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I am very impressed by the widescreen monitor used for the sound mixing. Alan and Mark probably have one just like it for managing this forum.

Also looking forward to the Schoeck release!

[Sechs Lieder]

Arriving on November 3rd on Toccata Classics, the complete German Lieder of Dalcroze:
The cover is of Dalcroze and his wife, the singer Nina Faliero.


Sechs Lieder, Op. 14 (1892)
Sechs Lieder, Op. 15 (1892)
Zehn Lieder (1913)
Zwei Gesänge (1913)

The two piano concertos have been recorded before on Sterling. Do we know which overtures are included in this new CPO release?

His mastery of the orchestra is very accomplished but I think his weakness is, simply put, the lack of a memorable melody.

I agree, and unfortunately the entire album failed to connect with me and I have listened to the 3rd Symphony three times now. The harmony has laid the foundation for great melodies to be spun but they never arrive. Perhaps I would find his earlier symphonies more appealing.

I read the booklet for this album where Hermann explains to a music journalist his methodology of writing music. In summary, he said he aimed for a consistent mood where the changes would be subtle, maintaining the same overall atmosphere. He felt that too much emphasis was placed on a "climax" and that gradual changes brought more color and emotion to the overall feeling of a piece. This fits in with his philosophy that as Nature gradually changes, so should music as it is an artful representation of Creation.

This is clear in his Second Symphony from the first to the second movement. You cannot deny that the same polyphonic mood has been kept, while also being distinct to build a sense of a journey. Perhaps even in the sense of viewing the same landscape in different seasons?

It is difficult to describe his music to someone who hasn't heard it. The closest sentence I can construct is to imagine the wind blowing through sun-soaked pastures, mingling with the nobility of grand mountain peaks. Yet one could apply this description to Bruckner, and come away with a different conclusion!

This is music I have not heard closely represented in any other form (only remotely Bruckner and Finzi), which is a shame due to not only Hermann's early death at the age of 43 in 1912, but also the start of the collapse of Romantic music after the First World War.

The music journalist's essay from 1909 in the booklet makes it clear that even back then, he recognized the originality of this composer and hoped that recognition would one day come. It takes more than one listen to appreciate it, and I am glad to hear that it has been rewarding to some of our members!

It certainly has more lyricism than Wagner (I only really enjoy Parsifal as the rest are too drab for me) but you are correct Alan in noting the sameness, certainly in Act III from my listening experience. Stenhammar does a better job of lyricism and variety in Gillet på Solhaug.

Reading the booklet for Hallen's opera, it shows that critics were happy with Wagner-inspired textures combined with the presence of melody in the vocal parts, which I grant are very enjoyable in the beginning of Act II with the Mayor and maypole dancers.

Great to hear. Schweizer Fonogramm is doing a tremendous service to Swiss Romantic music, let alone Unsung Composers in general.

I received Schweizer Fonogramm's newsletter today and the studio recording of the opera took place from August 29 to September 4. The album will contain 3 discs and be released "next winter," so I presume that means late 2024/early 2025. Our fellow forum member Frédéric Angleraux will be doing the mixing and editing!

Very much looking forward to this release.

Your English is very good mahesi, so no apologies are necessary.

I was looking for Hans Huber recordings and found a listing for this LP on the Swiss National Sound Archives (fonoteca.ch) and proceeded to find a copy on eBay.





The best track in my opinion is the first sung by Maria Stader in a hauntingly beautiful aria "Leise rauscht der Strom dahin." It is about a Celtic woman admiring the beauty of the river Rhine after her people settle there during the Roman conquest.

I recently purchased a rare Philips LP (N 00738R) of music from festivals in Basel, by both Hans Huber and Hermann Suter. The stage tunes are immediately appealing which would make sense for the mass populace for which they were written.

As far as my research shows, Huber wrote for the Kleinbasler Gedenkfeier in 1892 (500th anniversary of Basel Unification) and the Basler Bund 1901 (400th anniversary of Basel joining the Swiss Confederacy). There's a good bruchure on Huber's contributions here.

Suter wrote for the Sankt Jakob an der Birs festival in 1912 (to commemorate the 1444 Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs) and the Riehener Festspiel in 1923 (to commemorate the unification of the municipality of Riehen with Basel).

It appears that some of Huber's works were performed in 2014, but I cannot find any recording of them. The LP I have dates from the early 1950s in mono, but I wonder if anything else exists out there.

Do they still intend to issue it in spite of those horrible staged extra noises?

I hope not. It was difficult to listen to.

I'll generally agree with you that there seems to be a "novel" effect to the cello which is McKuen's doing, and I'm sure some of McKuen's fans thought it was wonderful just by the general sound.

It's a piece you can play pleasantly in the background, and you are correct in terms of Standford's wonderful strings which paint a vast landscape to boost the work a bit.

Gareth, I'm curiously what your thoughts are on the complete work?

Glad to see Stüssi is getting some recognition. My understanding is that some of these live works were already released by the orchestra itself back in 2016: https://www.zuercherkammerphilharmonie.ch/impressionen-2#:~:text=Konzert%20CD%0ACHF,der%20Martinskirche%20Basel

I'm assuming that the studio ones were recently recorded. Would still like to hear an excellent performance of "Alles Stille" and "Der Frühling."

We're starting to see the effects of UMG's ownership of Hyperion, with three volumes of the "Romantic Piano Concerto" series already on YouTube through its auto-generation algorithm. These are called "Art Tracks," officially. Let's hope that this will help expose the label to a wider audience if they happen to come across these videos.