As a composer coping with the symphonic legacy of Beethoven, Handel, and
Brahms, it was difficult for Felix Woyrsch to develop his own idea of the
symphony, especially since he did not aspire to break with the past but
sought a negotiable path on which he could continue the symphonic tradition
of the nineteenth century in his own personal way. However, our previous
two CD releases featuring this composer’s symphonies clearly show that he
belonged to a generational group including Richard Wetz, Wilhelm Berger,
Felix Weingartner, and Paul Juon whose members exercised due caution in the
further development of the classical-romantic tradition, each one in his
own way, and specifically enriched the generic history of the symphony with
important nuances. Woyrsch’s Symphony No. 4 is about the same length as his
third such work but in contrast to it built on melodic ideas of greater
concision not rarely generating sharp contrasts within a short space. It is
a work of abrupt changes and unforeseen modulations. In his Symphony No. 5
Woyrsch very much continues on the path taken by him in his earlier
symphonies, though here he presents his ideas in extraordinarily
concentrated form. He prescribes an orchestral ensemble almost just as
large as the one in the fourth symphony but its dimensions are clearly more
compact. »And again something of compelling force emanates from this
music.« (klassik-heute).