August Enna (1859-1939) was entranced by the stories of Hans Christian Andersen, as both the eponymous overture and his “Fairy Tale” Symphonic Pictures show. Actually, the identity of the various fairy tales is never revealed in what essentially is a four-movement symphony (or “symphonic suite”) somewhat akin, in spirit if not actual sound, to Rimsky-Korsakov’s Antar or Scheherazade. The music, as you might expect, is tuneful and attractive, though both here and in the Second symphony there’s rhythmic stiffness, a “four-square” quality to Enna’s writing that prevents the music from achieving an effortless feeling of movement in its quicker sections. Still, if you’re attracted to traditional Romantic music then these works by a minor but nonetheless appealing composer are worth sampling. Certainly the performances under Michael Hofstetter lack nothing in energy and commitment, the orchestra plays quite well, and the sonics are up to CPO’s usual high standard.
