Messages

First reactions to this music: pretty conservative overall, although with some fetchingly romantic and powerful passages, not particularly individual, but very enjoyable. The earlier works reminded me somewhat of Rufinatscha's overtures - perhaps he knew them? There are also definite influences from the New German School of Liszt and Wagner.

It's good to hear the St Blasius Academy Orchestra in a larger acoustic than in their Rufinatscha 3 recording. Further thoughts as I listen on...

[Rufinatscha Symphony No.3]

Mine would be the following:

1. Rufinatscha Symphony No.3 (TLM, Innsbruck) - further confirmation, if it was needed, that Rufinatscha was a genius of the first order who wrote symphonies that could be confused with no-one else's.

2. Rudorff Symphony No.3 (cpo) - proof that the great conservative symphonic tradition was by no means played out, even as late as 1910.

3. Bargiel Symphony in C (Toccata) - a wonderful, life-affirming summing-up of the symphonic tradition from Haydn/Mozart/Beethoven through Schumann.

It sure does.

As a violinist, I believe...

Didn't know you were a violinist, Jim 

violinconcerto writes:

As eschiss already mentioned "another Marsick" I would like to ask if anyone here knows more about Martin Pierre Joseph Marsick (1848-1924) and his 3 violin concertos? I only stumbled upon this information but never found more information or scores/manuscripts. So any help is welcome!

Thanks and best,
Tobias

...much as I love Brahms too, of course. But it's Raff's sheer dynamism that has won me over...

Yep, pretty good - thanks, Mark. Of course, I think Symphony No.2 is in reality a masterpiece, but then I'd rather listen to Raff than Brahms, so I'm obviously way out on a limb already...

We'll need more evidence as to the compatibility of this composer's music with the remit of UC, so, unless this is forthcoming, I'll be locking this thread...

I can't access the whole review, but here's another Hurwitz commendation:
http://www.classicstoday.com/review/major-discoveries-raffs-second-shakespeare-preludes/

More details here about the composer:
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/beryl-rubinstein-1898-1952

All the CDs for which I've provided links are the orchestral versions.
Best wishes, Richard!

Well, listening to Symphony No.2 has naturally led me back to Rufinatscha's extraordinary 1st Symphony composed in 1834. Its opening movement is full off harmonic surprises, rhythmic shocks - and, like No.2, the more one listens to it, the more one realises that, apart from the high seriousness that characterises the later symphonies (i.e. 3, 4 and 5), Rufinatscha's compositional character is already fully recognisable. Try the unendliche Melodie of the slow movement, for example. It's simply glorious.

So, who else between, say, Beethoven and Brahms, wrote five symphonies of such stature? (I'm omitting Raff as being essentially of a later generation; and members of this forum will know that I don't rate Rubinstein, although he was undoubtedly influential.) Mendelssohn? Very nearly - although his early C minor work is nothing like as mature as Rufinatscha's 1st. Spohr? Well, I don't think there are five great symphonies among his output of ten. Lachner? Sadly, we simply don't have the information, although I'm bound to say that his music has nothing approaching the originality of Rufinatscha's. Kalliwoda? There's some good stuff among his symphonies, but they are very much of a muchness stylistically - which cannot be said of Rufinatscha. Gade? Certainly not, much as I love his Leipzig-tradition later symphonies. Gouvy? There's an exceptionally interesting composer - and his symphonies have great dynamism and spirit. But again, they're essentially extensions of the conservative tradition, whereas Rufinatscha's five breath different air altogether. 

To my mind the only composer who equals Rufinatscha in symphonic originality and approaches him in productivity in this period is Berwald - and he only wrote four such works.
In my view Rufinatscha is undoubtedly the finest composer of symphonies to have emerged from the mists of 19th century history over the past few years. If members of this forum have yet to sample his music, I urge you to do so without delay. These are the essential discs to acquire:

Symphonies 1 & 4 (formerly 5): http://shop.tiroler-landesmuseen.at/cd-dvd/klingende-kostbarkeiten-aus-tirol/klingende-kostbarkeiten-aus-tirol-43.html
Symphony No.2: http://shop.tiroler-landesmuseen.at/cd-dvd/klingende-kostbarkeiten-aus-tirol/klingende-kostbarkeiten-aus-tirol-48.html
Symphony No.3: http://shop.tiroler-landesmuseen.at/cd-dvd/musikmuseum/musikmuseum21.html
Symphony No.5 (formerly 6): http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rufinatscha-Orchestral-BBC-Philharmonic-Orchestra/dp/B004Q2TWP2/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1419638383&sr=1-1&keywords=rufinatscha

The more I listen to this music, the more it becomes obvious that Rufinatscha's music is like no-one else's. I'd rank this 1840 symphony as a work of genius - and a real treat for the soul. Some glorious writing for horns in the finale, by the way.

Here's the CD in question:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Works-Piano-Esposito/dp/B000023Z81/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1419554860&sr=1-1&keywords=esposito+chandos

I've been re-acquainting myself with Rufinatscha 2 this evening while the rest of the family are enjoying the usual seasonal misery of a certain well-known British TV soap. Anyway, this is surely the composer's most unbuttoned symphony, without much of the high seriousness that kicks in with the two subsequent symphonies (3 and 4) written in 1846. No.2, after all, comes from six years previously, yet it shares many of the same characteristics of those later works, e.g. its leisurely pacing and a particularly fetching rustic Menuetto. In addition, without showing himself to be a melodist of the top rank, he always manages to compose earworm-type themes - and Symphony No.2 is no exception. The finale will have you tapping your feet throughout - and long afterwards. Once again, the sensibility strikes me as being quintessentially Austrian.

Do investigate it. After all, it's currently available at half price:
http://shop.tiroler-landesmuseen.at/cd-dvd/klingende-kostbarkeiten-aus-tirol/klingende-kostbarkeiten-aus-tirol-48.html