The Remains of Romanticism

The Remains of Romanticism By Leon Botstein Written for the concert The Remains of Romanticism, performed on Nov 15, 2009 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. Musical romanticism is, like most descriptive categories, elusive. Its existence is shaped by an implied chronological contrast. At the beginning of its historical spectrum, it is juxtaposed in…

Robert Fuchs, Serenade No. 1, Op. 9 By Byron Adams Written for the concert The Remains of Romanticism , performed on Nov 15, 2009 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. In the seventh edition of Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Music and Musicians, edited by the late Nicholas Slonimsky, an invidious comparison is made between…

Hermann Goetz, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra By Peter Palmer Written for the concert The Remains of Romanticism, performed on Nov 15, 2009 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. From his early teens onwards, Hermann Goetz’s life was overshadowed by the tuberculosis which ended it in December 1876, four days short of his 36th…

Sigmund von Hausegger, Wieland der Schmied, symphonic poem By Byron Adams Written for the concert The Remains of Romanticism, performed on Nov 15, 2009 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. Siegmund von Hausegger was the son of a passionate Wagnerite who instilled into his child a lifelong devotion to the Master of Bayreuth. As…

Ludwig Thuille, Romantic Overture By Byron Adams Written for the concert The Remains of Romanticism, performed on Nov 15, 2009 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. “Those whom the gods love die young.” With this familiar quotation from Menander, the composer Edgar Istel began a concise but perceptive article that was published in a…

Richard Strauss, Symphony No. 2 in F minor By Fred Kirshnit Written for the concert The Remains of Romanticism, performed on Nov 15, 2009 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. Toward the end of his life, Richard Strauss communicated in his string orchestra piece Metamorphosen his deep sense of nostalgia for a world now…