ROBERT FUCHS (1847-1927): Symphonies No. 1 in C, Op. 37 and No. 2 in E Flat, Op. 45.

Description: Thorofon released recordings of all three of Fuchs’ symphonies back in 1995 and 1996 and I remember finding them rather gray and uninvolving. So why do these first two (from 1877 and 1884) sound much more interesting and quite attractive here? Is it me or the new performances? Here, they sound supple, melodious, richly orchestrated, not really Brahmsian at all, much “bigger” than Fuchs’ better-known Serenades. A must-have especially if you never got the Thorofon pair way back when. WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne; Karl-Heinz Steffens.