German & Austrian Symphonies

From The 19th Century To The Present

Composers other than Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler, Mendelssohn, Schubert & Schumann

A Discography Of CDs And LPs
Prepared by Michael Herman
Maintained by Stephen Ellis

National Discographies Home Page

Last Updated: May 2023

Composers A-LComposers M-ZRichard Strauss

Please note that the Richard Strauss discography will not be further updated beyond August 2020.

Introduction

The composers included in this work were either born or came to settle in Germany and Austria and composed their symphonies from the onset of the nineteenth century down to the present day. Not included are the giants of Austro-German symphonism whose acknowledged masterpieces have been recorded with such regularity that their inclusion would have engendered a tenfold increase in the size of this undertaking.

Even though our word symphony derives from the Italian sinfonia, and works with this title were first written in Italy, it is in the German-speaking lands that the symphony as we now recognize it derived its mature form. The Italian sinfonia was an orchestral piece, usually associated with a vocal work, that was practically synonymous with an overture and composers in Germany (and elsewhere) such as Johann Sebastian Bach (1690-1750) and Georg Friedrich Händel (1690-1759) used the term in that sense. During the course of the eighteenth century, this type of work metamorphosed gradually into the larger, usually four movement structure, that we call the classical symphony. This took place mostly in Vienna and Mannheim as a large number of composers became accomplished and fecund symphonists. However, it is definitely Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) who can be called “the father of the symphony.” He not only increased the size and seriousness of the symphony, but also standardized its four-movement form by adding a minuet movement to each work. With his younger contemporary Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) and well as Haydn’s student, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), these three brought the early “modern” symphony to its its first full fruition. They were followed by that illustrious procession of major German and Austrian symphonists: Franz Schubert (1797-1828), Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), Robert Schumann (1810-1856), Anton Bruckner (1824-1896), Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) and Gustav Mahler (1860-1911). The symphonies of these nine composers from Haydn to Mahler, constitutes the backbone of the classical-romantic orchestral repertoire both in the concert hall and on recordings. The nineteenth century also witnessed a plethora of Austrian and German composers who produced symphonies. While a number of them are well-represented in this discography, most have either been forgotten by history or have seen only a smattering of their output recorded. On the other hand, the twentieth century saw a steady decrescendo of symphonic composition with the notable exception of works from the composers who wrote during the second half of the century in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).

As in the previous discographies in this series, no attempt has been made to list every release of every recording of each work. There have just been too many reissues, especially from the major labels, to make this feasible for many recordings. Instead, what are listed are the most current issue the author has located and the earliest release (if any on LP or CD) of that particular recording. In general, multi-disc compendium releases are omitted unless they contain a unique recording or the sole modern reissue of a previously released performance. Recorded is here defined as being available in a physical format that can be (or could have been) purchased or obtained from either a commercial or non-commercial source. Tape recordings, DVD’s and formats other than CD’s or LP’s are not included.

The entry for each composer consists of two sections. First there is a compact biographical paragraph that notes some essential information such as place of birth, higher musical education (including schools and prominent teachers), subsequent musical careers in addition to composing and details of other symphonies that have not been recorded. Compositional styles are not discussed in these paragraphs and readers are referred to the bibliography where various reference books that cover this subject are listed. The second part of each composer entry consists of lists of his or her symphonies that have been recorded and the various recordings of each work. Symphony is defined here as any work the composer has designated as such in its title including works called “sinfonia” or “sinfonietta.” The works can be for full orchestra, chamber orchestra, strings, winds, brass or chorus and orchestra. For every symphony that has them, the opus number, key signature and title are noted and the year of composition or première (if known) is stated for all. The entries of the symphonies that have had multiple recordings are listed alphabetically by the conductor’s name. Each listing of a recording consists of the following components: (1) Performers (in this order if all are involved – conductor, soloists, choral group, orchestra), (2) Other works on the recording. (3) Label and catalogue number and year of issue and (4) If the recording is a reissue, the original LP or CD release and its year of issue. Please note that the performers listed are for the entry work and not necessarily for the works that it is coupled with. Also, in most instances when an entry work is included in a large collection (especially if most of the other works are not related to the discography’s subject) the list of couplings is not given but replaced by the title of the collection.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I have received a lot of help in preparing this work. For this particular discography, I am especially indebted to my friend Steve Ellis who, in a sense, could be considered my co-author. His depth of knowledge about recordings of twentieth-century composers and how to find information about them was totally indispensable for this work to see the light of day. It was my lucky day when this contributor to that most useful of all musical reference works, Nicolas Slonimsky’s Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, spotted my earlier discographies on MusicWeb International and took me under his wing. Not only has he supplied me with tons of data but has also given me a professional editor’s oversight that has so improved the quality of my work. Thanks also go to Holger Sambale in Germany and Friedrich Katt in Austria for the specific important information they gave me. As always, Rob Barnett, David Barker and Len Mullenger of MusicWeb International were on hand to help my work onto the internet.

Please note that all recordings listed are CDs unless specifically designated as LPs.

Finally, as this resource is published online it can always be a work in progress as the author has the ability to amend the work when necessary with very little difficulty. A work of this type is bound to contain errors and omissions as so much material has been gathered from so many diverse sources.

COMPOSER LISTING

Please note that dates in this listing are not updated.

ABERT, JOHANN JOSEPH (1832-1915)
ADELBURG, AUGUST RITTER VON (1830-1873)
AGER, KLAUS (b. 1946)
ALBERT, EUGEN D’ (1864-1932)
APOSTEL, HANS ERICH (1901-1972)
BARCHET, SIEGFRIED (1918-1982)
BARGIEL, WOLDEMAR (1824-1897)
BAUR, JÜRG (1918-2010)
BERGER, THEODOR (1905-1962)
BERLANDA, EMIL (1905-1960)
BIALAS, GÜNTHER (1907-1995)
BISCHOFF, HERMANN (1868-1936)
BISHAY, PATRIK (b.1975)
BITTNER, JULIUS (1874-1939)
BLACHER, BORIS (1903-1975)
BÖHNER, LUDWIG (1787-1860)
BOHNKE, EMIL (1888-1928)
BRAUNFELS, WALTER (1882-1954)
BREDEMEYER, REINER (1929-1995)
BRICHT, WALTER (1904–1970)
BRUCH, MAX (1838-1920)
BRÜLL, IGNAZ (1846-1907)
BRUNI, GLORIA (b. 1965)
BUCHHOLZ, THOMAS (b. 1961)
BURGMÜLLER, NORBERT (1810-1836)
BUTTING, MAX (1888-1976)
BÜTTNER, PAUL (1870-1943)
CERHA, FRIEDRICH (b. 1926)
CILENŠEK, JOHAN (1913-1998)
CZERNY, CARL (1791-1857)
DALLINGER, FRIDOLIN (b. 1933)
DAMROSCH, LEOPOLD (1832–1885)
DAVID, JOHANN NEPOMUK (1895-1977)
DAVID, THOMAS CHRISTIAN (1925-2006)
DESSAU, PAUL (1894-1979)
DEUTSCH, MAX (1892-1982)
DIETRICH, ALBERT (1829-1908)
DIETRICH, KARL (b. 1927)
DIETRICH, OSKAR (1888-1978)
DODERER, JOHANNE (b. 1969)
DÖHL, FRIEDHELM (b. 1936)
DOMHARDT, GERD (1945-1997)
DRAESEKE, FELIX (1835-1913)
DÜNSER, RICHARD (b. 1959)
EBERWEIN, TRAUGOTT MAXIMILIAN (1775-1831)
EDER, HELMUT (1916-2005)
EGK, WERNER (1901-1983)
EINEM, GOTTFRIED VON (1918-1996)
EISLER, HANNS (1898-1962)
ERBSE, HEIMO (1924-2005)
ERDMANN, EDUARD (1896-1958)
ERÖD, IVÁN (b. 1936)
FESCA, FRIEDRICH ERNST (1789-1826)
FLÖSSNER, FRANZ (1899-1972)
FLURY, PATER THEO (b. 1955)
FORTNER, WOLFGANG (1907-1987)
FRANCK, EDUARD (1817-1893)
FRENZEL. FRANZ XAVER (b. 1945)
FROMMEL, GERHARD (1906-1984)
FUCHS, ROBERT (1847-1927)
FURTWÄNGLER, WILHELM (1886-1954)
GÁL, HANS (1890-1987)
GÄNSBACHER, JOHANN BAPTIST (1778-1844)
GATTERMEYER, HEINRICH (b. 1923)
GEISSLER, FRITZ (1921-1984)
GENZMER, HARALD (1909-2007)
GERNSHEIM, FRIEDRICH (1839-1916)
GERSTER, OTTMAR (1897-1969)
GLANERT, DETLEV (b. 1960)
GOETZ, HERMANN (1840-1876)
GOLDMANN. FRIEDRICH (1941-2009)
GOLDMARK, KARL (KÁROLY) (1830-1915)
GOLTERMANN, GEORG (1824-1898)GRAENER, PAUL (1872-1944)
GRAUNKE, KURT (1915-2005)
GRIESBACH, KARL-RUDI (1916-2000)
GURLITT, CORNELIUS (1820-1901)
GÜRLITT, MANFRED (1890-1972)
HALM, AUGUST (1869-1929)
HARTMANN, KARL AMADEUS (1905-1963)
HARTZEL, EUGENE (1932-2000)
HAUBENSTOCK-RAMATI, ROMAN (1919-1984)
HAUER, JOSEF MATTHIAS (1883-1959)
HAUSEGGER, SIEGMUND VON (1872-1948)
HEIDER, WERNER (b. 1930)
HENZE, HANS WERNER (1926-2012)
HERBECK, JOHANN VON (1831-1877)
HERF, FRANZ RICHTER (1920-1989)
HERRMANN, PETER (b. 1941)
HERZOGENBERG, HEINRICH VON (1843-1900)
HESSENBERG, KURT (1908-1994)
HEYMANN, WERNER (1896-1961)
HINDEMITH, PAUL (1895-1963)
HOFMANN, HEINRICH (1842-1902)
HOFFMANN, ERNST THEODOR AMADEUS (1766-1822)
HOHENSEE, WOLFGANG (b.1927)
HÖLLER, KARL (1907-1987)
HUEBER, KURT ANTON (1928-2008)
HUMMEL, BERTOLD (1925-2002)
JADASSOHN, SALOMON (1831-1902)
JELINEK, HANNS (1901-1969)
JOST, CHRISTIAN (b. 1963)
KAUFMANN, ARMIN (1902-1980)
KILLMAYER, WILHELM (b. 1927)
KIRCHNER, VOLKER DAVID (b. 1942)
KLEBE, GISELHER (1925-2009)
KLEMPERER, OTTO (1882-1973)
KLUGHARDT, AUGUST (1847-1902)
KOCHAN, GÜNTER (1930-2009)
KÖHLER, SIEGFRIED (1927-1984)
KORDA, VIKTOR (1900-1992)
KORN, PETER JONA (1922-1998)
KORNGOLD, ERICH WOLFGANG (1897-1957)
KRÄTZSCHMAR, WILFRIED (b.1944)
KRENEK, ERNST (1900-1991)
KROPFREITER, AUGUSTINUS FRANZ (1936-2003)
KUNAD, RAINER (1936-1999)
KURZ, SIEGFRIED (b. 1930)
LACHNER, FRANZ (1803-1890)
LAMPSON, ELMAR (b. 1952)
LAUERMANN, HERBERT (b. 1955)
LEITNER, ERNST LUDWIG (b. 1943)
LEYENDECKER, ULRICH (b. 1946)
LOEWE, CARL (1796-1869)
LOHSE, FRED (1908-1987)
MARCKHL, ERICH (1902-1980)
MARX, JOSEPH (1882-1964)
MATTHUS, SIEGFRIED (b. 1934
MAULTASCH, ALFRED (1914-2006)
MAYER, EMILIE (1812-1883)
MEYER, ERNST HERMANN (1905-1988)
MEYEROWITZ, JAN (1913-1998)
MIXA, FRANZ (1902-1994)
MOSCHELES, IGNAZ (1794-1870)
MÜLLER, JOACHIM GOTTFRIED (1914-1993)
MÜLLER, KARL-FRANZ (1922-1978)
MÜLLER-WIELAND, JAN (b.1966)
NAGILLER, MATTHÄUS (1815-1874)
NETZER, JOSEF (1808-1864)
NEUBERT, GÜNTER (b. 1936)
NEUKOMM, SIGISMUND VON (1778-1858)
NICOLAI, OTTO (1810-1849)
NITSCH, HERMANN (b.1938)
NUSSGRUBER, WALTHER (1919-2012)
OPITZ, ERICH (1912-2001)
PELINKA, WERNER (b. 1952)
PEMBAUR, JOSEF (1848-1923)
PEPPING, ERNST (1901-1981)
PERNES, THOMAS (b. 1956)
PETERSEN, WILHELM (1890-1957)
PFITZNER, HANS (1869-1949)
POULHEIM, BERT (1952-2006)
RADECKE, ROBERT (1830-1911)
RAFF, JOACHIM (1822-1882)
RAGWITZ, ERHARD (b.1933)
RAPF, KURT (1922-2007)
RAPHAEL, GÜNTER (1903-1960)
REGER, MAX (1873-1916)
REINECKE, CARL (1824-1910)
RESCH, GERALD (b. 1975)
REZNICEK, EMIL NIKOLAUS VON (1860-1945)
RHEINBERGER, JOSEPH (1839-1901)
RIES, FERDINAND (1784-1838)
RIHM, WOLFGANG (b. 1952)
RIOTTE, PHILIPP JAKOB (1776-1856)
ROMBERG, BERNHARD (1767-1841)
ROTT, HANS (1858-1884)
RÖTTGER, HEINZ (1909-1977)
RUBIN, MARCEL (1905-1995)
RUDORFF, ERNST (1840-1916)
RUFINATSCHA, JOHANN (1812-1893)
RUZICKA, PETER (b. 1948)
SCHARWENKA, XAVER (1850-1924)
SCHEDL, GERHARD (1957-2000)
SCHENKER, FRIEDRICH (1942-2013)
SCHERBER, MARTIN (1907-1974)
SCHISKE, KARL (1916-1969)
SCHMIDEK, KURT (1919-1986)
SCHMIDT, FRANZ (1874-1939)
SCHMIDT-KOWALSKI, THOMAS (b.1949)
SCHNABEL, ARTHUR (1882-1951)
SCHNEBEL, DIETER (b. 1930)
SCHNEIDER, ENJOTT (b. 1950)
SCHNEIDER, FRIEDRICH (1786-1853)
SCHOENBERG, ARNOLD (1874-1951)
SCHOLLUM, ROBERT (1913-1987)
SCHREKER, FRANZ (1878-1934)
SCHRÖDL, KARLHEINZ (b. 1937)
SCHUBERT, MANFRED (1937-2013)
SCHULZ-BEUTHEN, HEINRICH (1838-1915)
SCHUMANN, GEORG (1866-1952)
SCHUNKE, HERMANN (1825-1898)
SCHWARZ-SCHILLING, REINHARD (1904-1985)
SCHWERTSIK, KURT (b.1935)
SEHLBACH, ERICH (1898-1985)
SIEBENTHAL, WOLFGANG VON (b. 1928)
SIMON, HANS (1897-1982)
SPIES, LEO (1899-1965)
SPOHR, LOUIS (1784-1859)
SPRONGL, NORBERT (1892-1983)
STADLMAIR, HANS (b. 1929)
STAEHLE, HUGO (1826-1848)
STEINER, MAX (1888-1971)
STRAUSS, RICHARD (1864-1949)
STRAUSS, WOLFGANG (b. 1927)
STUPPNER, HUBERT (b. 1944)
SUDER, JOSEPH (1892-1980)
SÜSS, REINHARD (b.1961)
TAKÁCS, JENŐ (1902-2005)
THILMAN, JOHANNES PAUL (1906-1973)
THUILLE, LUDWIG (1861-1907)
TIESSEN, HEINZ (1887-1971)
TJEKNAVORIAN, LORIS (b. 1937)
TOCH, ERNST (1887-1964)
TREIBMANN, KARL OTTOMAR (b. 1936)
TROJAHN, MANFRED (b. 1949)
TYBERG, MARCEL (1893-1944)
UHL, ALFRED (1909-1992)
URAY, ERNST LUDWIG (1906-1988)
VEERHOFF, CARLOS (1926-2011)
VOGEL, ERNST (1926-1990)
VOLKMANN, ROBERT (1815-1883)
VOSS, FRIEDRICH (b. 1930)
WAGNER, ALEXANDER MARIA (b.1995)
WAGNER, RICHARD (1813-1883)
WAGNER, SIEGFRIED (1869-1930)
WAGNER, WOLFRAM (b. 1962)
WAHLMÜLLER, MICHAEL (b. 1980)
WALTER, BRUNO (1876-1962)
WALZEL, LEOPOLD (1902-1970)
WAXMAN, FRANZ (1906-1967)
WEBER, CARL MARIA VON (1786-1826)
WEBERN, ANTON (1883-1945)
WEIGL, KARL (1881-1949)
WEILL, KURT (1900-1950)
WEINGARTNER, FELIX (1863-1942)
WEISMANN, JULIUS (1879-1950)
WEISS, MANFRED (b.1935)
WELLESZ, EGON (1885-1974)
WETZ, RICHARD (1875-1935)
WINBECK, HEINZ (b.1946)
WITT, FRIEDRICH (1770-1836)
WITTINGER, RÓBERT (b.1945)
WOLPE, STEFAN (1902-1972)
WOYRSCH, FELIX (1860-1944)
ZECHLIN, RUTH (1926-2007)
ZEISL, ERIC (1905-1959)
ZEMLINSKY, ALEXANDER (VON) (1871-1942)
ZIMMERMANN, BERND ALOYS (1918-1970)
ZIMMERMANN, UDO (b. 1943)


SOURCES OF INFORMATION

(1) BOOKS

Clough, Francis F. and C.J. Cuming. The World’s Encyclopedia of Recorded Music (including Supplements) in 3 vols. London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1952-57.

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2d ed., in 29 vols., edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. New York: Grove, 2000.

Layton, Robert (ed.). A Guide to the Symphony. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.

Simpson, Robert. The Symphony, 2 vols. New York: Drake Publishers, 1972.

Slonimsky, Nicolas. Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 8th edition. New York: Schirmer Books, 1992.

Slonimsky, Nicolas. Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of 20th Century Classical Musicians (edited by Laura Kuhn). New York:
Schirmer Books, 1997.

Thompson, Oscar (ed). The International Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians, updated 11th edition. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1985.

(2) CATALOGS

ASCAP Symphonic Catalog. 3rd ed. (1977)

Gramophone Classical Record Catalogue (retitled: Gramophone Classical Catalogue) (1953-1996)

Schwann Long Playing Record Catalog (retitled: Schwann 1– Record and Tape Guide and Schwann Opus) (1949-2001)

(3) WEBSITES

LIBRARY CATALOGUES AND NATIONAL COMPOSER INFORMATION SITES

Music Information Center Austria http://www.musicaustria.at/

British Library Sound Archive http://www.bl.uk/collections/sound-archive/nsa.html

Katalog des Deutschen Musikarchivs http://dispatch.opac.d-nb.de

Library and Archives Canada http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/lac-bac/search-recherche/all-tout.php?Language=eng

Library of Congress http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First

New York Public Library Research Catalog http://catnyp.nypl.org/

OTHER SITES

Amazon (UK) http://www.amazon.co.uk

Amazon (USA) http://www.amazon.com

Arkiv Music http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/main.jsp

Ars Antiqua/Mikrokosmos http://www.mikrokosmos.com/

Canfield’s Classical Reference classicalreference.com/

Crotchet http://www.crotchet.co.uk

Gramophone Archive http://www.gramophone.net

MDT Records http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/pages/home/default.asp

MusicWeb International http://www.musicweb-international.com

MuziekWeb (Centrale Discotheek Rotterdam) http://www.muziekweb.nl/menu/shared/cat/pica/index.php

Naxos Records http://www.naxos.com

Parnassus Classical LP Vinyl Records and CDs http://www.parnassusrecords.com/old_site/oldcatalogs.htm

COMPOSER AND CONDUCTOR SITES

Many contemporary composers have their own websites and others can be found on the websites of their publishers. There are also websites for earlier composers and conductors that are maintained by societies that promote their music and recordings. These can be found by typing the composer’s name into any search engine.