The German Symphony between Beethoven and Brahms

It was Carl Dahlhaus who coined the phrase 'dead time' to describe the state of the symphony between Schumann and Brahms. Christopher Fifield argues that many of the symphonies dismissed by Dahlhaus made worthy contributions to the genre. He looks at the non-programmatic works of the five decades between the mid-1820s and mid-1870s. Composers who lead to Brahms are frequently dismissed as epigones of Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Schumann but by investigating their symphonies, Fifield reveals their respective brands of originality and in so doing, shines a light into a half-century of neglected nineteenth-century German symphonic music.

Christopher Fifield is a conductor and music historian with particular interest in British and German nineteenth century orchestral music and opera. His pioneering books include biographies of Max Bruch and Hans Richter, Letters and Diaries of Kathleen Ferrier and a history of Ibbs & Tillett.

Contents: Preface; Introduction; The German symphony in the 1830s; The German symphony in the 1840s; Leipzig, its Gewandhaus and conservatoire; The German symphony in the 1850s; The German symphony in the 1860s; The German symphony 1870-1876; Select bibliography; Select discography; Index.