FRITZ BRUN (1878-1959): Symphony No. 8 in A (Beromünster Studio Orchestra; Fritz Brun. Oct. 4, 1946), Variations on an Original Theme for String Orchestra and Piano (Adrian Aeschbacher [piano], Collegium Musicum Zürich; Paul Sacher. Jan. 23, 1946).

Description: After two discs of new Brun symphony recordings, we are now in the Great Recession, so we get a mid-price radio recording from 62 years ago instead of another, expensive, new one. Now six of his ten are available in one form or another (2, 3, 5 and 8-10). The Eighth dates from 1942, the first to be composed after Brun retired from conducting chores in order to concentrate solely on composition. It's a big, 55-minute work in four movements, a chronicle of the times of day in his village (in the order Mid-day, Evening, Night and Morning) and its "unbuttoned" aspect of burgeoning joy in life and in creativity bursts out through every minute (not much joy anywhere else in central Europe at the time, though!). The 23-minute variations come from 1944 and let Brun show off his skill in dense motivic development (this work had a new recording on Gallo in the mid 1990s).