Louis Glass Symphony No. 4 - Big (but not bad)

Danish composer Louis Glass studied with Niels Gade. While at the Brussels Conservatory, he came under the influence of Anton Bruckner. If nothing else, Bruckner's symphonies encouraged Glass to think big.

Glass' Symphony No. 4 runs a little short of an hour. The four-movement work is big, but not sprawling. The material simply needs a lot of space to develop, and Glass provides it.

Another big influence on Glass was Cesar Franck. The harmonies in this work lean more towards him, and away from Bruckner. Glass takes the listener on a journey of discovery. After 54 minutes of listening, I think it was worth the trip.

This is the third volume in CPO's Glass series. Previous volumes coupled one of his symphonies with another orchestral work. But here, well, there just wasn't room.

As with the other volumes, Daniel Ralskin leads the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharonic. The ensemble has a smooth blend, with a spacious recorded sound. Raiskin keeps things moving along, reveling in the scope of the music.

Glass wrote six symphonies, so there are three more volumes to come. I'm looking forward to them.

Louis Glass: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 43
Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharonic; Daniel Raiskin, conductor
CPO