Eduard Mörike is all but forgotten nowadays, but he was a talented conductor whose work deserves reassessment.

Mörike was born in Stuttgart on 16 August 1878. He ultimately entered the Leipzig Conservatoire, where he studied piano, organ, violin and composition. Originally intending to pursue a career as a pianist, he was attracted to conducting and obtained his first appointment as conductor at age 24.

From 1912 to 1924, he was principal conductor of the Berlin State Opera, and from 1924 until his death - at the early age of 51 - on 14 March 1929, he was chief conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra. He visited America on several occasions.

Mörike recorded the 'Nutcracker Suite' in Berlin on 20 November 1926. It is a performance with so many elements: charm, wit, joyfulness, reflection, and beauty - an absolute delight!

Having said that, I must add that this upload has involved something of a rescue operation, as the first record in the set has a 'bite' out of it. As a result, I have had to do some copying and pasting work. This was reasonably successful in relation to the Miniature Overture, but a little less so in the case of the March on side 2, as although I could 'borrow' missing portions from elsewhere on the side, there are a few bars where the orchestration of the borrowed portion is not as it should be where I have pasted it. Despite this, I felt that attempting to present the performance as a cohesive whole was the best course of action.

This upload is for maxgalliso, who asked if I could upload some recordings by Mörike, who he regards as 'a truly forgotten great conductor.' This set, regrettably, is all I seem to have, but after listening to it again I will certainly be seeking out more titles from this very fine conductor. Thanks so much, maxgalliso!

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