The Romantic Violin Concerto, Vol. 13 – Schumann

[JimL]

I seem to recall Gareth mentioning that Mike Spring told him that it was easier to find pianists willing to learn unsung repertoire than violinists.

[FBerwald]

What about all the Violinists recording for CPO, Naxos, etc? I'm sorry but that reasoning seems very flawed!

[Alan Howe]

It all depends on which label a violinist is committed to, I suppose. Perhaps Hyperion just don't have access to enough adventurous violinists...

[Mark Thomas]

I'm not surprised if that's what Mike Spring did say. When Sterling recorded  the Raff Violin Concertos CD the most difficult job was finding a violinist with adequate technique who was actually prepared to commit to the CD. Luckily Tobias Ringborg did a wonderful job.

[giles.enders]

Just to pile on the agony for those who do not want the Schumann violin concerto, this is to be followed the following month by the Schumann piano concerto.  I shall buy both even though I am not a fan of Angela Hewitt.  Hyperion are not just in the business of supplying the collector of the 'rare and unrecorded'  they are also in the business of making enough money to venture in to this and the way to do it is record some mainstream just like the big labels used to do.  Some of the 'great and treasured' recordings of the past are frankly diabolical.

Mike Spring is absolutly right when he says it is much harder to get violinists to learn rare repetory than pianists.  I speak first hand and it is my impression that 'the string audience' are more conservative then 'the piano audience'  No Idea why though.

[Alan Howe]

Just to pile on the agony for those who do not want the Schumann violin concerto, this is to be followed the following month by the Schumann piano concerto. 

The agony's already been piled on, Giles - see Jeremy's post, above.

[eschiss1]

Not to mention string players, though we're a far cry from the days when an ensemble would reject a piece because of one unresolved/improperly-resolved chord- or, I think, recognize it when they heard it. (Schoenberg's Verklaerte Nacht.)

[Hamburger]

Actually, there is a serious point to be made about Hyperion's RVC series - namely that it contains a rather small number of previously unrecorded concertos. In 13 volumes, there have only been six - those by Stanford, Somervell, David (Nos.4 & 5), Cliffe and d'Erlanger. To my mind, that's not really adventurous enough, considering that (off the top of my head), the following VCs have yet to be recorded:

Rietz
Litolff
Gernsheim 1 & 2
Thieriot 1 & 2
Hiller
R. Becker 1 & 2
Huber 1 & 2
P. Scharwenka
J.M.Weber
Krug
Jongen
Fitelberg
Sinigaglia
Moór (various)
Bortkiewicz
Marteau

Now, admittedly, I haven't checked the availability of parts and scores, but still....

[terry martyn]

Actually,cpo did record the Gernsheim,but I don't think your others have ever been. I may stand corrected....

[Gareth Vaughan]

The Bortkiewicz was recorded on Dutton and the Philip Scharwenka in Hyperion's RVC series, almost the last disk in that series before Hyperion succumbed to Universal. Also the Sinigaglia was recorded live on Tactus (I think) - but it is not a very good performance, being incredibly slow and heavy - and there exists an historical recording by Alfredo Mosesti as soloist, dating from 1959, on Rhine Classics, coupled with the VC of Illersberg. Marteau's VC in C major was recorded in 2017 and is mentioned on this forum.

[terry martyn]

That's helpful,Gareth, and I should have remembered the Scharwenka. and the Bortkiewicz,as I have them.  Of course, Hamburger doesn't mention the Bazzini concertos,of which I think only the Fourth has a historical  - but very exciting -recording.

[eschiss1]

There's I see a simulated recording of a movement of Moór's 3rd violin concerto on YouTube. Both Jongen brothers' violin concertos have now, I believe, been recorded in the dozen years since that post, one on Hyperion I believe. Huber's concertos are, I think, available from MPH and there's a YouTube live performance of no.2 from 2014 but no commercial recording still of either, I think. BSB Munich has the full score of Josef Miroslav Weber's 1898 violin concerto in their stacks ("4 Mus.pr. 2596") (IMSLP only has the reduction).

[tuatara442442]

Huber's No. 2 has actually been recorded by Maria Solozobova on Sony and released back in 2017, coupled with Juon's No. 2

[Martin Eastick]

Such a shame that this recording never seems to have been released as a physical CD!

[Gareth Vaughan]

I totally agree, Martin. Call me old-fashioned but I like physical product.