Ten years ago, CBC radio broadcast Robert Volkmann’s Symphony #1 in D. I was charmed by it. The announcer said that it sounded like “a forgotten work by Brahms”. True enough, and Volkmann’s obscurity could easily be explained by saying he was one of Brahms’ many imitators. But that symphony was composed in 1862, and Brahms’ first symphony didn’t appear until fourteen years later. I’ve never been able to find a copy of that symphony, and didn’t hear the whole thing on the CBC broadcast, so it isn’t listed in my listening files. But I have obtained two works by him, the Konzertstück for Piano & Orchestra, and the Cello Concerto. Both are entertaining and well-crafted, but not overwhelming. The cello concerto is worth several listens. Both works reveal his real influence: Schumann. Volkmann lived from 1815 to 1883. He was born in Saxony, spent a short stint in Prague, then the rest of his life in Budapest. He was respected and often played in his lifetime, but fell out of the repertory after his death. It’s more fair to say that he was a serious composer whose work followed on Schumann and anticipated Brahms, whom he influenced significantly. This is not dismissible as mere imitation. But time has a way of casting off such in-betweens.
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