Symphonies, Eichner / Theresia Orchestra, CD

In terms of the quantity of his output, Ernst Eichner should be regarded as a minor composer. His legacy consists of several operas, chamber music and several collections of symphonic works of six pieces each; this amounts to about fifty works, revealing something quite different from the label "minor composer". The spirited, colourful and empathetic treatment of the orchestra often appeared to contemporaries as being an expression of a "tender heart" or of "meek grace and charming sweetness", whereas they were certainly not yet conscious of the fact that in Eichner's creations (as well) were the beginnings of the symphonic form, which not much later became the classical standard bearer of all great things. The Italian orchestra Theresia has chosen four representative pieces from his remarkable catalogue for these recordings. These reflect the stylistic development of this superb violinist and composer, who initially left his native Mannheim for Zweibrücken and finally, after an odyssey, arrived at the court of the Prussian king in Berlin, where he died in 1777 at the age of 37.