Topics

An upcoming Sony release worth mentioning...



Hahn - Piano Concerto, pianos transcription of A Chloris, L'heure exquise
Fauré - Ballade for Piano & Orchestra, Fantaisie for piano & orchestra
Boulanger - Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra

William Youn (piano), Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Valentin Uryupin


I just love the Hahn Concerto and from the sound clips, it seems to be played at a more relaxed tempo than the famous Hyperion RPC recording.

Finally, a completion to the Natanael Berg Symphony Cycle.  No.s 4 & 5 by Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Ari Rasilainen.
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/natanael-berg-symphonien-nr-4-5/hnum/4963362

Finally, a live concert performance with pianist François Du Toit and Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Victor Yampolsky.

With so many discussions going on about Requiem's and other Choral works, I thought I'd share a truly magical work, I came across a few months ago by a contemporary composer who writes in a completely tonal idiom. Here's his Sunrise Mass. Looking forward to hearing what the other UC members think about this...

Other than the scant information floating on the net, do we know anything about this French composer. He's said to have written 3 Piano Concertos. Born the same year as Saint-Saens, I'm curious as how his music sounds and if the 3 PC are good candidates for Hyperion's RPC series, provided the scores can be located.

Georges Jean Pfeiffer (12 December 1835 – 14 February 1908)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Pfeiffer

Dutton has a very interesting disc on their website now - Benjamin Godard's Violin Concerto, Op. 29 - way before his Op. 35 & 131. Orchestrated by Martin Yates

Also in the disc -
En plein air: Suite de cinq morceaux for violin and orchestra, Op. 145
Scènes écossaises for oboe and orchestra, Op. 138
Suite de trois morceaux for flute and orchestra, Op. 116
Trois morceaux for orchestra, Op. 27
https://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=CDLX7399

Marked as Concert & Recording, Simon Callaghan's schedule for June 27th, 2021 has Rubbra's (1st) Piano Concerto in A minor with BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Martyn Brabbins. I believe this work was discussed somewhere here earlier.

I don't know how welcome this news will be to everyone but I for one am absolutely thrilled. I love this composer. Simon Callaghan will be recording Reinecke's Piano Concertos No. 1, 2 & 4 with the Sinfonieorchester St Gallen and Modestas Pitrenas for Hyperion [dates 15th Nov - 19th Nov] I am already looking forward to this particular volume of RPC.

While these works in itself may not be unsung, this arrangement is. I came to know about this in a newsletter from Simon Callaghan reg. upcoming releases - featuring the duo Simon Callaghan & Hiroaki Takenouchi.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CQ8GQ4N/ref=dm_ws_sp_ps_dp

Simon Callaghan's schedule highlights a number of interesting items not the least of which is a "mystery" recording for Hyperion around November With the Sinfonieorchester St Gallen / Modestas Pitrenas [presumably for the RPC series] Wonder what this will be.

A casual look over the repertoire of  Simon Callaghan & Hiroaki Takenouchi highlights Beethoven Symphony No. 5 arranged for Piano Duo by Xaver Scharwenka [again unsung arrangement of a sung work - Moderators, I hope this is ok]. Surprisingly there's a recording of the Symphony by Tessa Uys & Ben Shoeman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeehIRugS78
Friends here can say how this fares with the existing transcriptions.

A video of Howard Shelley playing (the 3rd movement) Hiller's 2nd Piano Concerto

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxFN-ZT1C20

A recent post reg. the next "Romantic Piano Concerto" (note the name Romantic an not atonal) - Vol 81 was crushed by an admin with an arrogant statement "Not for us". How dare you? Is there no room for discussion anymore or should we all bow down to the whims of some people here. I hope the other moderators are taking notice. This sort of policing is unacceptable! 

The start of what seems to be an interesting series... https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%2020036

To be released next month


https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.225371

I believe most of the pieces are premiere recordings. A pity this generously filled CD will be the last in this set.

Obviously, this is a re-release of the famous ASV series by Naxos, the interesting thing is the title Vol. 1 - Dare we hope they will get to the Herbstsymphonie eventually?

https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.573831

I was wondering if Franz Berwald's gorgeous Piano Concerto were to be recorded [again! ] what might a good coupling be to fill a CD. Note - It doesn't have to be Swedish. Do we have many unrecorded Romantic Scandinavian Piano Concertos?

Ok - So before the groans start reg. the number of Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto cycles - give this one a try.

For me one of the best interpretation was by  Jeanne-Marie Darré. Then came a number of good-in-their-own-way recordings including the splendid Jean-Phillippe Collard and Pascal Rogé. There is of-course [imo] the highly overrated release by Stephen Hough - on Hyperion's Romantic Piano Concerto series - The tempo employed to fit in all the works for piano & orchestra into 2 discs all but killed the concertos.

This latest Naxos offering with pianist Romain Descharmes with Marc Soustrot conducting Malmö Symphony Orchestra is a winner for me - PC No. 1 - Crisp playing without excesses or apologies - The orchestral accompaniment is every-bit as good as the pianist. I have probably never heard the details in the last movement as crisply ever before. PC No. 2 starts off sedately and stays true to the tempo marking - Andante Sostenuto. The real surprise is the 2nd movement - Allegretto scherzando. I admit I have always felt that the1st theme of this movement has always been rushed by most pianists so that when they arrive at the second theme, they and the orchestra stumble to get the right tempo [or in some cases follow through with the same speed and in effect ruin the orchestral "gallop" that's the heart of the trio]. Here Descharmes' tempo is near perfect so that the transition into the trio is elegant. The Presto movement has again been the vehicle for many pianists to show off their skills but Descharmes seems more interested in letting the music speak for itself. This un-rushed reading of Saint-Saëns is beautiful - With faster versions I had missed out on all the beautiful orchestral details and Saint-Saëns' mastery for writing for the piano which very transparent here.

There might be many more-polished recordings of these concertos out there but Descharmes, Malmö Symphony Orchestra and Soustrot deliver these pieces with a sincerity and elegance that's irresistible. May be i'm biased because I like my Saint-Saëns without much histrionics. 

I have yet to give the second volume containing the 3rd PC a spin.

[The Classical Piano Concerto Vol. 4 - Leopold Kozeluch]

Meanwhile, the Classical Piano Concerto seems to be picking up speed  with Vol. 4 releasing in Jan 2017



http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA68154

The Classical Piano Concerto Vol. 4 - Leopold Kozeluch

Piano Concerto No. 1 in F Major
Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major
Piano Concerto No. 6 in C Major

Howard Shelley (piano / conductor), London Mozart Players

[Romantic Violin Concerto, Vol. 21 - Bruch]

Hyperion has announced its (not the most promising) release in Jan. 2017 - the Romantic Violin Concerto series



http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA68055

Romantic Violin Concerto, Vol. 21 - Bruch

Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 44
Konzertstück in F-sharp minor, Op. 84
In memoriam in C-sharp minor, Op. 65
Adagio appassionato in F minor, Op. 57

Jack Liebeck (violin), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins

For the Musical-Archeologists here. I came upon this interesting reference to a Symphony in F by Heuberger [I imagine Richard Heuberger of the splendid Der Opernball]. Did he masquerade as a serious composer ?



Any thoughts?

As is the case, the popularity of a certain piece tends to overshadow other worthwhile works - The sheer brilliance and beauty of Raff's Im Walde & Lenore [in my linear "hearing" off Raff's symphonies] some how deadened my ears to the symphonies from No. 6 onwards. I repeatedly came back to No. 3 & 5 [especially after the fascinating reading of 5 by Järvi]; So it was  with great pleasure that I encountered the Frühlingsklänge Symphony recently "with fresh ears". The 1st 2 movements have left a considerable impression - The 1st movement with the slow rumbling spring awakening building up to the magnificent torso brimming with so many beautiful ideas and passages and the quirky and bizarre scherzo with unexpected melodic and harmonic twists and turns - I agree with the reviewers on Raff.org that the 2 recordings by CPO & TUDOR fail the piece tremendously especially in the 1st movement. W. A. Albert and the Philharmonia Hungarica sound very rough and at times like a high-school Orchestra [rehearsal!]; Hans Stadlmair and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra have a more polished sound but have a fast tempo that had me wishing that they would slow down many times as I wanted to listen to the "Sound within the sound" in many intricate passages.

No doubt, there is powerful stuff within the pages of Frühlingsklänge, but my question is has anyone here heard [or heard of] a compelling reading of this beautiful symphony. If we need a new reading of any symphony, it is certainly THIS ONE!