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The themes derive from Duke Ernst's oeuvre. I think that's part of the problem.

Did my ears deceive me,or did he say something left-field about Sullivan in that post (for good measure)?

I have managed to collect almost every nineteenth-century symphony that's been recorded. There's a few that I can't get to grips with (the Neukomm,for example) and one or two that I find utterly banal. If the Suppe was really a symphony (and I reckon it isn't),it would fall into the latter category for me. I can't fathom Hurwitz's comments,either.

I first encountered Bottesini on the flipside of an LP mainly devoted to Paganini (his Fourth,from memory).  I imagine that the CDs you are referring to are from Naxos and cpo.  I have always found him eminently listenable,and melodies from the Grand Duo readily spring to mind.  Apart from the likes of the frontline composers such as Verdi and Paganini,Italian orchestral music,and particularly,concertante works,have not been tremendously in vogue. When you occasionally encounter Bazzini,for example,and his dashing,Fourth Violin Concerto,I am surprised that more interest has not been shown.

I used to buy Louis Spohr symphonies there.  My lasting memory is how prohibitively expensive they were!!

Henry Stave?  Harold Moore's?

A number of young composers have dedicated their First Symphony to their musical hero, and some have achieved a fair measure of success in so doing. Nils Gade's First followed on from his Echoes of Ossian overture in telling a story of innocence and derring-do,as a tribute to Mendelssohn. Charles Ives composed a hauntingly beautiful homage to Dvorak on the occasion of the latter's return from America in the slow movement of his First.

Scherber falls into this category of success. Taking,I believe, Bruckner's Ninth as a starting-point, he has distilled his admiration into 30 minutes of loving respect. Maestro adriano has brought Scherber's First to life with palladian limpidity and we are greatly in his debt. This is a must-buy for me!

Simon from Dutton has confirmed that I could,in theory,buy it, but I would be liable to VAT in Spain. He advises against a direct purchase, and suggests that I get someone to courier it over from the UK.  I have also read the shipping notes, which hint of considerable delays on arrival in Spain.  All this accords with experiences I had in trying to obtain Dutton CDs during lockdown.   I do not intend to repeat them,and will just have to wait  for Presto or jpc,or,eventually, to bite the bullet of a more expensive Amazon purchase with the certainty of delivery.

Thanks,Alan.  I have sent them an email, on the offchance that they might ship to me.  If they tell me that they certainly don't ship to Spain, then I will report back.

Dutton won't sell directly to Spain, and I am having to wait until Presto or jpc list it. Other Amazon offerings are pricy.

I have long had the LP of Zukerman playing the Fifth in my collection, and,fairly recently,acquired the famous 1935 recording of Haifitz in the Fourth.   But it has been severely cut, about 20% of the orchestral music excised,which might have been acceptable in its day,but is really not now,especially when Vieuxtemps was a decent orchestrator.   However, I have just been re-listening to the transcendent, world-class, Misha Keylin in the Naxos series (especially the Second Concerto), and,showy and superficial it might arguably be, but it works a treat!

I have just ordered the Naxos CD of Keylin ,playing the First and the Fourth. The Fourth is six minutes longer than Haifitz's bowdlerised performance. The reviews are too good to ignore.

Many, many, thanks, Alan ! I had completely overlooked the Sauer performance by Marshev.  I have purchased it, and i am listening to it now. As you say, superb!

I have it! And, somehow, it's not been plagiarised !

The Friedrich Muller concertante work for hunting horn and clarinet is pretty decent. The second movement is very reminiscent of the Adagio from Beethoven's Ninth.

Well,I have now played through the Ysaye. Some sixty or seventy years ago, I played the part of "Everyman" in the mediaeval morality play, and my school performance was described by a well-intentioned critic as "audible".  So is the Ysaye....................

Ok,it is not offensive to the ear, but it sounds like three separate compositions cobbled together,and without a trace of originality.