Symfonie In Bes, Op. 20 e.a.w. (1986)

"...Adequate if not outstanding played and recorded. The Symphony is powerful and attractive, in the spirit of Franck above all, but is perhaps not quite personal enough to make the kind of impression one associates with a masterpiece. Still, it is a deeply felt work, with a slow central movement marked "with great expressive intensity", and one not to be missed by admirers of this period of French music who wish Franck's Symphony did not stand alone in the repertory. The Arthurian symphonic poem Viviane was written a few years earlier (1882) under the strong influence of Parsifal, the premiere of which Chausson attended. He dedicated it to his fianceeand, incidentally, took her on honeymoon to hear Wagner's work again. (C.H., Gramophone, 1986)