This is the second release in Danacord's survey of the orchestral music by Louis Glass, an underrated contemporary of the great Dane, Carl Nielsen.
One cannot help comparing these luscious sprawlingly structured works with the near-perfect conceptions of Glass' illustrious contemporary but the music is worth resurrecting just the same. I preferred the later Sixth Symphony, which is a mature work, rather in the mould of Bendix, but with much more staying power in melodic ideas.
The Third is simpler to grasp although the Finale rather outstays its welcome at almost 14 minutes. The Plovdiv Philharmonic play quite well although they lack the polish of the finest ensembles and I do not find Todorov a very persuasive interpreter, one shudders to think what Jensen or Grondahl would have made of these works. Still, Danacord are to be commended for issuing such rare repertoire and anyone interested in late romantic symphonies should not hesitate.
Copyright © 2001, Gerald Fenech