Do any members of the forum know the music of the German composer Thomas Schmidt-Kowalski (b.1949)?
He writes in a truly tonal, Romantic idiom, full of absolutely gorgeous harmonies and melodies. Inter alia he has written four symphonies, two violin concertos and a cello concerto - see this link:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Schmidt-Kowalski#Werke (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Schmidt-Kowalski#Werke)
Naxos have released four CDs of his music in - apparently in Germany only. Here are links to some audio excerpts at jpc's website:
http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/SESSIONID/fb2168f227aec203db41480801eeeed3/classic/detail/-/art/Thomas-Schmidt-Kowalski-Symphonie-Nr-3-d-moll-op-67/hnum/7530795 (http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/SESSIONID/fb2168f227aec203db41480801eeeed3/classic/detail/-/art/Thomas-Schmidt-Kowalski-Symphonie-Nr-3-d-moll-op-67/hnum/7530795)
http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/SESSIONID/fb2168f227aec203db41480801eeeed3/classic/detail/-/art/Thomas-Schmidt-Kowalski-Symphonie-Nr-4-C-Dur-op-96/hnum/6680710 (http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/SESSIONID/fb2168f227aec203db41480801eeeed3/classic/detail/-/art/Thomas-Schmidt-Kowalski-Symphonie-Nr-4-C-Dur-op-96/hnum/6680710)
http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/SESSIONID/fb2168f227aec203db41480801eeeed3/classic/detail/-/art/Thomas-Schmidt-Kowalski-Symphonische-Dichtungen/hnum/5907358 (http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/SESSIONID/fb2168f227aec203db41480801eeeed3/classic/detail/-/art/Thomas-Schmidt-Kowalski-Symphonische-Dichtungen/hnum/5907358)
http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/SESSIONID/fb2168f227aec203db41480801eeeed3/classic/detail/-/art/Thomas-Schmidt-Kowalski-Sonaten-f%FCr-Cello-Klavier-op-4-12-99/hnum/4889963 (http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/SESSIONID/fb2168f227aec203db41480801eeeed3/classic/detail/-/art/Thomas-Schmidt-Kowalski-Sonaten-f%FCr-Cello-Klavier-op-4-12-99/hnum/4889963)
Hi Alan,
Thanks for this; the final movement of the 4th Symphony contained a melody I looked for (in wrong places) for years - one mystery solved for me!
What a revelation! Such gorgeous, unashamedly Romantic music. I must buy all of them. Thanks for the post, Alan.
I'm convinced your goal in life Alan is to keep our pocketbooks empty!!! Great stuff. I must have too
Alan: My hero!
Those all sound really good there Alan! I'll probably be ordering all those Naxos CDs. I wish they were available from Naxo US though. I did see several other titles of his composition on Amazon. I'll probably have to pick those up also. Good find! Thanks!!
Kevin
Rob Barnett has reviewed the CD with the Third Symphony and Cello Concerto for MusicWeb International (http://www.musicweb-international.com/classRev/2004/May04/SCHMIDT-KOWALSKI.htm) and the composer's own web site (http://www.schmidt-kowalski.de/english/index_eng.htm) features generous audio extracts from the CDs (click on Audio Sample in the menu) and the Symphonic Poems CD has complete works available.
thanks Alan for introducing me to the music of Schmidt-Kowalski. I listened to audio samples on Jpc.de and needless to say have ordered both symphonies. I am looking forward to hearing them in their entirety.
I checked with Naxos marketing, and they said that there are no plans to offer the Schmidt-Kowalski CDs in the U.S. -- ever, apparently. It appears that, here in the provinces, we have two options:
1. Order from Germany and pay the stiff shipping charges, or
2. Download from Naxos online store and burn our own CDs
I don't really like either solution. It is easy to burn CDs, of course, but research indicates that a substantial percentage of CD-Rs will degrade within a few years, unlike commercial CDs. I prefer commercial CDs. Still, downloading and burning is not as expensive as the cost of shipping from Germany.
Yes, I know. All I do is complain. Unlike some people, I don't get CDs free, so I complain about the high prices and the shipping and the spotty availability and the other unfriendly practices of the industry.
These Naxos/Germany CDs start off by being pretty cheap, though. Well worth the outlay, even including postage costs...
This may be moving off topic (for which I apologise), but I'm interested in what you say, Amphissa, about CD-Rs degrading after a few years. Can you tell us what happens to them and why commercial CDs are not affected in the same way? How long do they last? Is this a fault of the software or of digital information generally? I have heard that digitally stored information does not actually last as long as properly stored paper records - which, if true, is a bit alarming!
Various independent research studies have been showing for years that CD-R technology is not the equal of commercial CDs. The latest I'm aware of is research by the Dutch folks at PC-Active. My Dutch sux, so I'm going on the translations of others. Apparently, they tested 30 brands of CD-R media. What they found was that a large percentage of the discs were unreadable in total or in part within 20 months.
Here is a summary in English:
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/6450-CD-Recordable-discs-unreadable-in-less-than-two-years.html (http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/6450-CD-Recordable-discs-unreadable-in-less-than-two-years.html)
Here is the original Dutch article:
http://www.pc-active.nl/component/content/article/10508 (http://www.pc-active.nl/component/content/article/10508)
Based on previous research, the reasons for degradation are varied.
1. The laser in typical home CD player/burner is not nearly as powerful as the lasers used to burn commercial CDs. CED/DVD player/burners vary in quality. Most people just buy the cheapest they can find, or settle for whatever is in the computer they buy (which is usually the cheapest the builder can get).
2. Much of the software used for burning CDs does not verify the burn - i.e., it does not do a read step that verifies that what has been burned coincides with the original data. Even if using software that will do this step, many people just don't enable this feature.
3. CD-R media (blank discs) vary tremendously in quality. Brand name is not a good guide for selecting media. There are two major manufacturing plants for blanks. Companies contract with them for product. A few companies require highest quality media only, and cost more as a result. Most companies go for the mass assembly line discs, which are not up to the highest levels of quality.
4. Storage makes a difference. Store burned disks in heat or brightly lit areas or expose them to tobacco smoke - that's just adding to the environmental factors that can hasten degradation. Some discs just degrade with age - the material itself degenerates - even under optimal conditions.
To reduce the risks of degradation of CD-Rs (and DVD-Rs) --
1. Use a high-quality burner, like a top of the line Plextor, and verify burns to assure that the burned data coincides with the original.
2. Use high quality blank discs - top of the line Taiyo Yuden or top of the line Verbatim (which are made by Taiyo Yuden).
3. Store burned discs at cool room temp, relatively low humidity, out of bright light.
4. Retain a digital backup in a lossless format, like FLAC or AIFF, on a hard drive, and copy to newer hard drives every few years.
CD and DVD technology is not a reliable long-term archival solution. Even with all these precautions, about 10% of discs will suffer some degradation over the course of 2-5 years. Some will not read/play at all. Others will have portions of the disc go unreadable, so even if the disc starts, portions may not play.
Of course, if the CD/DVD is just for convenience and replacement is available, all the precautions are less necessary.
Off topic,a bit,but I have 20 yr old C90 cassettes of off air
R3 which still sound good.Anyway,back to the cd age......
Yes, I still have tapes, but mostly LPs. I have lots of LPs, and that is what I prefer. Vinyl is not perfect, but when well cared for, it is the best music storage medium ever invented.
Back to Schmidt-Kowalski (although the information which Amphissa gave us in reply #11 is very interesting. Thank you for that, Amphissa).
Never heard of this composer before. I have just listened to all extracts and as a result ordered all 4 CDs. I'm amazed that such lovely music in a truly romantic style is written by a composer born in 1949! A real trouvaille.
A few days are left before the package arrives, a few days to think what to tell my wife this time... :-\
Alan, like other members I'm very grateful to you!
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On his website he presents also the CD Sternenklang filled with 4 works. You can listen to extracts from the String Sextet in E flat Major and a Piano Quartet in E Major. Both sound pleasant enough. See: http://www.schmidt-kowalski.de/english/index_eng.htm (http://www.schmidt-kowalski.de/english/index_eng.htm) (Audio Sample)
I need to write to Oldenburg as well...
The tracks from the Naxos CDs are now downloadable from ClassicsOnline (http://www.classicsonline.com) (at least in the uK).
Quote from: Amphissa on Monday 24 August 2009, 23:43
I checked with Naxos marketing, and they said that there are no plans to offer the Schmidt-Kowalski CDs in the U.S. -- ever, apparently.
Does this mean that there are a number of local Naxos recordings, not only in Germany, that we never hear of? I know that a few Swedish Naxos discs have been released internationally as Marco Polo discs (the Lindblad symphonies, for instance), but then they are at least available!
He also wrote a piano concerto. How would that sound?
Good news for members who like the beautiful, lyrical and romantic music by Thomas Schmidt-Kowalski.
He has written a Piano Concerto and a Viola Concerto, which will be coupled on a CD, to be released by Naxos in November next year (we have to be patient, but we also know how time flies...). Both concertos are performed by the Aue Philharmonie, conducted by David Stern (son of Isaac Stern), with Julian Riem on the piano and Emilian Dascal playing the viola.
Also in production is the recording of 3 or 4 Piano Quartets, a "Missa in C Minor" and an orchestral piece called "Die Glocke", based on a poem by Schiller. These works will be released by Naxos (dates unknown yet).