WOLDEMAR BARGIEL (1828-1897): Complete Orchestral Music, Vol. 1 - Symphony in C, Op. 30, Overture to a Tragedy, Op. 18, Overtures to Prometheus, Op. 16 and Medea, Op. 22.

Description: Schumann's brother-in-law certainly follows his lead (meaning the Manfred overture) in his three overtures which are really almost symphonies in their own right and have a Brahmsian weight and power: each is composed of slow introduction-fast-slow and fast sections and their length is 18, 15 and 13 minutes (in chronological order, dating from 1852, 1856 and c.1861). The symphony is his last major orchestral work; dating from 1864, it's a trim 30 minutes in four movement and has a Beethovenian drive and compactness of material although there are also elements of Schubertian lyricism. The Bargiel scholar who wrote the notes suggests that his "pluralist" style is not to be seen as eclectic but as a sophisticated combination of styles in a transitional musical period. After all, neither Brahms nor Bruckner had yet written a symphony at the time Bargiel produced his. Siberian Symphony Orchestra; Dmitri Vasilyev.