Austrian Composers

[Albion]

Following on from the Eduard Strauss which I upload earlier today, here are some Johann Strauss II recordings possibly of interest to (hopefully) some, (potentially) few, (probably) one or (possibly) no members.

In the early 1970s the nonogenarian Robert Stolz (1880-1975) recorded his swan-song albums for the short-lived BASF label. These included two double-albums entitled Come to the Ball and Johann Strauss in St Petersburg which both were devoted to then-completely unknown repertoire.

Of course all these pieces are now included in Marco Polo's Johann Strauss II Edition, but Stolz is incomparable in this field and, as these performances have never appeared on compact disc (and probably never will) I have uploaded my LP copies. These are a useful supplement to the splendid Eurodisc set of Viennese music conducted by Stolz with the Vienna and Berlin Symphony Orchestras, originally presented in four luxurious 5-disc LP boxes and later issued on 12 CDs (and subsequently re-issued by RCA) - all works that Stolz did not otherwise record -

Hofballtanze - Walzer, Op.298
Damenspende - Polka francaise, Op.305
Debut - Quadrille, Op.2
Ballstrausschen - Polka schnell, Op.380
Fest Marsch, Op.452
Burgerball - Polka, Op.145
Auroraball - Polka francaise, Op.219
Lawyers' Ball - Waltz, Op.177
Lawyers' Ball - Polka schnell, Op.280
Rathausball-Tanze - Walzer, Op.438
Aesculap - Polka, Op.130
Aurora - Polka, Op.165
Architects' Ball - Waltz, Op.36
Armenball - Polka, Op.176
Gambrinus-Tanze - Walzer, Op.97
Harmonie - Polka francaise, Op.106
Kronungslieder - Walzer, Op.184
Nikolai - Quadrille, Op.65
Fest-Polonaise, Op.352
Grossfursten-Marsch, Op.107
Auf zum Tanze! - Polka schnell, Op.436
St Petersburg - Quadrille, Op.255
Hofball - Quadrille, Op.116
Alexander - Quadrille, Op.33
An der Wolga - Polka mazur, Op.425
Grossfurstin Alexandra - Walzer, Op.181
Kronungs - Marsch, Op.183
Abschied von St Petersburg - Walzer, Op.210
Im russischen Dorfe - Fantasie, Op.355
Newa - Polka francaise, Op.288
Russische Marsch - Fantasie, Op.353

 

[semloh]

Albion - these Strauss recordings are excellent - thank you - and I suppose they can be included here as "unsung compositions" - something we don't do very often. Stolz was such a passionate advocate for this music, and it just had to be him who recorded these rare items.

In any case, they certainly fill a big gap in my effort to complete my Strauss family collection -  I guess Jr. alone published about 600 works, so I've a way to go yet!

When I want cheering up, the Strauss family usually does the trick! 

[gpdlt2010]

Re. Hans Rott String Quartet in c minor

I could swear I heard the theme from Mahler's Adagietto (Symphony no. 5) at 12:30.
Anyone had the same experience?
Anyway, thanks for the upload!

[dafrieze]

Have you ever heard Rott's symphony?  At least half of it could have been written by Mahler - in fact much of it, in one form or another, turns up in Mahler's early symphonies.

[gpdlt2010]

Yes, I've heard Rott's symphony (written at a time when he and Mahler were still in good terms and could have influenced each other), but I didn't expect to hear another "mahlerian" theme in a second work by Rott. which really took me by surprise.

[Dundonnell]

Many thanks to Holger for his downloads of the two unrecorded symphonies by Gottfried von Einem-the Munchen and the 4th

[Sydney Grew]

A word about Karl Goldmark's second pianoforte quintet., written when he was well into his eighties. The IMSLP gives a "Composition Year" of 1915, which I very much doubt since the composer expired on the second of January. So let's say 1914. The score was published in 1916, and there the work is described as "his last." Grove's Dictionary tells us that it "incorporates impressionistic elements." Whether he can rightly be regarded as Hungarian or Austrian is another thorny question, which I leave to others.

[eschiss1]

Some people (many many too many) on IMSLP/petruccilibrary.org write "composition year" so as not to leave that field blank when they already have the publication year written somewhere. The rules of the site are to leave the field blank if one doesn't know, or at least have good evidence for, the contents of the field, and that's once again good reason to follow those rules (it's not the only time someone foolishly *GRUMBLE!* doing that has led to a posthumous composition date being claimed. Sometimes the "ca." dodge is used instead, but that's not really acceptable either- if a work by Mendelssohn was published for the first time in 2012 it doesn't mean it was composed "ca.2012", for instance...)

[eschiss1]

Goldmark's quintet was written in late 1914, according to Juilliard's online library catalog - they have a copy of the manuscript, every movement of which is dated (it was written in Vienna between September 27 and November 16, 1914, more or less.) So your guess of 1914 is right on the money...

So yes, sometimes one can find out these things-- but not from publication date alone
Sorry- correction:
"Each movement dated at end, with movements 2-4 also signed, written variously in Unterach, Gmunden, and Wien, Österreich between September 27 and November 16, 1914"

[thalbergmad]

I have just uploaded a broadcast of the Piano Concerto Op.15 by Rudolf Kattnigg, being another one of my you tube to MP3 efforts.

Hinson's Guide describes it as a work that might not be worth the effort to bring it up to performance level and the gentleman who uploaded to you tube described it as a piece of utter boredom and no musical substance.

Strangely, I found myself captivated to the extent that I simply had to listen to it again, immediately after my first hearing.

Dunno what you chaps will think.

Thal

[shamokin88]

A caution?

The Czech announcement for the wonderful Goldmark Quintet hints that it may be the same performance as that on CPO 777 277 - Sine Nomine Quartet and Oliver Triendl.

 

[Mark Thomas]

Can anyone confirm this?

[eschiss1]

According anyway to Allmusic, the Goldmark 2nd quintet on cpo has timings
#Sehr mäßig - Allegro non troppo 8:19
#Adagio 10:00
#Sehr langsam - Allegro moderato 7:09
#Moderato assai 9:47 .

can check later if someone else doesn't first to see if, give or take differences due to pauses between movements, this isn't uncomfortably close to the timings on the uploaded recording.

[Greg K]

Many thanks to Holger for his downloads of the two unrecorded symphonies by Gottfried von Einem-the Munchen and the 4th

Seconded.  I've just been listening to these and surprised how strikingly good I find them given my previous indifference to much of von Einem's music.  Strongly reminiscent of Mahler in certain respects, - but also Bruckner at times.  Often movingly so.  They make me think of Egon Wellesz's early Symphonies.

[eschiss1]

Apostel: thanks- I quite like his first string quartet (from the set with Zemlinsky's quartets, on DG) and look forward to hearing more of his music.