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Jadassohn symphony 2

Started by eschiss1, Saturday 03 December 2011, 19:35

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eschiss1

In anticipation of the release of Jadassohn's symphonies on the cpo label at some point, would like to reprint (unmodified - apologies for indulgence?) some of a 8 June 2000 post I made to rec.music.classical. Just some as it was quite long, but the whole thing can be found online or can reprint the rest below.

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It's been a long while since I've done one of these long descriptions. In
fact, the last time was around 1993, I think, when after interloaning the
score to Charles Villiers Stanford's 3rd string quartet via the school
library, I set to "ink" long (but progressively briefer) descriptions of
each movement, the dramatic first (d minor), the intermezzo second
(B-flat), the fantasia third (G), and the rhythmic finale (d->D), and
posted it to the internet.  There were jokes about its length (the length
of my post, that is!) at the time, as I recall, and rightly so.  But
later, I was still remembering how much I'd liked the piece, and the fact
that still years later- when Naxos was mooting a second cycle of Stanford
symphonies to follow the Chandos integral Handley had completed- not a one
of his string quartets had been recorded, and that I'd used a notation
program to create midis of a few pieces here and there that were otherwise
unavailable.  So I created midis, unsatisfactory timbrally as sound (and
imperfect musically in part because of my handling of grace notes), of the
Stanford, and convinced myself that the piece did indeed sound even better
in the air as sound than it had in my imagination on paper.
Symphonies, alas, are another matter, and while a piano reduction is
feasible, my notation program just doesn't handle a full orchestra at all
well.  Nor do I have the kind of free time that I did when I did the
Stanford midis.  I did have the time to write up a quickish precis of the
four interesting movements of Salomon Jadassohn's A major symphony #2, op.
28, though, and if someone wonders what it sounds like, I .have. done a
midi of the first movement of his first piano trio, op. 16 - .roughly.
contemporary- which can be heard at http://www.prs.net/others.html or at
my own site http://www.lightlink.com/schissel/midis.html as desired.  Not
a perfect midi, again, though I'd say my handling of grace notes has
gotten a little better since...
Jadassohn himself?  German pedagogue and composer, also I think a
theorist, and published an arrangement of the Beethoven missa solemnis.
Recorded by him perhaps a few flute pieces but, I think, that's all.
Dates are 1831-1902.  Besides the at least two symphonies are several
piano trios, at least two piano quintets, at least one piano quartet, and
much other music besides.  The only date that appears on the score of the
symphony is 1881-2 which may be a publication date and seems to me to be
far too late if he died in 1902 and published 160+ more works, as I
believe he did, but it's possible.  I will look into the publication date
further later on.
Following, some description of each movement.
mvt 1 in A pp 3-58.  Half =116. Divided-C time (ie 2/2.)  Opening f
strings, brass, ff woodwind.  Second group apparently pp 10-21, main 2nd
theme starts end of page 13 (oboes, bassoons, celli to start, but other
instruments join in very soon), in E mostly, with repeat p. 22.  Recap ff
everyone p. 37? upper strings octave higher than opening. Second theme
recapitulation starts page 42, followed by extremely modulatory coda.
Allegro molto vivace e con brio.