1.Huber, Hans : Symphonische Einleitung ‘Der Simplicius,’ opera
2.Huber, Hans : Eine Lustspiel Ouverture, Op. 50

Huber, Hans : Symphonie no 2 in E major ("Bocklin-Symphonie"), Op. 115
3. Allegro con fuoco
4. Allegro con fuoco non troppo – Con fuoco - L’istesso tempo – Tempo I
5. Adagio ma non troppo
6. Finale: Metamorphosen, abgeregt durch Bilder von Bocklin

Günther Maysenhölder (Organ)
Matthias Wächter (Violin)
Stuttgarter Philharmoniker
Jorg-Peter Weigle, conductor

Recorded December 2-4 1996 at the Stadthalle Sindelfingen, Germany.

Huber was a Swiss composer whose music and life straddled the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The music itself remains resolutely a product of vintage nineteenth century romanticism. Nothing desperately original here but whoever said that music had to be original to be enjoyable. If you enjoy Brahms, Dvorák, Stanford, Smetana, Fibich or Suk delay no longer. These discs are for you.

His grounding in music came from his father, a skilled amateur musician. He became a chorister at Solothurn but made such astounding progress with his piano studies that he switched from an ecclesiastical learning environment to a secular college. From 1870 to 1874 he attended Leipzig Conservatory studying with Reinecke. He then taught in the Alsace until, in 1877, he came to Basel. Denied a place at the Basel Conservatory until 1889, once ensconced, he soon made rapid progress as his works gained recognition. By 1896 he had been appointed Director. He died in Locarno in 1921 in the same year as Saint-Saëns.

Der Simplicius (1898): There are five Huber operas (six if you count the unfinished Der Gläserne Berg) of which Der Simplicius is the third. The overture is Mephistophelian - buzzing with whippy impetuosity. It will appeal to those who like Elgar's Froissart Overture and Smetana's symphonic poems Haakon Jarl and Richard III.

Eine Lustspiel-Ouverture (1879) is very attractive: calming but also with the slaloming vigour of Dvorak Symphonies 5 and 6 and Schumann's Rhenish Symphony.

The first and second movements of the Böcklin Symphony blaze with activity inflamed by the same drive as those two Dvorák symphonies. When the fires burn on a lower pressure a honeyed Brahmsian tone tempers the Dvorakian element. The third movement adagio has a willowy fluency with pointillistic effects from harp and solo violin ending in the autumnal sunshine familiar from Brahms' Third Symphony. The finale is a free fantasy inspired by a gallery of paintings by Arnold Böcklin (yes, the same Böcklin whose Isle of the Dead inspired Rachmaninov and Max Reger's Four Böcklin Tone Poems.). The movement is, by turns, jaunty, passionate and butterfly textured. So airy is some of the orchestration that we are almost into Berlioz at his most impressionistic as in Symphonie Fantastique. Set off against this a Brahmsian gravitas. The performance is excellent - infused with flammable temperament and an impressive unanimity of attack. A welcome change from Dvorák 5 and 6. Do try it! ---Rob Barnett, musicweb-international.com

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Hans Huber: Piano Concerto No.1 in C minor, Op. 36
1.Langsam, düster gehalten
2.Langsam, in weihevoller Stimmung
3.So rasch wie möglich - Trio: Dopplet so langsam
4.Mit Feuer und Schwung

Hans Huber: Piano Concerto No.3 in D Major, Op. 113
5.Introduction. (Passacaglia über den Bass des I. Themas im Finale.) Allegretto molto moderato
6.Scherzo. Allegrissimo
7.Intermezzo. Adagio ma non troppo
8.Final. Allegro con Fuoco

Dan Franklin Smith  - piano
Stuttgart Philharmoniker
Mikhail Jurowski - conductor

Having recorded all eight of Huber’s symphonies, Bo Hyttner's Sterling label turns its attention to the Huber concertos.

Huber was born in the Solothurn canton of Switzerland. His mature studies took place in Leipzig. These culminated in a public performance of Schumann's Op. 92 Conzertstuck with Huber as pianist. In 1877 he moved to Basle where he wrote the First Piano Concerto. The work is written much under the Schumann spell: limber, gracious, elegant without being thin, decorous without dullness, entertaining without plumbing Brahmsian stürm und drang. There is a trace of glittering Litolff in the galloping third movement. The Third Concerto from 1899 has a tawny Brahmsian quality under its decorative surface. The work has more emotional depth than the first. The scherzo is quite magically weighted and constructed - a wonderful example of what can be done with the romantic concerto. There are intimations here and there of the Macdowell, Schumann and Grieg concertos. Certainly if you like those works (and few do not) you will find plenty to fascinate in the Third Piano Concerto. Huber lavished first class ideas on this work and in a performance as sensitive and seemingly well prepared as this we are in for a treat. It stands head and shoulders above the First Concerto. Listen for example to the tenderness of the violin-borne theme at the end of the third movement - Intermezzo. The final movement ends with a conventionally perfunctory flourish; the only weakness in a work that deserves much more public exposure.

Once again this recording project was financially bolstered by the Czeslaw Marek Foundation for which we owe them thanks.

The considerable strength of this disc lies in a magically performed and honestly recorded Third Concerto. This is an example of profundity and sincerity in the silver-plated realms of the romantic piano concerto. Sterling have on this occasion beaten Hyperion to the draw. ---Rob Barnett, musicweb-international.com

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Symphony No.8 F major
1- Allegro moderato
2- Allegretto scherzando
3- Adagio, ma non troppo
4- Finale: Allegro vivace, ma non troppo

Symphony No.4 A major 'Akademische'
5- Preæludium und Fugue
6- Cavatina
7- Humoreske
8- Finale (Variationen)

Stephan Leuthold – organ
Matthias Wächter - violin
Stuttgarter Philharmoniker 
Jörg-Peter Weigle – conductor

Hans Huber’s Eighth Symphony (1921) has been compared to Beethoven’s in its similarly joyous mood as well as for its identical key of F major. Indeed, right from the impressively cohesive first movement, the work is full of buoyant, life-affirming energy (Huber said he was constantly thinking “spring thoughts” while composing it) that Huber expresses through gorgeous tunes, fetching rhythms, and colorful orchestration. Given these three qualities, it’s not surprising that Dvorák comes to mind more than once during the course of this highly enjoyable work.

If anything, Symphony No. 4 is even more interesting by virtue of its unique orchestration. Scored for string orchestra, piano, and organ, and filled with lush, romantic melodies casting about in a quasi dramatic setting, the piece has a playfully serious character reminiscent of Saint-Säens. This is especially so in the finale, a highly original construction consisting of an introduction, passacaglia, and a set of clever variations. Both works receive excellent performances by the Stuttgart Philharmonic under Jörg-Peter Weigle’s masterful leadership. Sterling’s recording favors the high frequencies a bit too much, but otherwise it’s well balanced, with suitable dynamic impact. --- Victor Carr Jr, classicstoday.com

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