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Classical Clip of the Month Archive: /

Classical Clip of the Month for December 2011
(clickable links in the text are in bold)

  IMG: click picture to buy this CD
click picture to buy this CD


Richard Wagner

Symphonies

Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra
Hiroshi Wakasugi

   

No, that's not a virtually-unknown symphonic movement by Beethoven you're listening to. It's a virtually-unknown early symphonic movement by Wagner. This symphony is, in Wagner's biography, quite important, though, as it was his first big success in the music world. Written when he was only 19 years old, it was good enough to impress Clara Wieck (whose father noted that while another work performed at the premiere was like a cart drawn along by an old, slow-witted cartman, carefully in the middle of the road, taking two days to arrive in Werzen, Wagner "drove along his single-horsed cart at breakneck speed; he fell into the ditch every other minute and accumulated cuts and bruises, but arrived at Wurzen in a single day.")

Though not a grand masterpiece, I think it is definitely worth knowing. The E Major Symphony (written a few years later) is also an interesting work.


       

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