August Enna
(1859-1939) was a Danish composer whose music
Carl Nielsen
would have known, although he was never terribly successful, even in Denmark. Except for the light folk accents in the finale of the
Violin Concerto in D major
, the works here do not have strongly Scandinavian qualities; as with
Nielsen
, it is formal freedom over large dimensions that seems to interest
Enna
the most. The violin concerto is a remarkable work, with an operatic sequence of moods (
was best known as an opera composer influenced by
Wagner
); the outer movements are peppy and jocular, while the central movement, quoting the aria "Vesti la giubba" from the opera
Pagliacci
, is deeply expressive and even tragic. Any violinist could profitably add this to their repertory. The
Symphony No. 2
, to these ears, was rather low-key, lacking memorable tunes, but it had distinctive points in the orchestration. These were cleanly rendered by the
Bogota Philharmonic Orchestra
under
Joachim Gustafsson
, apparently making its debut on recordings, although it plays at a very high level. This is certainly worth the time of those interested in Romantic orchestral music beyond the main lines of development. ~ James Manheim