Volkmar Andreae: Symphony in C major, Op. 31 (1919)

 

Volkmar Andreae in 1909

(5 July 1879 – 18 June 1962)was a Swiss conductor and composer.

 

Symphony in C major, Op. 31 (1919) 

I. Allegro Moderato (0:00)
II. Lento (6:44) III. Allegro Molto (17:22)
IV. Allegro (21:08)

Volkmar Andreae was much like his contemporary Wilhelm Furtwängler, a conductor who also composed music. Born in the “neutral” Switzerland, he was however much attracted by Germanic musical forms, mostly for his own ethnic origins, being with Furtwängler one of the second-generation champions of Anton Bruckner’s music. Much like his contemporary and co-national Émile Jacques-Dalcroze, the prestigious educator (https://youtu.be/CUdgGFRHGIg), Andreae felt emotionally compelled to write music about WWI; his Symphony in C major became thus the vector to express his sentiments about the conflict. Written for an Elgar-sized orchestra and only lasting about half an hour, it is imbued with the spirit of Richard Strauss’ works with Andreae’s own philosophy; its sound world also approaches Myaskovsky’s Sixth (1921) and Vaughan Williams’ Pastoral Symphony (1921), equally wartime works.