Ries: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 6.

Howard Griffiths, Zurich Chamber Orchestra. CPO 999 836-2.

Sometimes a guy can't win for losing. After Beethoven took the musical world by storm in the early nineteenth century, the works of fellow European composers were faulted either for copying the great man's style too closely or for not being similar enough to his charms. What are you going to do? Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838), a friend and colleague of Beethoven, found himself exactly in that position.

One can see why. His Fourth and Sixth Symphonies represented on this disc do, in fact, resemble some of Beethoven's technique, yet they are not quite innovative enough to have withstood the test of time. Thus, like other composers of his day, Ries and his output were soon forgotten. Yet, the oversight of the composer in modern times may not be justified, if one may judge from these two of his seven symphonies. They're actually pretty interesting.

The Fourth Symphony (1818) is the lesser of the two but still impressive. Its opening movement is quite ordinary, I must admit, but it goes on to a lovely, modern-sounding melody in the slow movement and some zippy, dance-like business in the Scherzo that ...