Franz Lachner (1803 90) is probably best remembered for his important position in the musical life of Munich, where he ran the city’s court opera from 1836 until a few years after the accession of the Wagner-mad Ludwig II (it was for Munich that he composed his Catharina Cornaro, also released by CPO and reviewed on page 115). The eminently enjoyable, moderately memorable Symphony No 3 dates from shortly before he took up the post.

It’s a well-crafted work of equable disposition that skips along very nicely for its nearly 50-minute duration: an easy going mixture of early Beethoven, Weber, Mendelsssohn and Schubert, with whose own ‘Great’ C major, yet to be ‘rediscovered’, it shares its sense of expansiveness. Intriguingly, some of it also sounds a little bit like Schumann’s later orchestral works. The booklet compares Lachner’s formal strategy, of juxtaposing ‘thematic blocks’ rather than interweaving his ideas, with Bruckner.

This scheme allows for some pleasantly surprising moments within a general aesthetic designed more to reaffirm than to question the musical status quo. The first movement opens dramatically before settling into a more comfortable mode; but Lachner shows some nifty contrapuntal skills in the development section and offers up a lovely quiet coda before the end.

The dutiful not-so-slow third movement, a steady march-like affair, seems unremarkable until a rather wonderful episode eight minutes in, where touching wind solos are borne aloft by airy string configurations. The finale rattles along entertainingly enough, with a lively episode for pizzicato strings and staccato winds primarily sticking in the memory (first heard five minutes in). I found only the 12 minute second movement, like a Mendelssohn scherzo without the lightness, considerably overstayed its welcome (it’s also the only movement in which not all repeats are observed in this performance).

The Festouvertüre is far less memorable, although it features a handy multiple-choice finale: Lachner offers options for it to conclude either with Haydn’s ‘Gott erhalte’ or the then Bavarian national anthem (now better known as ‘God save the Queen’). Gernot Schmalfuss opts for the former here. And he deserves considerable praise for bringing such commitment and affection to the performances throughout. His conducting and the lively, engaging playing of the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra, though occasionally lacking polish, help bring the symphony, in particular, enjoyably back to life.