JOHAN GOTTFRIED HENDRIK MANN (1858-1904): Feest Preludium for Orchestra, Op. 95, Clarinet Concerto in C Minor, Op. 90, Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 101, Suite No. 3 in B Flat, Op. 98.

Description: Mann was a Dutch composer/conductor, a contemporary of Julius Roentgen but far more forgotten than the latter. This release is the result of long research and looking for scores by the author of the liner notes who points out that, while Mann wrote a lot, not much of it can be found right now. Unfortunately, the extensive notes are almost entirely biographical; what we can tell you about the music is that the violin concerto, at only 17 minutes, sounds like a real late Romantic concerto without the length, the 25-minute suite - the most orchestrally colorful piece here - in places recalls Grieg, the 21-minute clarinet concerto (the earliest here - 1880) is well laid out for the lyrical qualities of the instrument and that the ten-minute Preludium sounds like a seascape. Will there be more? Who knows but, from this, I hope so. Sebastian Manz (clarinet), Akiko Yamada (violin), Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra; Hermann Bäumer.