Search - Boehe, Albert, Staatsphil Rheinland-Pfalz :: Symphonie Poems 1

Off the Beaten Track German Romantic

Kenneth Gilman | Miami Fla | 11/07/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Having read the other review of this cd & the review of volume 2 of the Boehe tone poems I hesitated for months buying this music. Then I read a very good review on the Arkiv Music site & decided I'd give Boehe a try. Let me say first that I'm sick of the standard repatoire and am always on the look out for something new & interesting in Romantic music, and this music of Boehe's fits the bill. Very much in the line of Liszt, Wagner & Richard Strauss it is also in the style of the decades later film music of Korngold & Franz Waxman. Very atmospheric, dramatic, romantic, with very attractive melodys & outstanding orchestration that only a master composer could write. My only complaint is that the pieces are a little long winded & could use some editing, but a good find for anyone looking for something other than the same old thing over & over again."

Orchestration instead of music

Arden P. Johnson | Arlington, MA USA | 04/09/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"These tone poems are fine examples of German late romantic orchestral noodling. Sadly, in spite of much dramatic gesturing, no memorable themes ever appear. As a conductor, Boehe was important in establishing the orchestra that has since become the Staatsphilharmonie der Rheinland-Pfalz. As a composer, though, he is indifferent, of interest only to the "twentieth-century German music" completist, or perhaps to someone with sentimental ties to Ludwigshafen am Rhein(!). The performance is good, at least!"

Bountiful Boehe.....

Neal Schultz | Orange County, CA | 08/24/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I guess it is my opportunity to break the tie here between the two opposing viewpoints on this CD (and this composer...). It always important when you review a composer's music to remember to separate how you FEEL about the music and whether you believe the composer succeeded at what he was FEELING.... In other words, you may dislike late German Romantic music but the composer may be first rate what he is doing. So, with that said is Boehe a first-tier composer....well, no I must agree with some of the comments of both reviewers (excessive length and exposition etc.). However, Boehe is clearly a master not to be marginalized. I hear some Seejungfrau of Zemlinsky (who came later) in these works, which to my mind is a great compliment. Perhaps the biggest difference between Tone Poem and symphonic composition is the clear division of nee 'impressionistic' v. (greater tendency towards) concrete musical syntax. For German romantic music, let's remember that musicologists make a point to reference even in Brahms music that we must wait until the last movement of Brahms 1st Symphony until we get the "big tune". Overall, there is both a magical yet slightly turgid quality to this music that effectively draws us into Boehe's musical world.

I too am a big CPO fan for harvesting this huge treasure trove of lost gems. Bottomline: if you are a 3 'B's kind of person only and not particularly experimental give Boehe a pass. For the rest of us who love the art of discovery then give Boehe a listen (and I would recommend at least listening through BOTH CPO volumes at least twice before rendering judgement). Four Stars."