Goldmark: Rustic Wedding Symphony

Very enjoyable post-romantic symphony

If you are not in a patient mood, then I suggest that you stay away from this piece of music until a later date. On the other hand, if you are taking a break from intellectual music, are burned out from Mahler, Bruckner, Shostakovich, and Tchaikovsky...then I suggest that you lean back in that armchair and enjoy this heart-warming symphony. And `Heart-Warming' would be a more appropriate title since the `Rustic' part must have passed me by. This is definitely post-romantic music.
I especially like the first movement of this symphony. A very noble and celebratory theme is developed. I have to give Goldmark the two-thumbs up here for a very good melody. There are a few `sugar ballet' moments that might make you cringe a little, but if you're in an expansive mood you won't mind. Four stars. October 14, 2007

Rustic yet elegant

What a beautiful Symphony. Goldmark and Gunzenhauser did an amazing job recreating the 'Wedding March' and ' Bridal March'. My fiancee and I are using this CD for our wedding ceremony instead of the more traditional music. It reminds me of fairies in flight. It's perfect for our rustic Fall wedding! October 10, 2007

Goldmark: R Wedding

This was a gift for a friend. I was told that it is very enjoyable. February 9, 2007

Sheer beauty

I have had this CD for almost 10 years now and have never ceased loving it.

The music is simply beautiful, in the mold of German 19th C romanticism. The Rustic Wedding Symphony is simply great. The first movement in particular, whose main theme clearly is a bit
of a take of of the Beethoven 9 Joy theme, has so many beautiful variations with very imaginative differences.

I love the opening "In the Spring" piece too; there is so much freshness and the orchestration is just right.

Excellently played and recorded too. December 17, 2005

LANDMARK GOLDMARK

If Karl Goldmark (1830-1915) wrote nothing else, his "Rustic Wedding Symphony," Op. 26, would "mark" a place for him in the musical cosmos--- and not merely a footnote, either.

The "Rustic Wedding" is really not a symphony at all, but more a symphonic "suite" comprised of five inventive, melodious and charming programmatic movements. From the opening "Hochzeitsmarsch" (Wedding March), variations of delight and beauty that weave their lyrical material in the most playful and haunting invention, through the nostalgic "Intermezzo" (Brautlied, or, Bridal Song) and the quirky "Serenade," to the utterly disarming and wistful "Andante" (In the Garden), Goldmark's "Rustic Wedding" is every minute a masterpiece of tuneful inspiration.

The overtures, on the other hand, although pleasant enough "fillers," are relatively facile endeavors--- imminently forgettable.

Gunzenhauser approaches Goldmark with a fine romantic sweep, and the NSOI keep attuned perfectly. The overall sound is good, if not as full or detailed as one may wish. However, this budget release is still a solid way to obtain Goldmark's vision at a nominal monetary outlay.

[Running time: 64:28]

December 11, 2000

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