Few composers have such a terrible personal story as Tyberg. A victim of the Nazis, his music was spirited out of Germany before he was arrested, and turned up years later in the United States. Tyberg's music is clearly in the Bruckner camp. The second movement is almost Mahlerian in its treatment of a triple-meter scherzo, and the way that the harmony continually threatens to go atonal, like Mahler's later works. For a lesser-known orchestra, this recording stands out impressively. The Buffalo Philharmonic under Falletta is quite good. There are a few places, especially in the faster tempos, where the instrumentalists could have stayed together better, but if you like this symphony (and I think you will), it is a minor observation. When you listen to how well balanced they are, and if you can hear the passion in the playing as I do, whatever minor faults there are in this performance are made that much more trivial. Tyberg is a relative unknown with a sad ending. This recording is proof enough that it's long past time to hear what it is that he wanted to say.

I heard this symphony on Thursday January 27, 2011 for the first time. It was being performed on NPR's Performance Today for the Holocaust Memorial Day. I was on the way home from a night class and turned up the radio to listen carefully. I was moved to say the least. I came right home to find a recording found this one that happens to be the same performers as the live broadcast. This is an important work for many reasons not the least of which is that it is simply a wonderful creative work that harkens back to the music of Mahler, R. Strauss and Franz Schreker. While similar in some aspects to them, it stands on its own as a wonderfully creative piece worth many listenings. Especially beautiful about 2/3rds of the way into the slow movement. I was taken back to my visit to Austria and Vienna and the wonderful scenery of that area. The piano trio is another great work that is an nice addition to the recording and at the price, this was a very affordable addition to my already interesting library of turn-of-the-century Austrian music.