Alexander Zemlinsky - Symphonies Nos.1 and 2

Alexander ZEMLINSKY (1871-1942)

Symphony No.1, in D minor (1892)

Symphony No.2, in B flat major (1897)

Cologne Philharmonic Orchestra

James Conlon

This is some dazzling music by the forgotten Austrian composer Alexander Zemlinsky (1871-1942), who is making a creeping comeback after fifty years of virtual oblivion. A prominent figure in Viennese musical life around the time of Schoenberg, Zemlinsky was in fact Schoenberg's son-in-law and wrote mostly operas and "lieder". While he was appreciated in his own time, his music was pretty much swamped by the cultural whirlwind of the '20s and the collapse of Austria-Hungary. Although he was not Jewish, Zemlinsky died in exile in New York in 1942.

His music is basically tonal, but is marked by that weird Art Nouveau feel so common in turn-of-the-century Viennese music -- think of it as the musical equivalent of a print by Klimt or Alfons Mucha. Stylistically, Zemlinsky's early works lie closer to Brahms and Dvorak than to Schoenberg, meshing some attractive Germanic and Slavic elements into his music, which makes it uniquely folksy AND urbane.

Some sneering critics have said that Zemlinsky's early symphonies (recorded here) are "unoriginal and flawed", but frankly I think the 2nd Symphony could easily stand comparison with Dvorak's symphonic works. The 1st Symphony is less interesting, but it's still definitely worth checking out.

This is a great performance by the Cologne Philharmonic, but if you can find it, there's an even better one by the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Berlin under Riccardo Chailly. Chailly swaps the 1st Symphony for Zemlinsky's serene setting of Psalm 23 ("Der Herr ist mein Hirte"), a fantastic trade.