Ernst Rudorff (1840-1916) Symphony 3 etc. from cpo

[Alan Howe]

Oh, well done. Thank you!

[Alan Howe]

What I forgot to mention was the occasional wildness of Rudorff's music - which must have seemed rather disconcerting to his audiences.

[Aramiarz]

Dear Balapoel: exhaustive research!!!

Dear Alan: very interesting your comments about Rudorff's music And Bargiel's music.

Anyone has listened Rudorff's piano music?

[eschiss1]

Op.55 published 1913 by Stahl (see e.g. HMB. p.1913, p.79.)

[Aramiarz]

Thank you Erick!
HMB what Library is?

[Mark Thomas]

My own first impressions of Rudorff's Third Symphony echo Alan's - this really is a magnificent piece of music. It's a big work, not in duration (it's a modest 35 minutes long), but in the impression it makes. The outer movements are bursting with energy, the dynamic and rhythmic contrasts are sometimes so sudden that I was reminded of Beethoven in his wilder moments.The slow movement (placed second) is a gentler affair, but compensates with shifting colouration as it moves from pastoral gentility to moments of real darkness. The outer sections of the Scherzo are dance-like, but Rudorff cannot contain his energy in the centre of the piece. Gratifyingly, throughout the Symphony Rudorff is no slouch in either the orchestration or the melody departments. This work reveals him to be a master composer - it's an extraordinarily vital and vibrant work for a man of 70. Stylistically, I don't argue with anything Alan says. The piece is clearly in the Brahms/conservative tradition and, although it could be argued to have been an anachronism when compared with the works of Mahler and Strauss which were current when it was written, the sheer energy and confidence of the piece more than justify its existence.

Make no mistake, Rudorff's Third is an absolute winner.

[semloh]

That's a really helpful description, Mark. It sounds like it's a major advance on his 2nd symphony, and that I'll have to add it to my wish list!

[eschiss1]

Aramiarz - HMB is an abbreviation for Hofmeisters Monatsberichte, a monthly or bimonthly (usually) publication of Friedrich Hofmeister-Verlag from 1829 until 1946 or so. See e.g. HMB Scans Optically Character-Read from 1829 to 1900 (database, searchable) ; Large Collection of HMB issues scanned in by the Austrian National Library. Fairly good for dating German and Austrian music publications

(less good for French publications, which tend to be mentioned in HMB irregularly and sometimes years after they first appeared; the Bibliographie de la France, also available online now in a few places, is better if you have a work published in France from 1811 (I think) to the early 20th century or so (when digital copies of the Bibliographie no longer appear ).

Anyhow, I mention the HMB as a quick-and-dirty way of estimating when a work was published... it's a "mentioned in this contemporary source" sort-of-thing. Does -not- imply that the work still exists in any form; in too many cases, unless the work is hiding its light under an attic bushel somewhere, so far as we know, many of them mentioned in HMB that we've been looking about-and-around for have fallen victim to this, that and the other- (see e.g. what happened to very much of the music of Algernon Ashton, as an unfortunate example.)

[Aramiarz]

Dear Erick
   I'm grateful to You And the information! I have interest in the score op 55, have You idea where is it? What happen with music by Algernon?

[Alan Howe]

Has anyone else heard the 3rd Symphony yet? For me, after two weeks of more or less constant listening and re-listening, the work continues to grow in stature. Although plainly in line of descent from Brahms, it has great ingenuity and inventiveness. Clearly, there was still life in the tradition when Rudorff was composing this in his old age. Wonderful. BUY IT!!

[DennisS]

In view of the comments made re this symphony, I have listened to sound bites on Jpc.de and have now placed my order! I eagerly await the CD's arrival. Many thanks for alerting me to this composer.

[Alan Howe]

It'll be right up your street, I'm sure, Dennis.

[DennisS]

Today I listened to this symphony for the 4th time. It impresses me more each time I listen to it. I fully concur with all the comments made re- this symphony. That said, whilst listening again to this work, I jotted down my feelings in brief on each movement. For me, the opening movement is imposing, stately, and at times quite dramatic, leading to a stirring finish. the second movement is a more solemn affair, not really a funeral march for me, the music alternating between passages that are quite lyrical, even pastoral in feel, leading to a peaceful close. The third movement opens with a slightly faster tempo than movement two, and takes on a gentle, dance like mood, becoming faster and more dramatic in feel, leading to a lyrical close. The fourth movement starts in playful, light-hearted mood, then increasing in intensity, before again taking on a dancelike feel, followed by a more dramatic section with swirling passages, leading to a big, grand finish. What particularly struck me and is evident from my description of each movement, is the change of rhythms within each movement, at times quite abrupt but at the same time, these changes  maintained my interest in the music. None of my comments shed any new light on this symphony but merely confirm what others have said about this symphony in this thread. As has already been pointed out, I was reminded at times of the music of Weber, Schubert and even a little bit of Brahms as well. It certainly is a rewarding symphony to listen to and repays the listener even more on repeated hearings.

Thank you UC for this recommendation.

[Alan Howe]

As I thought: we obviously live up the same street (musically speaking!)

[Alan Howe]

The CD is due for release in the UK in January:
http://www.mdt.co.uk/rudorff-ernst-symphony-no-3-bochumer-symphoniker-frank-beermann-cpo.html