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Includes a 4-hand piano reduction of his 1885 symphony.

http://www.bam-music.org/product/alberto-franchetti-chamber-music/

https://www.amazon.com/Alberto-Franchetti-Marcello-Mazzoni-Potenza/dp/B08H5WLZRH

[Symphony No. 1Piano Concerto No. 2Two Sentimental RomancesExcelsior!Serenade in F28 Songs]

https://www.konserthuset.se/en/programme/festivals--themes/stenhammar-150-years/

From 22 September to 3 October.

Some of the works during the festival will be livestreamed:

Symphony No. 1
Piano Concerto No. 2
Two Sentimental Romances
Excelsior!
Serenade in F
28 Songs

It appears that this composer has never been mentioned on these boards before, so this is an exciting annoucement!

Charles Colin (1863-1950) was a Basque composer known for Maitena, a groundbreaking opera for the Basque Theater world.

https://www.ibsclassical.es/product/maitena/ (Available now)
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/maitena/hnum/10699409 (Available October 15)

Below is a short description of the work:

"Maitena, the Basque opera by two authors from Labourd (Etienne Decrept and Charles Colin), was
created in Bilbao on 29th May 1909. Representing scenes of Basque partriarchal customs, it charmed the
public with its simple musique, based on traditional melodies, its impact and the reality of its scenic
presentation, and deeply engraved itself in the exhaltation of the traditional values preached by the nationalists.
Its Impact on upcoming Basque lyrical theatre was considerable. Leading work of the Bilbao Choral Society,
it was very successful throughout the Basque Country until 1955. when it was almost completely forgotten."

Original libretto: https://www.coraldebilbao.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Libreto-Maitena.pdf
Revised libretto: https://www.coraldebilbao.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/LIBRETO-REVISADO.pdf

Revised score: https://www.coraldebilbao.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/PARTITURA-REVISADA-DOCUMENTO-WEB.pdf

This world premiere recording was released earlier this year but it completely slipped by me. Performed by the Erik Westberg Vocal Ensemble, conducted by Erik Westberg. Composed in 1920-21 and is considered the composer's last great work.

https://www.amazon.com/Missa-Solemnis-Erik-Westberg-Vokalensemble/dp/B08YDP9Y9L

To be released on August 20th, featuring works by Borgstrøm, Eggen, Elling, Olsen and Thrane. Conducted by Ingar Bergby with the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra.

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8938209--norwegian-opera-overtures

To be released on August 27 from Naxos. All world premiere recordings for violin and orchestra:

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8933462--bergstrom-evening-dusk
https://www.naxos.com/SharedFiles/pdf/rear/8.579095r.pdf#

Most of these works are from the 1930s onwards, but the album designates them as highly lyrical, which is why I decided to share this. The only 19th century work is Mustalainen by Elemér Szentirmay, written in 1875. We'll see how this sounds!

[Joachim Raff]

Newly announced, to be released soon on CPO. The latter two are world premiere recordings.

Joachim Raff - Sinfonietta op. 188
Gustav Schreck - Nonet op. 40
Salomon Jadassohn - Sinfonietta op. 104

See the video below for a one minute excerpt from the recording session.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XaDK301ibE

Wind soloists of Jena Philharmonic Orchestra
Simon Gaudenz, conductor

Piano works which are to be released on June 25:

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8915450--imre-szechenyi-waltzes-and-hungarian-marches

They are played on a 1908 Bechstein piano that was owned by Wagner's grandson, Wolfgang. There is a bit of an antiquated sound that it lends to the pieces.

This upcoming Sterling CD is a compilation of Swedish orchestral music that was previously released on LPs. Includes music by Alfvén, Peterson-Berger, Liljefors and Söderman. To be released on July 2nd:

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8918105--the-swedish-smorgasbord-in-orchestral-music

Obviously, the sound quality is going to vary among tracks.

Deutschlandfunk Kultur radio broadcast on Thursday, 29 April 2021 at 19:03 (GMT+2).


Slovak Suite, Op. 32 (1903)
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin
Conductor: Jakub Hrůša

https://www.rsb-online.de/en/concerts/outstanding-violin-art-april-2021/

[Drei Lieder]

Just uploaded to the Downloads section. I am really happy that Blech was properly given a tribute for the 150th anniversary of his birth, especially with brand new performances. These are all wonderful works in my view.

Drei Lieder (Three Songs for Voice and Piano), op. 9 (1902)
Der Galante Abbé (The Gallant Priest, for Voice and Piano), op. 17 (1907)
Deux esquisses pour violon et piano (Two Sketches for Violin and Piano) (1903)
Gavotte (Gavotte for Cello and Piano), op. 10b (1902)
Liedchen ohne Worte (Song without Words for Piano) - No information

Sonja Gornik, soprano
Mladen Miloradovic , Violoncello
Felix Giglberger, Violin
Sinfonieorchester Aachen
Piano and conductor: Christopher Ward

The National Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Albania has announced that they will perform a program that includes a chamber work by Raff. There are no additional details on which composition it is, and the article says that "there are parts that are played for the first time." I am not sure what that means, but as soon as they post this livestream, I will give an update.

https://sot.com.al/english/kultura/artistet-e-tkob-koncert-premiere-me-nje-program-klasik-nga-joachim-raff--i435950

Forthcoming from Onyx Classics later this month: https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8906921--zemlinsky-die-seejungfrau-schreker-der-geburtstag-der-infantin

[Sechs Kinderlieder]

On April 18th at 20:00 (GMT+2), the Aachen Symphony Orchestra with Christopher Ward will present a live-stream program which includes three pieces by Leo Blech:

Sechs Kinderlieder (Six Children's Songs), various opuses (1913-1924)
Wie ist doch die Erde so schön (How Beautiful the Earth is), op. 21 no. 8 (1913)
Ouvertüre zur Oper "Alpenkönig und Menschenfeind" (Overture to the opera "Alpine King and Misanthrope"), op. 14 (1903)

https://theateraachen.de/de_DE/sinfoniekonzert-im-stream

Tickets are 5, 10 or 15 euros, depending on how much you want to pay.

All of these works appear to be modern performance premieres, so this is something I am definitely looking forward to!

Article recently posted, talking about the life of Leo Blech. This year is the 150th anniversary of his birth (1871), and the Aachen theater is supposed to be holding two concerts in April featuring several orchestral works.

http://www.rheinische-geschichte.lvr.de/Persoenlichkeiten/leo-blech/DE-2086/lido/6024fc518fd2d0.01069382

As part of an upcoming album entitled French Music for the Stage, Massenet's complete one-act ballet "Espada" has been recorded by Neeme Järvi:

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8872937--french-music-for-the-stage

https://www.amazon.com/French-Estonian-National-Symphony-Orchestra/dp/B08VCTXX66

The album will be available for purchase on the 26th.

Britishcomposer uploaded a German recording of this work about 10 years ago, but I wanted to point to an out-of-print live Dutch recording from 1998.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goh3eGiTcIc

Mengelberg was a great admirer of Rembrandt, as was his role model Gustav Mahler, whose influence is clearly heard in this piece.

The work is programmatic in a sense, where the music covers 19 different sketches by Rembrandt, some of which are famous in their oil painting styles. Mengelberg intended for live performances of this work to include a screen that showed each drawing as it corresponded to a particular point in the orchestration.

A list of the sketches with timestamps:

1. [0:00] Introduction
2. [2:10] Abraham entertaining the angel (and the three holy men ) (1656)
3. [2:38] Abraham's sacrifice (1655)
4. [3:13] The triumph of Mordechai (c. 1641)
5. [3:56] Peter and John at the Gate of the Temple (c. 1629)
6. [4:35] The blindness of Tobit (c. 1629)
7. [5:47] David at prayer (1652)
8. [6:51] Simeon's Hymn of Praise (1630)
9. [7:10] Christ Disputing with the Doctors (1630)
10. [7:50] Christ Preaching (c. 1643)
11. [8:44] Christ and the Woman of Samaria (1658)
12. [9:12] The Agony in the Garden (c.1657)
13. [10:01] The Raising of Lazarus (c. 1632)
14. [10:40] Christ Presented to the People (1655)
15. [11:57] Christ at Emmaus (1654)
16. [12:54] The Three Crosses (1653)
17. [15:09] The Descent from the Cross by Torchlight (1633)
18. [16:15] The Return of the Prodigal Son (1636)
19. [16:58] Christ Healing the Sick (c. 1649)
20. [17:08] The Death of the Virgin (1639)

Also, here is the recording that Britishcomposer shared, with the slideshow of drawings as Mengelberg intended: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF_BerImbkI

As part of Terra Nova Collective's "Forgotten Composers" series, Etcetera records has released some of Ryelandt's chamber music, including:

Oboe Sonatina, Op. 28 (1899)
Fantaisie For Clarinet, Op. 40 (1904)
Horn Sonata, Op.18 (1897)
Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 22 (1898)
Three Pieces For Clarinet, Op. 17 (1897)

Listen below for samples:

https://www.amazon.com/Ryelandt-Romantic-fin-si%C3%A8cle-Bruges/dp/B0875SS55B

Three Pieces for Clarinet is particularly attractive and my favorite, especially the Romance. It provides a lovely atmosphere.

I have mentioned this in a prior conversation, but I felt that this deserves its own dedicated thread since it highlights a nearly unknown side of Frederick Delius, 40 years before his professional relationship with Eric Fenby.

Delius wrote this melodrama in 1888 after Henrik Ibsen's 1860 poem of the same title: Paa Vidderne. The piece is written to closely mirror the verses of the poem, so that musical effects properly communicate the emotions of the passages.

It is important to preface that this composition is different from Delius' 1892 symphonic poem of the same title. No common musical themes or melodies are heard, although one could say that the sentiment is similar.

The work was never performed during Delius' lifetime, and it seems that the first performance was on the Norwegian broadcasting company NRK in 1981, against pictures of Norwegian landscapes. Several BBC performances followed, including one with Vernon Handley and the BBC SO, circa 1995. I have not been able to find a tape of that broadcast.

Delius had originally intended to write a singing part for tenor, but decided to change it to spoken word (against the suggestion of his close friend, Edvard Grieg, who was concerned the orator would be drowned out by the orchestra). This was not an unusual way to set music as melodramas were incredibly popular in the latter decades of the 19th century, with romantic Shakespearian works commonly adapted to music. Such context lends a theatrical milieu to Delius' work.

In 2000, Douglas Bostock and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra produced the world premiere recording, released on Classico. Peter Hall narrates the work, and the English text is taken from the original Norwegian by Ibsen with no effort to rhyme; it is a free-style English translation, which better conveys Ibsen's realism in my opinion.

Initially, the music was written against an inaccurate German translation by Louis Passarge, and because of the loss of detail in translation, there are musical effects that do not match the text from Norwegian and are dependent on the German. Therefore, with the music's emotional power as the top priority, Bostock and Hall worked closely with Lionel Carley (author of the English translation heard here), who tried to stay faithful to the Norwegian text and insert the German ideas where necessary to match the music.

Out of the five known performances of this work (this is the most recent), I assume that this Classico recording is the closest to matching Delius' vision and faithfully capturing Ibsen's poem.

Below is the link to the recording:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzbAQ0tgvWM

The 1981 Norwegian TV broadcast can be seen here:
https://tv.nrk.no/program/FMUS00001981

This is by far my favorite work by Delius.

In Milano, Italy on December 23rd, 1870, Asger Hamerik premiered a lyrical drama in five scenes, entitled La Vendetta.

I have just uploaded a recording of it in the downloads board, although I have zero information on its details. Also, the singers aren't top notch, but the overture is in itself quite pleasant and the sound quality is excellent.

The libretto was written by the composer himself in both Danish and Italian, and it appears to be an original story. A score reduction for singer and pianoforte may be viewed here: https://books.google.com/books/about/La_Vendetta_Dramma_lirico_in_cinque_scen.html?id=wOaGxHnr_wUC