Poor old Spohr is not, for some unapparent reason, one of the 'in' composers and I'll lay odds that few could recall more than a few of his 200-odd works, among them ten symphonies. A musicological friend seemed to think his major claim to fame was to introduce the conductor's baton to England! However, allowing for the fact that he was perhaps too close in time and often in style to Mozart, there is no doubt that here he shows an elegantly burnished talent. It so happened that I came to these two CDs on one of the rare hot summer evenings that 1986 has so far permitted us. The music and the performances were so supremely apt that I sailed through both discs absorbed, ignoring time and my glass of iced Pimms.
This is all delightful melodic stuff, satisfying if not too demanding and the clarinet playing of Karl Leister is a dream, smooth and delicate in the awkward lower register, beautifully controlled but provoking excitement when called for. The recording balance greatly favours him but it is right to do so for in the main the orchestra is a backcloth in these works. Now and again they strike forth and at such times the string ensemble exhibits a little roughness, but it soon passes. These are radio studio recordings, not too dry and with no great stereo spread. Most enjoyable.'