Mayer: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2

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Much to relish in these performances; this pair of early symphonies, especially the Second, give the impression of a composer having serious fun with her great talent. — BBC Music Magazine, December 2020, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 31st Jul 2020
Catalogue No: 555293-2
Label: CPO
Length: 63 minutes

Opus Klassik

2021

Winner - Symphonic Music (19th-century)

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Mayer, E: Symphony No. 1 in C minor

Work length33:15

$9.00

$11.65

NDR Radiophilharmonie
Leo McFall

I. Adagio - Allegro energico

Track length10:05

$3.00

$3.85

II. Adagio

Track length7:38

$2.00

$2.60

III. Allegro vivace

Track length7:05

$2.00

$2.60

IV. Finale. Adagio - Allegro

Track length8:27

$2.00

$2.60

Mayer, E: Symphony No. 2 in E minor

Work length30:39

$6.00

$7.75

NDR Radiophilharmonie
Leo McFall

I. Un poco adagio - Allegro assai

Track length11:08

$3.00

$3.85

II. Scherzo

Track length6:41

$1.00

$1.30

III. Un poco adagio cantabile

Track length6:11

$1.00

$1.30

IV. Finale. Allegro vivace

Track length6:39

$1.00

$1.30

About
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About

No woman composer of the time compiled an oeuvre as extensive as that of Emilie Mayer, who was born in Friedland, Mecklenburg, in 1812 and made contributions to a wide range of musical genres. She succeeded in doing what remained a mere wish dream for most women composers of her generation: she reaped great praise from the critics and pursued a successful career as a composer and our three previously released CDs featuring her piano and chamber music have confirmed her mastery. Emilie Mayer wrote her eight symphonies between 1845 / 46 and (at the latest) 1857. The Symphony No. 1 very much leads one to believe that it may have been something like a final examination piece with which she concluded her instruction from him. She quite ostentatiously constructs classical models, displays her modulatory talent, demonstrates her rich formal imagination, exhibits her command of double counterpoint, and works through tonal intricacies with sovereign control (last movement) and does it all with unrivaled mastery. In the Symphony No. 2 Emilie Mayer emancipates herself from models and pursues completely new paths, above all in dramaturgical development within the compass of the large form.

Reviews

December 2020

Much to relish in these performances; this pair of early symphonies, especially the Second, give the impression of a composer having serious fun with her great talent.

Jan/Feb 2021

[E Minor] Not only do I believe this symphony to be a true masterpiece, I think it should catapult Mayer into the top tier of 19th-century Romantic composers. Conductors the world over should be programming it for their concerts. Audiences will be chilled and thrilled. Performances here by Leo McFall and the North German Radio Philharmonic are stunning, as is the recording.

30th August 2020

Contemporary commentators wrote that Mayer’s mostly unpublished music was very good, for a woman. Going by these symphonies, such qualified praise was unnecessary. She writes with sweeping confidence, convincing in large-scale forms, texturally inventive...The rising star McFall conducts fine performances.

Mayer: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2

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