilms served as one of Eruditio Musica's major figureheads until its dissolution in 1824. Within this organization, Wilms introduced piano concerti by Beethoven and Mozart to audiences in Amsterdam.
Wilms' seven symphonies -- of which only six survive -- constitute the most important part of his musical legacy and were written over a long span of time, from about 1801 to 1834 or so; their publication history is out of sync with their chronology and exact dates for these works are difficult to establish. Wilms also composed five piano concertos, a flute concerto, and other concerted works, concert overtures, chamber, piano music, and numerous songs, one of which, "Wien Neerlandsch bloed," served as an undeclared national anthem of the Netherlands throughout the nineteenth century. Wilms was also noted for a fanciful and highly popular battle piece for winds, De Schlacht von Waterloo. Wilms would spend one year as the Amsterdam correspondent at Allgemeine Musicalische Zeitung in 1814-1815 and was one of the most visible and important musicians in Amsterdam in the first three decades of the nineteenth centuries. In the early 1820s, however, all of this activity peaked; between 1821 and 1822 Wilms lost his wife, infant daughter, and father-in-law in quick succession. Afterwards, he broke off most professional engagements, stopped publishing his music, and took up the post of organist at the Het Lam Mennonite Church in Amsterdam, a position Wilms held until blindness forced him out of it in 1845. His composing activity, however, continued nearly up until the time he died at age 75 in 1847.” (from Johann Wilhelm Wilms Biography by Uncle Dave Lewis)
„Opus 23 is written in a decidedly somber, turbulent, early romantic mood. While the Andante retains something of the elegance of the old style, the textures and moods are denser, more somber and romantic: this is music evocative of the operas of Weber or Heinrich Marschner, not Mozart or Haydn. Likewise with the rustic dance that now serves as what is still called a Menuetto, but is really now a fully-fledged romantic scherzo. Only the trio, with its woodwind interplay, may recall the Mozart-type serenades. The music comes with nice and unexpected turns of melodic invention or orchestration (as the concertante passage for strings erupting in the andante). It is fascinating to experience that change of style and sensibility, not jumping, say, from Mozart to Weber or Mendelssohn or Schumann, but within a single composer's symphonic oeuvre.” (from a review at album)