DESCRIPTIONS

"…Playing the cycle twice through has given me much pleasure. Indeed, I doubt that lovers of Mendelssohn, Schumann or Bruch will consider either their money (precious little of which is needed) or their time wasted. A worthwhile enterprise, and a very happy musical encounter." -GRAMOPHONE Born in 1839, Friedrich Gernsheim composed four symphonies between 1875 and 1895. Although widely admired in his day, Gernsheim was later dismissed as an imitator of Brahms – despite the fact that his first symphony premiered a year before the first symphony of Brahms! In addition to his symphonies, Gernsheim left a wide-ranging oeuvre, comprising lieder, piano, choral, chamber and orchestra music. He died in 1916. This is the first-ever integral recording of Gernsheim’s symphonies, and will appeal strongly to that segment of the classical market looking for the rediscovered Romantic masterpiece. 2009 will mark the ninetieth anniversary of the "Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz." Siegfried Köhler is one of Europe’s busiest guest conductors.