Symphony No. 2 In C Minor Op. 85 & Sir John Falsta [CD], Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, CD

After Hugo Kaun ended his American adventure and returned to the old world, he began to pour the exotic events of his life into two symphonic tone poems. These have been in our catalogue since late 2023 under the title I'm Urwald (In the primeval forest). He soon rose to become one of the most highly regarded German composers (thanks primarily to his noteworthy works for male choirs), and in 1905 turned his attention to programme music. Sir John Falstaff, the incomparable charmer from William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor and the drinking companion of the future King Henry V, has been given a well-deserved place in the musical gallery of famous literary heroes alongside Till Eulenspiegel, MacBeth, Don Quixote, Don Juan and Zarathustra, all to whom he certainly does justice from this, his first self-assured appearance. It also provides an excellent introduction to the powerful Second Symphony, which was completed five years later - further evidence of an orchestral maestro who had mastered the late Romantic repertoire with consummate skill.