Members of this forum may like to know that the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra completed recording sessions on 15 June for a CD in Hyperion's RPC series containing the Bronsart & Urspruch PCs. That is all I know - I do not have the details of the soloist or the conductor (though the latter is probably Brabbins).
And several weeks ago completed the recording of Josef Rheinberger and Bernhard Scholz piano concertos with Simon Callaghan as pianist. So you see there is a lot to look forward to for next year.
Oh.. The Rheinberger is one to look out for - the orchestral accompaniment is simply gorgeous! I believe this is his 2nd Piano concerto; an earlier work in E-flat from the 1860's may not have survived.
Thanks for all this great news. Some wonderful PCs to look forward to getting to know - in, no doubt, authoritative performances.
That's really good news from both Gareth and Giles. Thank you gentlemen. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, I hope, but am I the only one who finds the Bronsart/Urspruch coupling an odd one? They're both German romantic concertos, but otherwise have very little in common.
You're right, Mark. Exactly what I thought at first. Then I thought: who cares?
Oh, quite, but... just sayin'.
Quote from: FBerwald on Saturday 17 June 2017, 16:21
Oh.. The Rheinberger is one to look out for - the orchestral accompaniment is simply gorgeous! I believe this is his 2nd Piano concerto; an earlier work in E-flat from the 1860's may not have survived.
A reconstruction of the E-flat Concerto was recorded earlier on CD. In my piano-and-orchestra discography I note:
Rheinberger, Joseph (Gabriel) (1839-1901) Germany
Concerto in E-flat, JWV 128 (1860; orchestrated by Jürg Hanselmann from the short score)
+Musikverlag Müller & Schade AG 5065/2: Jürg Hanselmann/Sinfoinieorchester Liechtenstein/William Maxfield
See also http://www.mueller-schade.com/downloads/Portrait/Hanselmann_Juerg_A4.pdf
Oh good... Has anyone sampled this?
QuoteA reconstruction of the E-flat Concerto was recorded earlier on CD
Is this still available?
...to answer my own question, it seems to be available throught the pianist's website:
http://www.juerghanselmann.li/de/portal/cds/portraets/klavierkonzerte/ (http://www.juerghanselmann.li/de/portal/cds/portraets/klavierkonzerte/)
I've put in an order, so I'll let everyone know what happens...
Shame on me, I sometimes walk past the Müller und Schade shop, and sometimes I even go in, but I didn't know they produced CDs...
The Hanselmann disc with the Rheinberger is still available from the Müller und Schade web shop:
http://mueller-schade.com/pages/Onlineshop_New/de/Hanselmann%2C-Juerg?source=2&refertype=5&referid=36312
Is anyone who has heard this work able to give a short review? 30 Euros+ is a bit hefty to spend on a whim without any inkling about the substance of a work/CD...
Well it's only CHF20 on the pianist's website (which is about £16). Don't know what postage costs would add to that, however.
I am really pleased that the Bronsart has received a recording to compete with the old VOX one, which, in my opinion, leaves much to be desired in the quality of the orchestral playing. I have written to Hyperion at least twice over the years asking them to record it - the slow movement is gorgeous - it has even occasionally made it to Classic FM, if that can be taken as any indication of melodic quality. As to why Hyperion have coupled it with the Urspruch - well they were both pupils of Liszt at Weimar; indeed Bronsart gave the first performance of Liszt's second PC there, and Liszt subsequently dedicated it to him. Urspruch is said to have been one of Liszt's favourites. I have not yet heard any music by him, but Amazon Prime members can hear excerpts from his comic opera "Das Unmöglichste von Allem" from a live recording on Naxos.
The cost of the Rheinberger/Hanselmann CD is CHF26, including postage. Unfortunately, the purchase can only be made via bank transfer, so there may be an additional charge...
How distinctly tiresome!
Quite. A PayPal link would have been useful...
re Urspruch, we have or had his symphony and piano concerto uploaded. There was going to be an effort to record his piano music at one point... (vol.1 of which on Genuin can be heard on NMLibrary).
...which is still flagged up on the Urspruch website - but who knows when/whether it'll come to fruition?
Quote from: eschiss1 on Sunday 18 June 2017, 23:28
re Urspruch, we have or had his symphony and piano concerto uploaded. There was going to be an effort to record his piano music at one point... (vol.1 of which on Genuin can be heard on NMLibrary).
That one can also be heard on Spotify, for those who have it. As can
Das unmöglichste von Allem and a collection of songs sung by Rebecca Broberg.
As an unapologetic Urspruch fan, I may look forward to his Piano Concerto even more than I am to the Bronsart von Schellendorf.
It turned out that the bank charges matched the price of the CD! It'd better be worth the money!
This is an image posted on Twitter by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra of the recording being made of the Urspruch and Bronsart PCs for Hyperion. Can anyone make out who the conductor and soloist are?
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DCXAsBjWAAATLUZ.jpg)
And here's a teaser from Simon Callahan of the Scholz PC:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUes6oTAj6G/ (https://www.instagram.com/p/BUes6oTAj6G/)
Exquisite ... Can't wait for this to be released.
Quote from: Alan Howe on Thursday 22 June 2017, 22:42
This is an image posted on Twitter by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra of the recording being made of the Urspruch and Bronsart PCs for Hyperion. Can anyone make out who the conductor and soloist are?
Is that the Cadogan Hall?
No, it's Glasgow's City Halls (compare the gallery and the shape of the windows):
(http://www.arup.com/~/media/Images/Projects/G/Glasgow_City_Halls/glasgowchalls_900x600_1_arup.ashx?mh=800&mw=1000)
http://www.arup.com/projects/glasgow_city_halls/glasgowcityhalls_1 (http://www.arup.com/projects/glasgow_city_halls/glasgowcityhalls_1)
The pianist on the Urspruch/Bronsart recording is Frenchman Emmanuel Despax; the conductor is the American Eugene Tzigane (b.Gene McDonough). This is what M. Despax posted on Facebook on 7th June:
Off to Glasgow next week to record these great romantic concerti by 2 Liszt students for Hyperion Records, along with the wonderful BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Eugene Tzigane.
It was a fantastic experience for me to discover these works I had never heard before. Despite having the same teacher, they are both incredibly different. The Bronsart is very Lisztian, full of bravura, with a virtuoso piano part. And the Urspruch is more symphonic, like a Brahms piano concerto, and quite Wagnerian at times. I can't wait to hear it with the orchestra!
So, the rationale behind the coupling is that both composers were students of Liszt.
(https://www.facebook.com/EmmanuelDespaxPianist/photos/a.219831225132509.1073741828.217216702060628/294409614341336/?type=3)
... as were half the concert pianists on the continent at the time ;) . Still, if it works to give us a decent recordings of the Bronsart and Urspruch concertos, who am I to complain. Haven't been looking forward this much to an RPC release in quite a time.
I can' t give a link here for technical reasons but the late Balint Vazsonyi used to play Bronsart's concerto. There's a performance on YouTube...with another distinctly rough sounding orchestra. Vazsonyi also struggles and dodges a particularly demanding passage in the finale. He was, of course, the first to record Dohnanyi' s first piano concerto though he did make a cut in the finale
He also played Scharwenka' s fourth concerto a long time before Stephen Hough. Again, it's on Youtube.
Vazsonyi is something of a forgotten hero. He's never been mentioned on this forum I see.
I've heard the Scharwenka 4 by Vazsonyi. It's not bad, but he seem to struggle in places and lacks the fluidity of Hough. I've always wondered if Seta Tanyel had recorded this, how it might have turned out. I believe it's the only one of Scharwenka's concertos that she didn't commit to CD.
QuoteAnd here's a teaser from Simon Callahan of the Scholz PC:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUes6oTAj6G/
Ahh, how lovely. It may sound like Schumann, but it really is balm to the soul. I'm really looking forward to the whole piece...
Well, it's been two decades since she recorded the other three for Collins Classics, though has she gone on record that she won't record the fourth? (Assuming her career is still active, that is.)
Eric - thanks for drawing my attention to Seta Tanyel. This artist completely passed me by, and yet her Hyperion webpage testifies to an exceptional pianist with a great recording career., especially in the UC region. I hope she is still performing, but I couldn't find any evidence to that effect. :)
Seta Tanyel is one amazing pianist. Try her Scharwenka No. 1 from Collins.
I never realised that I actually have the Scharwenka piano music set, played by Seta Tanyel, and the concertos 2 & 3. I must have assumed the latter featured Hamelin or Hough, as on the other Hyperion Scharwenka CDs.
I really must pay more attention to performers! ::)
Well, they're not Hyperion originals but Collins Classics CDs reissued by Hyperion, may help explain...
Looking forward to it too!
(Does anyone know if Hyperion or Dutton's had a look over way of V. Duvernoy's fantasia, maybe with Gedalge's concerto, for commercial recording purposes?)
Apparently another volume of Romantic Piano Concertos will be issued in November 2017 :
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/ym.asp?ym=2017_11
"In contrast to RVW, the name Roger Sacheverell Coke will be new to many. His richly melodic music has long enjoyed the persuasive advocacy of pianist Simon Callaghan, who now makes his Hyperion debut with Coke Piano Concertos Nos 3, 4 & 5, volume 73 of our Romantic Piano Concerto series. Martyn Brabbins again conducts, this time the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra."
Please post further about the Coke release on this existing thread;
http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,6088.15.html (http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,6088.15.html)
Sorry, I had missed that thread...
No problem at all.
Here's some more info on Scholz from Simon Callaghan:
https://www.simoncallaghan.com/news/bernhard-scholz-1835-1916/tgrR9vmpQu7ZZaAHx (https://www.simoncallaghan.com/news/bernhard-scholz-1835-1916/tgrR9vmpQu7ZZaAHx)
So the CD should be out this year - as should the Urspruch/Bronsart CD:
http://www.emmanueldespax.com/ (http://www.emmanueldespax.com/)