The first and better-known of Rheinberger's two organ concertos, though not derivative, reveals the strong influence of both Felix Mendelssohn (including his interest in Baroque music) and, mainly in structural details, César Franck. This concerto is by no means an overpowering display piece; the soloist is afforded few truly virtuosic passages in the company of a warm but modest ensemble of strings and three horns. With a Romantic organ on hand, Rheinberger apparently felt that most of the woodwind and brass colors were already accounted for. The first movement, Moderato, begins with three stately, ascending notes that will recur in later movements, sometimes as the foundation of completely new melodies. This, with Rheinberger's fondness for thematic metamorphosis instead of more conventional development and variation patterns, links the concerto to the cyclic practices of Franck. In sound, though, this first movement has more in common with Mendelssohn, particularly the nobler passages of his second, third, and fifth symphonies. At any rate, these three notes are at first the basis of a chordal orchestral introduction, around which the soloist weaves a more elaborate melody that evolves without a break into a flowing second subject. There's also an important variant derived from the opening three notes, now played in descending order. Rheinberger develops this material within a standard sonata-allegro format.

The Andante begins with a hushed murmur from the organ, frankly the sort of tasteful background music one hears at funeral parlors. But the strings and horns arrive to provide a lusher setting, as well as an allusion to the three ascending notes from the concerto's very beginning. The organ introduces more animated material, its chromaticism now betraying a secret affinity for Franck's untethered approach to harmony. Eventually, there's even a repeated, sighing fall typical of that Belgian organ master. The three-note sequence from the first movement becomes more prominent in an episode just past the Andante's halfway point and these few themes continue to reappear in modestly different guises through the course of the free-form movement.

The bright finale, Con moto, begins with a measured, pompous bustle reminiscent of Handel. A broader, arc-like theme takes over, alluding again to the recurring three-note motif (and looking ahead to the "transfiguration" theme in Richard Strauss' Death and Transfiguration, though without the Straussian melodrama). Again, the structure is a mere metamorphosis of the melodies. The work ends affirmatively, Rheinberger having accomplished the remarkable feat of writing a 25-minute organ concerto completely free of bombast.

© James Reel, Rovi