FRITZ VOLBACH (1861-1940): Symphony in B Minor, Op. 33, Symphonic Poem Es waren zwei Königskinder, Op. 21.

Description: A composer and musicologist who studied at the Royal Institute of Church Music in Berlin (no famous composition teachers!), Volbach waited until 1906 to produce his only symphony. A 43-minute work in four movements, it is firmly in the German symphonic tradition going back to Beethoven although the most obvious influence comes in its slow movement which carries the elegiac solemnity we associate with Bruckner. The 18-minute symphonic poem was premiered in 1900 and is inspired by a German folk ballad; also notable is its calling for a “viola alta” for a melancholy solo at one point but we assume that that actual instrument was not used in this recording. The works are performed here in a live recording by the orchestra which Volbach founded 100 years ago. Münster Symphony Orchestra; Golo Berg.