Leader, J. Mouland Begbie
Conductor, Guy Warrack
In the middle of the last century Joachim Raff was generally considered one of the most important composers of the so-called ' new German school ', the school of Wagner and Liszt. At least two of his eleven symphonies—' Im Walde ' and ' Lenore '-for years formed part of the normal concert repertoire. Today Raff is almost completely-and somewhat unjustly-overlooked. His symphonies, hybrids born of the union of programme music with the traditional symphonic form, may not be masterpieces, but they are very interesting works, very typical of mid - nineteenth - century German romanticism, and well worth occasional revival.
The last four of the eleven are entitled respectively ' Sounds of Spring ', ' In Summer ', ' Autumn ', and ' Winter '. This last was left unfinished and had to be revised by Max Erdmannsdorfer. The titles of the separate movements are sufficient indication of the poetic basis of the Symphony, which is otherwise quite orthodox in form.