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Messages - Darrel Hoffman

#1
Hmm, I just noticed that IMSLP gives the Op.76 Concertino the alternate title of "Piano Concerto No.6".  There's apparently another concerto, Op.54, which would make the one I just did the 4th rather than the 3rd.  The Op.54 is also labeled as No.2, but given the Op.14 and Op.34 would presumably predate it, I guess there's a bit of confusion going on with the Schmitt catalog.  I only have this list from IMSLP to go on:
https://imslp.org/wiki/List_of_works_by_Aloys_Schmitt
No scores or recordings are available for any but the ones already mentioned, at least on IMSLP or YouTube, though possibly elsewhere.

(Note, I'm not asking anyone to look these up for me, unless you really want to, I'm just pointing it out for the record.  I suppose I should change the title of my video to be more accurate?)
#2
My transcription of the 3rd concerto is now live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxu_1PcOZ6k
#3
The full version of this concerto is now live: https://youtu.be/pQEAByNTd_g
It doesn't go public until tomorrow (I'm trying to keep a somewhat regular weekly release schedule on Fridays - I'm told that pleases the Almighty Algorithm), but you all get to hear it a day early.  Thanks for the help in tracking down the full score for me.
#4
Maybe, but I'm not sure I have enough clout yet to make such a request.  I'm not a professional musician or researcher, I'm just some guy with a so-far obscure and unpopular YouTube channel.  I don't even have a music degree (I was 1 course short of a minor in music theory, but I'm not about to go back to school just to finish that up).

This is a hobby for me, I'm a programmer by trade.  Unless I get to the point where I'm earning an income from this, I'm not sure it's worth trying.  At any rate, I've got enough stuff that's freely available online to keep this going for a while before I need to start seeking offline or non-free sources.
#5
Gyula Major is on my list (just the Concerto Symphonique, which I had found on IMSLP already), so I'll consider that a request - I'm always open to suggestions.  Won't be right away as I've a bunch of other stuff ahead of it, but I'll definitely take a look.  Thanks.
#6
Thanks for the info, though I'm currently operating on zero budget - I'm not nearly popular enough yet to be making revenue from this project.  At any rate, I've got enough to work on for a little bit.  I'm already about half done with the first movement of Op.60 and quite liking it so far - it's a shame Hyperion only did the first two because this one really needs to be heard.  You'll all get the chance when I finish this in several weeks.  (It doesn't actually take several weeks - I'm just interspersing the work with several other pieces so I can maintain a weekly release schedule.)

Incidentally, what are your sources for knowing where these scores can be found?  Is there some big master list that somebody has compiled?  I know there is one for recordings that several members of this forum have put together, but a similar reference for manuscripts would be very helpful.
#7
Yeah, this pretty much confirms what I've seen (except I missed the Op.75), so the 3rd concerto and the 2 concertinos evidently remain unrecorded?  I'll definitely add the Op.60 to my list to work on then.  As for the concertinos - maybe if I can figure out how to get the scores from those various libraries.

I had to check, because sometimes there are multiple competing numbering systems so I wanted to make sure it wasn't the same piece by another name.  And I guess it was just a coincidence that Hyperion and IMSLP each have 2 of them, but no overlap.  I almost considered that there might be two composers with the same name, but they both use the same photograph of him.  Thanks.
#8
Sorry to revive an old topic, but this seemed relevant.

So in my continuing search for new obscure works to transcribe, I ran across this Op.60 concerto in A minor (at least it starts in A minor, ends in A major, I haven't gone through the whole thing yet to see what else it does):

https://imslp.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto%2C_Op.60_(Schmitt%2C_Aloys)

This does not appear to be either the Op.14 or the Op.34 recorded on Hyperion, and I can't find any other recordings of it, so it looks like it'd be fair game for me to work on this one (I don't do transcriptions of works that have existing recordings that I can find - or at least I try not to).

I just wanted to check with the experts here to make sure I'm not missing something.  Interestingly, IMSLP has 2 piano concertos by Schmitt, but neither of them are the ones in the Hyperion recordings as far as I can tell.  The other is an Eb concerto, Op.76, but it has only the piano solo part available.  If someone knows where I can find the rest of the parts, I could do both of them, but the Op.60 at least seems ready to go as-is.

(I've got other stuff ahead of it to work on, I just like to keep a backlog of things to do in the future.)
#9
So I interpret that as basically, MIDI is barely acceptable, and mostly provided that no better recordings are available.  Since the works I'm doing are deliberately obscure ones for which I was unable to find recordings, I believe this criterion is met.

As for the level of quality, that's obviously subjective, but I haven't yet received any negative feedback.  (Other than pointing out that a real recording had been posted a week before my submission in the case of the Herz #5.  These take a while, sometimes I'll get scooped.)

I also wouldn't post a recording of an incomplete orchestration, as I did with the Borgstrom (though I've got the full version of that queued up for the near future.  I do think IMSLP should have the full score up there since it's available, but I'm not sure if there are legal reasons why this can't be done?)

I'll think about it, but I still think the YouTube posts will get far more attention.
#10
Thank you both, that was surprisingly quick work.  Expect a simulated recording of this on my YouTube channel in maybe a month or so (there's a few other things going up first), I'll post an update here when it's finished.

Incidentally, I notice that IMSLP also features MIDI recordings of some pieces, I suppose I could upload them there as well, though I imagine those don't get quite as much publicity as YouTube.
#11
Indeed, the missing pages are there, thank you.  Anyone know how one would go about getting it corrected on IMSLP?  Not that I absolutely need to, but when I see errors, I like to correct them when I can...
#12
I'm attempting to transcribe a piano concerto by French composer Théodore Thurner.  There is a manuscript available on IMSLP:
 https://imslp.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No.3_(Thurner%2C_Th%C3%A9odore)

However, I've run into an error - in Section 2, page 55 is missing.  In its place is a copy of page 35.  (I gather someone misread the page number, the handwriting can be a problem.)  Then later on in Section 4, page 35 comes up a third time in place of page 135 - that's less excusable - and an odd coincidence that the same erroneous page is used twice in addition to its appearance where it belongs between 34 and 36...

I wonder if anyone knows where I could find another source without this problem?  And maybe where I could find his first 2 concerti as well?  I can only infer their existence based on this one being labeled as the third.
#13
Hmm, yes, I've been meaning to branch out to other streaming services, but I haven't quite exhausted my 6-week long YouTube "Watch Later" playlist yet.  I expect there's a bunch of stuff there, as well as some stuff by modern composers in places like Soundcloud and Bandcamp, etc.

I do recommend if you're on my channel to check out my Catalog playlists.  They're not my complete catalog, which includes a lot of (as far as I know) unrecorded stuff (at least unpublished on YT), and there's some things that YT won't allow you to add to playlists for some reason*.  But there's a lot of good obscure stuff on there, and I imagine much of it would appeal to anyone in this forum.  (A lot of it I'm sure you already know about as it seems some of the people who posted it are already members here.)


* (Anything marked as "Made for kids" cannot be added to a playlist - I really wish people wouldn't use that feature, at least for music.  It should really be for content that only appeals to kids.  I think some posters confuse that setting for "Okay for kids to watch", which obviously applies to nearly all of classical music.)
#14
Definitely a valuable resource.  A lot to go through on there, so I'm not sure if how much if anything on my list you've missed. My catalog is currently sitting at around 3800 works by 1650 composers - judging by the number of unfamiliar names on a spot-check, I suspect your list is much more comprehensive, but it's still possible.  Might be worth comparing notes.  My catalog also includes harpsichord, organ, and other keyboard instruments, so those might not be on yours.  If you have a Google account, I can theoretically share my Tables database (I've yet to get that to work, but it's supposed to be possible).  The only other option for me is to export it to Sheets, which is easier to publicly share, but it loses a lot of the advantages of the database format when I do that, so I only use that to make snapshots every now and then.

My criterion for working on something is whether it has been published on YouTube or not, because it doesn't do much good if something was e.g. published once on a limited release LP and nobody can find any extant copies, or they're so expensive it's not worth the investment.  As for the Herz situation, I knew the Hyperion recordings existed, but they had not (at least when I started working on it) been made available unless you purchased the CDs - the purchase of the company by Universal and subsequent flood of new YouTube releases added quite a few recordings to my catalog - though not all of their recordings are released yet - I checked after finding out about Herz.  (e.g. their recording of the Brull #1 that I also transcribed still seems to be unavailable for the moment, we'll see how long that lasts.)
#15
Looks to me like about half of a first movement, but it just kind of stops at the end, doesn't reach anything like a satisfying conclusion, which leaves me with two options: Either finish it myself, which I don't feel qualified to do (I could maybe finish a piece by a composer I know really well - Beethoven and Chopin are probably the only ones as I've studied them extensively and played or at least heard almost their entire repertoire multiple times, but I only know this one piece by Borgstrøm), or just leave it without an ending, and I don't really like that either.

I will add the 2 unfinished concerti to my database however - wouldn't be the only incomplete pieces on there.