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I've always wondered a mature Wagner symphony might sound like. Any offers from you AI whizz-kids out there? 

Oh, sorry. Scriabin wrote three in that idiom.

No, it isn't trash - you're right. However, in a way one is forced into deciding that it is when a critic as high-profile as Hurwitz tells us that it's a major find (my summary of his assessment) - because that's just nonsense.

As I said before, I listened to it again and, apart from some fetching orchestration and a few decent tunes, it just didn't do anything for me. You only have to listen to some of the composer's exciting overtures to notice the difference in quality. IMHO, of course.

This is the problem with paying attention to one critic who (inevitably) will have his own enthusiasms and blind spots. I mean, I think Draeseke is as great as Brahms and can't stand Sullivan's Savoy operas, so it's hardly surprising to find that Hurwitz, even with all his vast experience, has his own oddities. Listen to him, by all means (I do too), but read other opinions if at all possible - and make up your own mind!

Hurwitz thinks Sullivan was the greatest British composer. The Savoy operas are fab, of course, but what else did he write that's great music? Answer: nothing. Hurwitz is welcome to his opinion, but the problem is that he does somewhat dominate the market in YouTube videos of classical recordings. And that's a bad thing for objectivity...

The Suppe is trash - I've just checked. IMHO, of course.

Congratulations! What's the music like, please?

Did he mean it ironically? That'd be his only get-out clause.

Marco Enrico Bossi would be another name to explore as much of his output pre-dates WW1.

Others would be Michele Esposito and Leone Sinigaglia.

By the way: the Pannon Philharmonic (from Pécs in south-western Hungary) are a very fine orchestra. There's an exciting performance of Nielsen 3 on YouTube conducted by Gilbert Varga.

Thanks for the heads-up, Eric. Very helpful.

I decided to give this another listen after all these months and I'm as convinced as ever about the merits of this orchestration. It's absolutely majestic - finally we have a mature-sounding symphonic statement by Schubert to put alongside the Unfinished and the Great C Major.

When you hear this, it seems as if Rufinatscha is just round the corner...

Yes pre WW1 Italian composers have a pigeon hole (opera) that they must reside in or they will be ignored by the critics and then the public

Nevertheless, Sgambati and Martucci are two very impressive Italian pre-WW1 non-operatic composers. Two of my absolute favourites, especially in their symphonies and piano concertos.

I suppose one issue would be how complete the new version will be in comparison. Secondly, though, I've never been a fan of McCracken's rather woolly and effortful tenor in the old recording and I suspect that Osborn might be better. I've listened to the soprano and mezzo on the new recording and they're both pretty good, so I had no hesitation in ordering it - especially also with the LSO and Elder at the helm.

Sometimes it's just nice to have another recording of an old favourite such as this - after nearly 50 years!!

I note that this is a co-production with Bru Zane - interesting:

Try this YouTube recording of the Cathedral Scene (30+ mins, audio only), evidently from the same performance in Aix-en-Provence on 15th July last year. I'm assuming it was recorded from the radio broadcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl995uHhDqo

I can hear an awful lot of pre-echoes of Verdi here: the Auto-da-fé scene in Don Carlos comes to mind....

How different from the direction Raff was to take just a few years later in Samson - I'd like to hear his earlier opera König Alfred (which is roughly contemporary with Le Prophète) for comparison purposes...

By the way: I've put my (pre-)order in for Le Prophète straight away - the singing sounds exceptional (for once!)

An 8-minute video (in German with English subtitles) is now available at jpc:
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/johanna-senfter-klarinettentrio/hnum/11170347