Walter Kaufmann (1907-1984)
Madras Express (1947)
Dirge (1946)
Indian Facades (1946)
Symphony No.2 (1935)
Philharmonisches Orchester Regensburg/Stefan Veselka
rec. 2024, Neuhaussaal Regensburg, Germany
Reviewed as lossless download
MDG 90123636 SACD [50]

I had not encountered the music, or known the name, of Czech-born Walter Kaufmann before reviewing an Avie release last year which showcased three Jewish composers who left Europe as the Nazi threat grew. I was very impressed by his Indian Symphony on that recording, so was pleased when this new release arrived, dedicated to his music solely.

Kaufmann spent more than a decade in India, arriving in 1934, and the music there influenced his compositions. Madras Express was written after he left India (he eventually settled in the USA after spending some time in Canada). As you might have guessed, it depicts a rail journey in India, and the rhythms at the very start, recurring throughout, are very effective in evoking the sounds of the locomotive. There are colourful interludes scattered through – the views from his carriage window, no doubt. I remarked in that earlier review that I heard what to me were the sounds of the American West (as depicted by Hollywood), but were apparently Indian raga-influenced, and that happened again here. It is a vibrant and enjoyable piece that would indeed make a good concert opener.

Dirge was composed whilst on the ship that took Kaufmann back to Europe, though not his homeland. It has two sources of sadness: for those lost in the war, but also for leaving the country which had clearly had so much of an influence on him for the previous twelve years. At over ten minutes, it is a substantial work which is almost entirely at the quieter end of the spectrum, though there are some louder outbursts towards the end (anger perhaps). It begins with a funereal tread, and finishes very quietly and sadly. In between, Kaufmann fills the ten minutes with contrasting episodes of orchestral colour. I heard some Vaughan Williams-like passages, but not this time any of Hollywood’s Wild West.

Indian Facades was the last work he wrote in India, and is possibly the work most influenced by Indian music. It is subtitled A Solemn Rhapsody for Orchestra, and all seven movements are predominantly slow and serious. As with Dirge, it requires a skilful composer to avoid a sense of sameness creeping in. While the music is mostly slow, that doesn’t mean it is quiet; there are several loud climaxes, and a splendidly majestic coda. The scoring across the seven movements is varied and delightful, and again I heard melody lines reminiscent of Vaughan Williams. By some margin, it is the standout work of the four on this recording.

His second symphony was written a few months after arrival in India, and he clearly began to absorb the music of his adopted country very quickly, as the excellent booklet notes suggest that he incorporated elements of Indian classical music into the work. The work is more neo-Classical than the other three on the recording, perhaps a reflection of a change in his style as time progressed. It is very compact at fifteen minutes in three movements of similar length. Again the first movement creates a mental picture of the wide open spaces of the American West, but there are what I presume to be Indian influences in the sombre and stark second movement. The final movement is quite a contrast; it has the only fast tempos in the work, and scurries and chatters excitedly. Each of the three movements is enjoyable in its own right, but they are so different, it is perhaps better to see it as a suite rather than a symphony.

This would appear to be first recordings of all four works, so we should be grateful to MDG for its enterprise. The Regensburg Philharmonic under their Norwegian conductor Stefan Veselka gives the music their utmost care and attention. While the sound is perfectly clear, there isn’t much detail or separation across the soundstage. Whether listening with dedicated SACD equipment makes a difference, I have no way of telling. My only criticism of this release is that it is quite short; Wikipedia lists more than twenty orchestral works – surely one more could have been included.

This recording has only increased my admiration for the music of Walter Kaufmann and I certainly would like to think that more recordings are to follow. Could I hope that his three piano trios might be among them?

David Barker

Previous review: Jonathan Woolf (August 2025)

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