Unless I simply have not found it in the wealth of information in UC, nobody has yet started a list/discussion of unsung composers who wrote just one symphony. I recently listened to a CD again that I had almost forgotten I had - and I thought the only symphony by André Messager (written when he was 22) was actually quite a charming work that merits repeated listening. It is on a Skarbo CD (SK3921), a live recording from 1992 played by the Orchestre Symphonique du Mans conducted by José-André Gendille and probably long since deleted. The couplings are the Allegro Symphonique by Fauré and the Variations Symphoniques by Franck. Does anyone else know this work? I'll also be curious to see what other single-symphony composers UC members come up with.
Thanks Wheesht. Rather than just naming a single-symphony composer, it would be more interesting to know something about his work and its merits - as you have done with Messager's very appealing work.
Hi all,
Korngold is one of these composers (I still think he's unsung even if his violin concerto is performed quite often), his symphony in F Sharp is a pure masterwork, the slow movement is one of the greatest symphony slow movements since mahler. The symphony dates from the early 50s, when he returned from America, it was one of his (Failed) attempts to regain his reputation as a composer of concert music. It makes excessive use from themes from his film scores, for example, in the slow movement, one of the main themes from »the private lives of elizabeth and essex« with Bette Davis as queen elizabeth is used.
Korngold wrote a sinfonietta op. 5 which is in fact his first symphony (it's as large and as long as a real symphony), but korngold didn't call it symphony, so I don't count it in that way.
He started a second symphony, but couldn't complete it until his (far too early) death in 1957, only 60 years old. According to Brandan G. Carroll (I hope I got his name right), the sketches are uncompletable due to some kind of shorthand used which noone except Korngold himself could read. I still hope that someone will be able to read it some day!
The sole symphonies of Woldemar Bargiel and Ignaz Brüll merit mention. Both are four square in the Germanic symphonic tradition and at one level are wholly conventional four movement works of around half an hour duration from the third quarter of the 19th century. But each has a charm, vitality, individuality and, in the case of Brüll's Symphony, modesty, which I find quite disarming. They are neither of them works of genius but they demonstrate such exquisite judgement and craftsmanship that they are still capable of being a rewarding and enjoyable listen.
More fodder for discussion. Here's a list of 1-symphony composers born between 1760 and 1880. Mileage may vary.
Birth Composer
1760 Cherubini
1777 Berger, Ludwig
1780 Lessel
1786 Kuhlau
1789 Maurer
1791 Mozart, Franz Xaver
1791 Vorisek
1794 Moscheles
1798 Reissiger
1804 Glinka
1806 Arriaga
1806 Veit
1808 Balfe
1809 Pacius
1816 Verhulst
1818 Josephson, Jacob
1820 Vierling
1821 Bystrom
1822 Franck, Cesar
1823 Lalo
1824 Smetana
1824 Olander
1826 Rubenson
1826 Staehle
1827 Grimm
1828 Bargiel
1829 Dietrich
1830 Heise
1834 Blodek
1835 Winding
1837 Winter-Hjelm
1838 Castillon
1840 Goetz
1841 de Lange
1842 Hofmann
1843 Stephanescu
1843 Grieg
1845 Faure
1846 Brull
1848 Malling
1850 Scharwenka, Franz
1850 Hagg
1850 Urspruch
1850 LeBeau
1850 Olsen
1851 Stolpe
1851 Chapi
1854 Kopylov
1854 Moszkowski
1855 Chausson
1856 Bird
1857 Lazzari
1858 Franck, Richard
1858 Rott
1859 Schjelderup
1860 Heubner
1860 Paderewski
1860 Wallace
1860 Franchetti
1861 Volbach
1861 Catoire
1861 Thuille
1862 Boellmann
1862 Wagenaar
1863 Blumenfeld
1863 Parker
1863 Somervell
1863 Vitols
1864 D'Albert
1865 Dukas
1865 Boeck
1867 Beach
1868 Mortelmans
1868 Motta
1869 Wagner, Siegfried
1870 Vierne
1870 Stojowski
1870 Suter
1870 Mlynarski
1871 Lie
1871 Biarent
1871 Liljefors
1873 Jongen
1874 Marteau
1874 Holst
1875 Coleridge-Taylor
1875 Tovey
1875 Ciurlionis
1876 Karlowicz
1877 Dunhill
1877 Karg-Elert
1877 Mielck
1879 Wiklund
1879 Harty
1879 Ostrcil
1879 Gaubert
1879 Olsson, Otto
And a few later romantic composers
1881 Cadman
1882 Turina
1882 Marinuzzi
1882 Kodaly
1882 Hurum
1883 Webern
1883 Kuula
1883 Konjovik
1883 Dyson
1884 Soro
1885 Pejacevic
1886 Guridi
1887 Dieren
1887 Lindberg
1888 Gablenz
1888 Bohnke
1889 Kreek
1890 Medins, Janis
1891 Raitio
1893 Benjamin
1894 Irgens-Jensen
1894 Moeran
1897 Korngold
1899 Baines
1900 Ferroud
Of these, one of the most important is that in D minor by Albert Dietrich - a definite 'missing link' between Schuman and Brahms and a fine, memorable work on its own terms. Another is that by Julius Otto Grimm (for similar reasons). Otherwise, there's the wonderfully romantic symphony by Goetz (which G. B. Shaw considered superior to Brahms), Hofmann's Frithjof Symphony (heavily influenced by Raff), and the Urspruch (too long, but glorious in its mingling of Brahms and Dvorak (6).
I'm afraid most in the second list aren't a fit for UC...
By the way, how many symphonies did Carl Gottlob Reissiger (1784-1859) write? There's no.1 in E-flat op.120 (ca.1837), I haven't come across a no.2 anywhere* (of course, some composers wrote "no.1" on their symphonies in hopeful mien - while some composers, who ended up writing eight symphonies, well, their first symphonies are still published as just "Symphony" *cough*Frankel*cough* (to the extent his first symphony is still published and not just stored, at all...))
If that list threatens to get overlong (which, composers being as many as they were especially after a certain point...), happy to store it in an editable section of my mediafire or Google Drive, e.g. if that's acceptable- I like such things (probably relates to my condition (HUSH, Eric. ;) ))
*There is a partial worklist in Karl Gottlieb Reißiger, published by Pfeil in 1879 (Anonymous? written by the composer at some point? I don't know?...) which is at BSB (and uploaded to IMSLP also) - I'll see if it mentions a 2nd symphony, though it may be restricted to works with opus number. (I should really start a separate thread about that book, for a certain reason.)
BTW, 3 more entries-
(1) There's organist Henri Dallier (1849-1934), whose premiere symphonie (for orchestra) in F minor, op.50, published by Fromont 1908, seems to have remained his only one (again despite the hopeful adjective :) ) (score at IMSLP...). (I'm tempted to add Richard Kleinmichel too, but Wikipedia claims he wrote 2. Interesting. Didn't know about the other, just the op.52 - maybe it's unpublished ... Anyone?)
(2) British composer Oliver King (1855-1923) wrote a symphony "Night" in F Op.22 published by Novello in 1884, also, I believe?, a singleton (see IMSLP for score) (as mentioned in another thread, produced in Boston 1880 October.)
(3) Georges Bizet (1838-75). Or are you counting something as his 2nd symphony? (Sometimes Roma is, I suppose... sometimes and usually not, though.)
(also (4) Frederic Lamond (1868-1948) ; hrm. I think this one's been recorded on Hyperion, but I'm not positive... - ah, there it is, symphony op.3. Did he write a second?... )
Wikipedia has Jacob Adolf Hägg down as producing 4 symphonies (so 3 after the Nordische Op.2) though I'm not sure which ones they are- but I do seem to recall having heard that being fact, yes.
(And besides Bizet, Alberto Nepomuceno (1864-1920) should have come to my mind immediately too as someone whose singleton symphony made a strong impression- will listen again very soon, I think- and which I'm particularly add to the list.
Richard Wagner (1813-1883) belongs too- his Symphony in C; his symphony in E is really no more a counter-example to the "1-symphony" listing rule than is Moeran's "symphony no.2", although it is more elaborated. Or are we really counting such very incomplete works too now?
Bizet's Roma is as much a symphony as it is anything. In fact, Bizet himself considered it "my symphony" (having washed his hands of his now-popular teenage effort).
At least 2 of the "one symphony" composers actually composed a 2nd symphony, but it has been lost. Right off the top of my head, Goetz and Dietrich come to mind.
And you missed Dukas (in C Major, 1895), Balapoel.
Dietrich composed a Second? Sources please, Jim!
According to the brief 1879 biography and more comprehensive work list available at IMSLP, Reissiger's Symphony op.120 is his only one but, according to Hofmeister, both the piano four hands arrangement and the orchestral parts were published in 1837/8 by Schlesinger as his First Symphony. As Eric says, though, that doesn't imply that there's a Second.
Yes, the Dietrich would be my choice as well. But I have an alternative. Not pure romantic in style, more late classical with early romantic moments. I nominate Gänsbacher's Symphony in D major (1807). As I have said in other threads, this is a most enjoyable work full of catching, memorable themes, especially in the glorious first movement. A symphony that can make you feel very happy, even if you're in a bad or sad mood.
You forgot to give Herr Gänsbacher's birthdate (1778- ok, >1759 so acceptable :) )
I forgot Reissiger was born in 1798, and was looking for him in the wrong place- unless he was inserted into the list last night, there he is.
Jim- it goes by birthdate, and there's Dukas, in 1865, unless he's been doing a lot of surreptitious editing (I don't think so, I think I just missed those two being in the list myself. If the latter, I'm guessing Bizet is absent since he's so sung. ;) - so much so, that attending what I think was an open-air rehearsal of his symphony in C is one of my earlier concert experiences, that I remember - though I was born well after its discovery date... )
Yes, Albert Hermann Dietrich wrote symphonies in D minor and C major- or at least parts exist for the latter, I'm not sure enough to be performable and I'm not sure it's complete. RISM does list 8 instrumental parts for a 3-movement C major symphony "par Mmre Dytrych" [sic] which they assume probably rightly to be by Albert Dietrich, though (and give an incipit for the first movement, based on the manuscript copy held at Biblioteka Studium OO. Dominikanów. Archiwum Prowincji OO. Dominikanów, Kraków.) It may be more complete than that, though- that's just all that RISM actually lists, that doesn't mean that's all that exists (well, they also give a literature reference which may give more information. See RISM ID 300257497 (http://opac.rism.info/search?documentid=300257497).) Again, there may be more about, and of, this symphony elsewhere- if it's complete, then it'd count against (this list inclusion) but for (recording! :) ) ... Re Bizet's Roma: ok- in that case, if he'd washed his hands of his symphony in C, then that leaves...
one symphony. (I rather consider Stenhammar as having written only one symphony, also- the G minor - also because he disowned the other, in this case for good reason- and regard the F major as more a no.0 and curiosity than a "no.1", but- anyway.)
Re Richard Franck- do we know that the D major symphony (manuscript, ca.1901) is even complete? (I have no idea what Wikipedia-de's sources are, so can't guess...)
Richard Franck's musical estate - including unpublished manuscripts - is in the possession of Prof. Paul Feuchte, the composer's grandson - see [http://www.leo-bw.de/web/guest/detail/-/Detail/details/PERSON/kgl_biographien/11913814X/Franck+(-Bernoulli)+Richard+August+Adolf]. As I am based in Switzerland - just an hour from Basel, where Franck lived and worked in the early 1880s, I'll try and have a look at what is available in the libraries there.
Thanks!
(Assuming, maybe wrongly, that Jongen is being included for his Symphonie concertante, then hoping that some of the other composers listed didn't have both a symphony and a symphonie concertante in their outputs ;^) (the wonderful to my mind Frank Martin, who's too late for this forum, comes to mind there but is not in your list in any case ;) .))
Is there an Ippolitov-Ivanov 2nd symphony? I think he belongs too, and that first one's quite nice (and happily multiply recorded.) Then also from that "general region" there's Vasily Kalafati (Greek-born Rimsky pupil; 1869-1942), symphony in A minor, op.12 published 1912 (reduction (http://imslp.org/wiki/Symphony,_Op.12_(Kalafati,_Vasily)) at IMSLP, liked what I saw but haven't heard it.)
1790 - Georg(e) Gerson (many of his manuscripts now uploaded to Danish Library and to IMSLP ; only a few works published commercially at the time) - symphony in E-flat, G.76 (1817), recorded.
1806 - Johannes Frøhlich (symphony in E-flat, op.33, 1833)- recorded, according to Michael Herman.
(Not sure if that Moszkowski symphony - the one whose manuscript is at the BNF... - is complete and performable, either- Investigations are hopefully underway, though; I know I'm very curious...)
I couldn't imagine why Martin wouldn't be appropriate here...
I haven't found any recordings (LP or otherwise) for Ippolitov's Symphony No. 2, Karelia (1935), which is a bit odd, since so much of his orchestral work is recorded.
other unfinished/lost:
Gustav Jenner - Symphony (unfinished): 2 movements (Adagio, Scherzo)
Alkan - Symphony in b minor (1844) (lost)
Others (just going through my full-composer files; there probably will be some overlap with my earlier list). If there is interest, I can go beyond the A-Bs.
Ansorge - Symphony 'Orpheus'
Balfe - Symphony (1820)
Barnett - Symphony in a minor (Musical Society of London, 15th June 1864)
Bella - Symphony in b minor (30'), another symphony in c minor (1881) is a fragment.
Berger, Ludwig - Symphony in D, Op. 42 (1843)
Biarent - Symphony in d minor
Bishop - Grand sinfonia, c-C, 1 movt, 1805, GB-Lbl
Blodek - Symphony in d minor
Blumenfeld - Symphony in c minor
Bonis - Symphonie burlesque , opus 185 posthume, pièce pour orchestre d'enfant, Manuscrit
Brull - Symphony in e minor, Op. 31
Bystrom - Symphony in d minor
Quote from: JimL on Sunday 23 September 2012, 07:59
At least 2 of the "one symphony" composers actually composed a 2nd symphony, but it has been lost. Right off the top of my head, Goetz and Dietrich come to mind.
And you missed Dukas (in C Major, 1895), Balapoel.
Dukas is listed by his year of birth.
Quote from: eschiss1 on Sunday 23 September 2012, 06:08
(And besides Bizet, Alberto Nepomuceno (1864-1920) should have come to my mind immediately too as someone whose singleton symphony made a strong impression- will listen again very soon, I think- and which I'm particularly add to the list.
Richard Wagner (1813-1883) belongs too- his Symphony in C; his symphony in E is really no more a counter-example to the "1-symphony" listing rule than is Moeran's "symphony no.2", although it is more elaborated. Or are we really counting such very incomplete works too now?
Bizet has at least two symphonies to his credit (whether he wanted to take credit or not).
Symphony [No. 1] in C (1855)
Symphony (1859) -destroyed
Symphony [No. 2] in C 'Roma' (1868)
Quote from: Balapoel on Sunday 23 September 2012, 18:21
I couldn't imagine why Martin wouldn't be appropriate here...
Well, it's hardly a romantic symphony. Here's an excerpt from a review at MusicWeb:
The four movement Symphony [31.45] is a work dating from two years before the outbreak of the Second World War. It has something in common with the Second Symphony of Kurt Weill though being less gawky and, at one level, a more tranquil work. The premiere was given in Martin's native Geneva under the baton of Ernest Ansermet but rapidly dropped out of the picture so far as concert-hall attention was concerned. The work is inflected by a user-friendly brand of serialism but the inflection is pretty gentle. The saxophone rises from time to time out of the aural fabric as also do the two pianos played by Roderick Elms and Ian Watson. Voice spotting: along the way splashes of Stravinsky and Ravel but nothing to tempt you to slate the piece as hollowly derivative. The Largo is cool, candid, subtle, of great emotive moment, reflective and providing a secure centre of gravity for the work. The music grows noticeably brighter (more candle-power) as it proceeds. The rush and scrimmage of the scherzo still finds room for the lyrical side illumined by vibraphone. The finale's opening shudder and piano display recalls Martinu's Concerto for piano and double string orchestra. The clarinet's capering banshee rolls take us back to Kurt Weill territory with hints also of Peter Mennin.
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2000/dec00/martin.htm (http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2000/dec00/martin.htm)
Thanks, Eric, for the details of Dietrich's "Second Symphony" and apologies to Jim for being a doubting Thomas.
Hmm. This is interesting since the term 'serialism' as applied to music was introduced 32 years after Martin's symphony. The very earliest 12-tone music appeared only 7 years before the symphony. I haven't heard it, so I can't comment directly, though I can say that much of Martin's oeuvre would fit the romantic definitions for the reboot, particularly the chamber music. And the Weill symphonies all postdate this by some time (post-WWI), the second one was nearly 20 years later than Martin. Anyway, plenty of other single-symphony composers to discuss...
Quick edit: I see where you got the info for a symphony by Martin, which dates to 1937. We're talking about 2 different works - one dating from 1915 and another dating from 1937.
I meant this one: Symphonie burlesque sur des mélodies populaires savoyardes, 1915; cond. P. Secretan, Geneva, Feb 1916
Oh, I definitely thought you were referring to the 1937 Martin Symphony recorded by Bamert on Chandos. Now serial and 12-tone are rather different things anyway (which often coexist/overlap) - 12-tone refers to a tendency toward total chromaticism (starting with themes using all 12 tones, etc. etc.), serial to a tendency toward a certain way of controlling the music (not exactly right, but not going into more detail outside of PM- not that I am any sort of expert anyways.) It sounds like the 1937 symphony may be the former - easier to detect with the unaided ear - but not necessarily the latter.
In any case, sounds like, if the Jongen means that symphonies concertantes qualify as "symphonies", then Martin would fail to qualify for this list for about frog-knows different reasons... (forum restrictions, too many symphonies- the Symphonie burlesque, symphonie concertante (arr. of his petite symphonie concertante), symphonie of 1937)...) - so-- anyways. Hrm.
As to Reissiger, I still don't know of a 2nd symphony but gather his 1st was published as his first, which is not unusual even when no 2nd ever follows (though it was once more usual, I suppose, to just publish it as "Symphony". As I said, I'm still amused that my - presumably reprint - copy of Frankel's Op.33 still says "Symphony Op.33" on the cover even though there might be some reason by now to add "No.1" on the cover. Maybe too few sales to justify.)
Let's not forget the fine Symphony in B-flat (1891) by Ernest Chausson.
The Chausson is already in the list (if you were referring to the list on page 1 :) ). Were you looking under 1855 or 1891? They're listed by composer's birthdate, not date of composition or publication. (Where known, I suppose!)
Quote from: Balapoel on Sunday 23 September 2012, 21:10
I meant this one: Symphonie burlesque sur des mélodies populaires savoyardes, 1915; cond. P. Secretan, Geneva, Feb 1916
I do beg your pardon. I'd never heard of the piece!
If there is interest, a recent website posted here with a VERY long list of symphonists (~ yields about 327 composers of 1 symphony born between 1760 and 1880). I haven't checked out all of these, but if people want, I could post them here.
For example, here are the Ukranians
Bortńanśký, Dmytro 1751 1825
Puchaľśký, Volodymyr 1848 1933
Kalačevśký, Mychajlo 1851 1910
Sokaľśký, Volodymyr 1863 1920
Blumenfeľd, Feliks 1863 1931
Jacynevyč, Jakiv 1869 1945
Senyća, Pavlo 1879 1960
hrm. Well, Kalachevsky and Blumenfeld are familiar - didn't known Bortnyansky wrote a symphony, though that's good news - MusicSack claims that should be Vladimir Pukhalsky/Puchalski, but maybe that's the Russian Slavic form ; intriguing (hadn't heard of him, but he taught Lev Ornstein, was musicologist, pianist, as well as teacher and composer...) (Also listed in Elson (Modern Music and Musicians) as having composed a symphony is an Ivan Popoff (*1859) - erm... ok, will look into, anyway...)
Joseph Jongen did write a single symphony, his op.15 from 1898. It's about 45 minutes long.
You're right, I forgot to check CeBeDeM (one of these days I also am going to have to give in and just call it Tonguetwister.)
Quote from: minacciosa on Monday 24 September 2012, 04:04
Joseph Jongen did write a single symphony, his op.15 from 1898. It's about 45 minutes long.
What's it like?
I haven't seen the score. One day.
Here's a little on Jongen's opus 15 symphony- the "cannot be judged" part is ominous, is the work lost, I wonder? Joseph Jongen and His Organ Music, p.19 (http://books.google.com/books?id=KIFlQ5b6DK0C&pg=PA19). (Composed around 1899, when Ein Heldenleben was premiered, a premiere Jongen attended it seems- not when Don Juan was, as the author also claims, which was 10 years before. Unless the Munich premiere is meant in both cases. 1899 might still be meant, from the rest of the page.) (Ah, you already have 1898. Gotcha. Well, there's some other info on that page that may be of some interest. It seems to have been performed twice around 1900 but maybe not since.)
That's fascinating information. The little bit of description of the symphony certainly intrigues.
Another 24 for the list.
Aloys Schmitt 1789-1866
Jan Il'insky 1795-1860 Symphony in F
Jozef Brzowski 1803-1888
Henry Westrop 1812-1879
William Lovell Phillips 1816-1860
Carl Eckert 1820-1879
Nikolay Ivanovitch Zaremba 1821-1879
Florimond Ronger Hervey 1825-1892 'Ashanti War' dramatic symphony 1874 Performed at Covent Garden Prom.
Adolf Gollmick 1826-1983
John Thomas 1826-1913
Charles Frost 1828-?
Charles Barry 1830-1915
Arthur O'Leary 1834-1919
Agnes Tyrrell 1846-1883
Horton Allison 1846-1926 Symphony dated 1875
Aline Hundt 1849-1873
Louise Le Beau 1850-1927
Clara Korn 1866-1940 Symphony in C
Annie Grimson 1870-1949
Edith Greene symphony composed 1895
Amilcare Zanella 1873-1949
Evelyn Faltis 1887-1937
Edith Swepstone 1885-1930
Anna Suszczynska 1891-1931 Symphony in C major 'War Symphony' 1914
Some composers I don't think have been mentioned yet (apologies if they have):
Béla Bartók
Arthur Benjamin (a very fine piece)
Norman Dello Joio
Bernard Herrmann
Mieczysław Karłowicz
Robert Volkmann
Thanks Giles. Without backtracking I think Rott was cited in an earlier post - no matter, the symphony bears repeated sightings!
Not at all a grumble directed at you, Giles, but when folk produce lists such as this I wish they'd attach 2-3 sentences giving a view in a nutshell as to why the composer or work might be worth a mention.
Maybe my knowledge is more limited than most - but I'm clueless about who the other three might be, or why their single symphonies are worthy of note. Google tells me that Anna Suszczynska is an architect with 5 years professional practice in Torquay in Devon, but I'm pretty sure she didn't write a War Symphony in 1914.
Mere unadorned lists don't tell us very much. Apologies if I might appear grouchy - I'm not!
Volkmann wrote two, of course, so doesn't belong on this list.
Bartók's early E-flat major symphony has only recently been reconstructed and performed- I have a radio broadcast, I think it is, I don't believe it's even been commercially recorded. I'll only claim that's a major gap because I regard Bartók as one of the great 20th-century composers and an unrecorded large work of his as, well, ... a major gap. :) (Well, ok, I like it, as I recall. Need to listen again, though...)
Clara Korn has actually been discussed in here, sort of - here. (http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php?topic=3491.0) Clara Anna (Gerlach) Korn, 1866-1940.
Wikipedia credits Alexander Ilyinsky (1859-1920) - we've talked about him in the past too - with one symphony; I've seen Jan Ilyinsky mentioned somewhere too I seem to recall, but trying to remember where...
Quote from: eschiss1 on Friday 28 September 2012, 13:37
Volkmann wrote two, of course, so doesn't belong on this list.
Bartók's early E-flat major symphony has only recently been reconstructed and performed- I have a radio broadcast, I think it is, I don't believe it's even been commercially recorded. I'll only claim that's a major gap because I regard Bartók as one of the great 20th-century composers and an unrecorded large work of his as, well, ... a major gap. :) (Well, ok, I like it, as I recall. Need to listen again, though...)
Re: Volkmann: So he did! I have no idea how he got on my list of single-symphony composers in my database (constantly ongoing). Apologies for the gaff.
As for the Bartók, it was recorded many, many years ago (I have the LP): http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/June%201972/41/850770/BARTOK.+Symphony+in+E+flat+major%E2%80%94+Scherzo,+Kossuth%E2%80%94Symphonic+Poem.+Scherzo+for+piano+and+orchestra.+Budapest+Symphony+Orchestra+conducted+by+GyOrgy+Lehel.+Item+marked++with+Erzsebet+Tusa+%28piano%29.+Hungaroton+SLPX11517+%281.50%29. (http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/June%201972/41/850770/BARTOK.+Symphony+in+E+flat+major%E2%80%94+Scherzo,+Kossuth%E2%80%94Symphonic+Poem.+Scherzo+for+piano+and+orchestra.+Budapest+Symphony+Orchestra+conducted+by+GyOrgy+Lehel.+Item+marked++with+Erzsebet+Tusa+%28piano%29.+Hungaroton+SLPX11517+%281.50%29.)
Arthur Benjamin's lone symphony is a very fine piece indeed (to my ears), while Bernard Herrmann's Symphony is also worth a listen. If I was the first to mention Karłowicz's Straussian Symphony, I'd be surprised, as that composer is attracting some well-deserved attention nowadays.
Re Bartók: I mean the whole symphony (BB 25/DD 68), not just the scherzo- ah. From Elliott Antokoletz, Paolo Susanni (2011) - symphony exists in piano reduction only (1902) except for the scherzo which the composer rescued, added a piano to and published as his opus 2 Scherzo/Burlesque for piano and orchestra. (An orchestration of the complete piano version (complete? sketches? the former I assume...? ) was however performed and broadcast- that's what I was referring to.)
Eric, always assuming that Bartok's early Symphony is romantic in spirit and isn't characteristic of his mature music (In which case it wouldn't belong here) might you be able to upload it? It'd be an interesting listen.
I don't see why not offhand, let's see... and I think nothing he wrote in 1902 was characteristic of his mature music, but I might be wrong about that too :D
In looking to see if the recording I had had been commercially released, I happened on a copy listed in the U. Texas at Austin Library Catalog- archival, not commercial- and was reminded what I remembered much more often a long while ago, that their library has (listed; have never been there or even in Austin, just to Fort Worth briefly I think) a wonderful collection of archive recordings etc., possibly one of the best in the USA at a guess (I don't know. I have personal experience with the one associated with Lincoln Center Library in NY City- listened to some Ivanovs there years back and other music besides, some from broadcast, from LPs, from CDs, etc. ... - the others I can only guess at. Anyway. I'd start a thread about that if it looked like it might go anywhere rather than being a one-off... as is, sorry about the tangent...)
Rott is actually kind of a wobbler. He composed a Symphony for Strings in A-flat in addition to the one in E for full orchestra. Since some composers numbered their symphonies for unusual orchestras (strings, strings and percussion, military band, etc.) among their symphonies in general, whereas others made a differentiation between symphonies for full orchestra and symphonies for other instrumental groups (e.g. Mendelssohn, with 12 symphonies for strings numbered separately from his "regular" symphonies) Rott is kind of ambiguous.
Thanks so much for the upload of the Bartok Symphony, Eric. Such prompt service!
Happy to :)
It's not, I think, that Mendelssohn differentiated his "12-and" symphonies for strings (no.13 being just a prelude and fugue, perhaps one might not include it...) because of instrumentation- after all, they aren't all for strings (he arranged one for small orchestra, anyway) - he didn't include any of his works from those years in his "official" numberings, I think, if they were his and not his publishers' anyway (if they were his publishers', then they certainly didn't, since they weren't published during his lifetime.) (Or do his earliest published works overlap in date with those student/early family gathering works? It's possible, I'd have to check. Could be wrong, yes.) Though yes, categorization, opus numbering, who decides what, ... is its own (trouble-ridden, curse-ridden) group of topics anyway... :)
Many thanks from me also, Eric, for the Bartok upload.
In reply to Peter; Anna Suszczynska 1891-1931. She was born in Poznan and studied at the Scharwenka Conservatory in Berlin and later went to New York to further her studies. In addition to her symphony she also wrote a piano concerto in E minor
and a fantasy for orchestra.
Thanks Giles. Some interesting characters here, eh?
A female composer I have long been curious about is Evelyn Faltis (1887-1937), whose Phantastische Sinfonie für Orchester, op. 2a appears to be her only symphony, and for which - according to the article about her on the 'Musik und Gender im Internet' site run by the 'Hochschule fuer Musik und Theater' in Hamburg [http://mugi.hfmt-hamburg.de/A_lexartikel/lexartikel.php?id=falt1887] - she won a prize at the conservatoire in Dresden. Has anyone in the UC community ever come across any of her works?
The Bartók scherzo from the Symphony in Eb is not the same piece as the Bartók Scherzo for piano and orchestra. The former work has formerly been available on Hungaroton SLPX11517 where it was coupled both with the latter work and Kossuth.
ah, thanks. it seemed that they shared the same BB no. (25) ? or so I thought. so I was confused.
Thank you Wheesht for drawing my attention to the André Messager Symphony in A. I managed to obtain a copy on Amazon of the Skarbo CD (Messager + Fauré + Frank) and have since listened to the Messager Symphony several times. Listening to the symphony, I am strongly reminded of Mendelssohn and to a lesser extent of Schubert. There is also the influence of the french school - Messager, Fauré and Franck were all of course organists and Messager and Fauré both shared the same music master,Eugène Gigout. I am very taken with the symphony and am certain that I will come back to it often.
Thanks again for the recommendation.
Evelyn Faltis also wrote a piano concerto which I have long been curious about.
So far I couldn't trace his name in this thread but I think the Norwegian Iver Holter wrote just one Symphony in F major op. 3. It has been recorded but I don't have the CD. I suppose it was written in 1881 or 82. Arizona Public Radio (KUAT) broadcast it recently.
If I understand this (http://snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Iver_Holter/utdypning) right, which I'm not sure I do, it was written around then, maybe mid-1882. "After a year in Christiania..." (Oslo)
According to the NKFCD liner notes, it was indeed first performed in Oslo (then called Kristiania) in 1882 - it was begun in Leipzig between 1876-79 during the composer's student years.
I can add a few 'minor' Russian's (and surrounding countries) to this list.
Apollon Gussakovsky has an unfinished Symphony from 1860.
Moussorgsky apparently wrote a youthful Symphony in D major, dating from 1862. I'm not sure if he ever finished it.
Another unfinished - Mikola Lysenko's from 1869.
Leonid Malashkin's single example dates from 1873. He was primarily a composer of songs.
One very interesting piece is Mikhailo Kalashevsky's from 1876, titled 'Ukrainian' - probably by his publisher. This is apparently the first Ukrainian symphony and it has also been recorded.
Pavel Blaramberg's only finished symphony, in B minor, dates from 1886. There's another unfinished one dated around 1907.
Catoire's Symphony in C minor dates from 1889, or 1899, depending upon where you look.
Vassily Vrangel's single symphony dates from 1894, as does Nikolai Kazanli's Symphony in F minor (though he wrote a Sinfonietta in G minor a few years before).
Arseny Koreshchenko's Lyrical Symphony in A flat major Op.23 dates from 1895 - I'm fairly sure this is his only example.
Mikolajus Ciurlionis has a Symphony in D minor from 1902, though again, I'm not sure if it is complete.
Paul Juon only wrote one full-blown symphony, the Op.23 in A minor from 1903.
The completely unheard of Yevgeny Bukke has a single Symphony, dated 1906.
Equally unheard of is Yuri Sakhnovsky, who's symphony dates from 1908.
Of course, then there is Blumenfeld's Symphony in C minor To the Beloved Dead Op.39 - his only example, I believe. A lovely piece of which there are a few recordings.
Another unheard-of is Sergei Shabelsky, who's only symphony dates from 1910 (although he wrote a Sinfonietta in 1954).
Alexander Alexandrov's single symphony dates from 1912.
Arkady Dubensky's Symphony in G minor dates from 1916 (he also composed a Fugue for 18 violins, a Suite for 9 flutes and an Overture for 18 toy trumpets!)
Alexander Yuranovsky's 'Spring Symphony' dates from 1918.
And there, I shall stop! :)
Lee
Interesting. Apart from the Blumenfeld and Catoire, have you ever heard any of these symphonies?
I remember I had heard of the Blaramberg for some reason, and the Kalashevsky, but none of the others, until I read about them! I can't imagine they are ever likely to be performed. I wonder if the parts or scores survive? The details are all from Feofanov and Ho's dictionary.
I forgot to add that Nikolai Zaremba (one of Tchaikovsky's teachers) wrote and un-dated single symphony too - from the same book.
Lee
Edit - apologies, Alan. I mis-read yoru reply. The answer is no, except for the Kalashevsky. I have a recording, but have not noted the source - part of me thinks it most likely it was from this forum!
Leea25, you are quite right re- the Kalashevsky symphony. It was in the downloads on this forum. I downloaded it some time ago and listened to it a lot - very enjoyable, nice themes. Haven't listened ot it recently though. This is a timely reminder to listen to it again.
According to one source I've found, the Kalashevsky Ukrainian Symphony is his No. 2. Which does not mean his 1st has survived, only that apparently somebody believes that there was one.
Hi JimL,
I'd be very interested in knowing where you read that. The only mentions I've ever come across are in Feofanov and Ho's Dictionary and in the Dictionary published by the Ukrainian Composers' Union, both of which mention it as his only symphony. Neither is very forth coming with detailed work lists or much about his life, so they could well be wrong! :) In fact the Ukrainian dictionary lists it as his only purely orchestral work, which I find hard to believe.
Lee
Grove has Catoire's Symphony Op.7 as dating from 1889. A lot of the references to 1899 seem to be associated with the Khaikin performance, so a mistake may simply have been repeated a number of times. On the other hand, Wikipedia has the opus numbers immediately before and after Op.7 as dating from 1897, which led to my assumption that the correct date was 1897. Oh dear!
I saw a similar source about the Kalashevsky symphony but never anything more convincing to back that up...
Quote from: Alan Howe on Sunday 07 October 2012, 19:22
Grove has Catoire's Symphony Op.7 as dating from 1889. A lot of the references to 1899 seem to be associated with the Khaikin performance, so a mistake may simply have been repeated a number of times. On the other hand, Wikipedia has the opus numbers immediately before and after Op.7 as dating from 1897, which led to my assumption that the correct date was 1897. Oh dear!
Soviet musical encyclopaedia:
composed - 1899
first performance - 1905
Mmm... Grove :-\ The more I use it the more I find it lacking. Very sad really. I once wrote to them, saying that they really should have composers listed as being alive, who died more than 10 years ago. They chap who wrote back was very apologetic. I rather got the impression they were short of staff and money. Shouldn't complain really - it's a massive resource, and completely free, on-line in the UK with your library card! :)
I'm sure that late 1890s for the Catoire must be correct. Maybe Dutton will enlighten us when their forthcoming recording comes out.
Quote from: Leea25 on Sunday 07 October 2012, 11:34
I can add a few 'minor' Russian's (and surrounding countries) to this list.
[...]
Moussorgsky apparently wrote a youthful Symphony in D major, dating from 1862. I'm not sure if he ever finished it.
[...]
Mussorgski's unfinished symphony was apparently partly completed Arkady Leytush, and premiered in Kiev in 2008. He's put two movements online at his own Youtube channel (so I presume it's all above board, copyright-wise):
First Movement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac6_tJbGrRM&feature=relmfu (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac6_tJbGrRM&feature=relmfu)
Second Movement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOsXAFiy3NE&feature=relmfu (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOsXAFiy3NE&feature=relmfu)
Quote from: eschiss1 on Sunday 07 October 2012, 20:40
I saw a similar source about the Kalashevsky symphony but never anything more convincing to back that up...
http://imslp.org/wiki/Wishlist_G-K
It could be that this source has conflated Tchaikovsky's "Little Russian" Symphony (#2) with the Kalachevsky. After all, the Ukraine was also referred to as "Little Russia" and Tchaikovsky uses a couple of Ukrainian folk tunes as grist for his symphonic mill in this work.
re the Wishlist thing: as I recall, I wrote that, so I'd be quoting myself. The author of the article (Mason edited "The art of music: a comprehensive library of information for ..., Volume 11" but may not have written the entry on Kolachevsky/Kalachevski) does mention the symphony on page 265 of his book (Kolachevski, "Composed a 'Ukraine' symphony", ...) but says nothing about its being a 2nd symphony. Sorry I was unclear.
Google Books link (http://books.google.com/books?id=v0cpAAAAYAAJ&pg=PG265) (US only, probably) for the Mason.
Baker/Remy (3rd ed) gives more detail but also only mentions one symphony. I'm at a loss as to why I thought there were more. I'll remove that thing until and unless I have good reason to put it back in. Sorry.
(btw in regards Kalachevsky the only other thing of his I see recorded offhand is a piano nocturne played (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV10xCHvNPQ) by Mr. Sear on his YouTube channel...)
I came across another. Apparently Alexander Ilinsky (who taught both Kalinnikov brothers, amongst others) wrote a single un-dated symphony. I don't think I have ever heard any of his music, though apparently some sections of one of his operas (Nur and Amitra, off the top of my head - reference book not with me), have been recorded.
mentioned Ilyinsky back here (http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,3805.msg41233.html#msg41233) actually.
Was Walter Braunfels yet mentioned in this thread?
It's something strange, that this master of orchestral colour and motivic development only wrote one symphony, the Sinfonia Brevis op. 69, late in his career.
Oops! Sorry - that'll teach me to skim read :-\
eh, over 6 pages it's been a bit scattered-throughout. If there weren't so many ways to transliterate his surname, I'd suggest using the search feature...
Anyone know if Frederick/Friedrich Stock wrote a second symphony? I haven't heard his first but the score is at IMSLP (here (http://imslp.org/wiki/Symphony_No.1,_Op.18_(Stock,_Frederick))) (parts available at FLP.)
I know he is mentioned elsewhere, but I believe Julius (Gyula) Beliczay only wrote one symphony (quite a fine one), and it *has* been recorded.
Beliczay seems to have written a second symphony op.66 in ms, I believe? Not sure.
Quote from: Alan Howe on Saturday 22 September 2012, 23:33
..... the wonderfully romantic symphony by Goetz (which G. B. Shaw considered superior to Brahms)...
I usually don't agree with G. B. Shaw but he is spot on here! What a Symphony. Especially the 2nd and 3rd movement. Genius. And the Mendelssohn-Berwald-ish Finale was quite a surprise. Reminded me why I love the key of F Major so much ;D
Yes, the Goetz is a delightful symphony, but to my ears not superior to any of the four Brahms symphonies.
In fact this F major symphony is Goetz's 2nd. He also wrote a symphony in E minor (1866-67), premiered in 1867, but was unfortunately never published. The score was destroyed by his wife after her husband died. Why oh why...?
@Peter I knew someone would raise the Brahms issue. I was never keen on his symphonies in the 1st place hence my preference. Goetz's Symphony No. 1 was destroyed by his widow who was, according to history, battling some sort of mental illness! I don't know to what extent this is true.
Thank you Alan and FBerwald for drawing my attention to the Goetz symphony. I was intrigued by the comments, especially re- the second and third movements of the symphony. I've since listened to the work a number of times and like it very much indeed. The second movement is sunny and delightful and the slow third movement is very beautiful. I also like the opening movement but feel that the 4th movement is not quite as impressive as the other three movements. Nevertheless, this is a wonderful symphony and I am very pleased to have the CD in my collection. Thank you again.
Vorobjev / Vorobyev / Vorobiev Gennadij / Gennadi / Gennady / etc.
Symphony in c-moll, worked on until his death at age 20.
Listen to the whole, standard four movement work at:
http://classical-music-online.net/en/production/34538 (http://classical-music-online.net/en/production/34538)
Sounds to me like a cross between Kalinnikov and Dvorak.
Impossible to believe it was written 1937 - 1939.
Vorobjev's Symphony is an attractive, approachable work which, although clearly the product of the 20th century (saying that it's a cross between Dvorak and Kalinnikov is more than a bit of a stretch) has nothing in it's idiom which offends my 19th century sensibilities.
So, distinguished members - do we have any more information about this symphony, the composer or the recording?
A little trawling of the net produced the following:
Gennadiy Vasil'evich Vorob'ev (1918 - 1939) - Symphony in C minor (1937 - 1939)
played by "Opera-Symphonic Orchestra" conducted by Vitaliy Kitayev.
Vorob'ev was born in Cherboksary, the capital of the Chuvash region. He studied at the Moscow Conservatoire under Genrikh (Heinrich) Litinsky (who also taught Karen Khachaturian, Babadjanian and others).
I can find no information about his untimely demise - unless he was a very early war casualty.
The designations of the movements would also be much appreciated (Eric?).
I remember reading somewhere that Thuille has written an early symphony in D minor. If so, then the F Major work would be actually No. 2. Anyone have any idea what happened to the 1st Symphony?
About the Vorob'ev, I tried finding out info but will try again. About Thuille -hrm.. there is a recentish book on Thuille (Bernd Edelmann, Bavarian Composers series, in German); a "snippet-view" search @ Google reveals only mention of the F major (1885/6) symphony, but I am likely missing something or it may be a collection of papers and the D minor symphony may just not be discussed in them...
Vorob'ev: anyone in Estonia and near this Tallinn library or able to interloan from it? --- permanent link to (http://tallinn.ester.ee/record=b2355885~S1*est) what certainly looks like a library card entry for the Vorobyev symphony. That would probably answer the question... (ah, useful to know that "Gennadi Vorobjov" is another alternate spelling. Computers are -- so human and picky. (Also, Vorobyev, but we have that one. Hrm. FWIW the VIAF link is here (http://viaf.org/viaf/80854214), which can be helpful.)
(Looks like I may need to add the Tallinn library to my list of "libraries not on Worldcat's list that are worth checking when I want to find things"... :) Not huge, but they seem to have about a dozen things by Vorob'ev not all of which are in other libraries, for instance... hrm. )
Quote from: Rainolf on Tuesday 09 October 2012, 23:28
Was Walter Braunfels yet mentioned in this thread?
It's something strange, that this master of orchestral colour and motivic development only wrote one symphony, the Sinfonia Brevis op. 69, late in his career.
Well, two, sort-of... Op.68 is a Sinfonia concertante. Half-symphony (unless he held to an ideal definition of the sinfonia concertante, so then sort-of two symphonies, the first one lighter.)
Eric
I have to say I'm rather enamored by the Swiss Hermann Suter's (only) Symphony in D minor of 1920, a big anachronistic Bruckner-meets-Franck feast, but more playful than either of those.
I second that, I have always been rather fond of this symphony - and not just because it was written by a fellow countryman. The mention of the swiss label Claves in the thread about Max d'Ollone elsewhere on this forum has led me to their catalogue, especially their Basque composers series - and lo' and behold, there was another one-symphony composer: Valentin De Zubiaurre (1837-1914). Listening to a few clips on JPC made me feel I just had to order the CD. UC is a great enjoyment, but it can do strange things to one's purse...
While we're on the subject of Basque composers, we can't really ignore Jesús Guridi Bidaola, whose single and epic Sinfonia Piranaica (1946 but firmly late romantic) was among my discoveries of the past year. In subject matter, scale and ambition, it is not entirely unlike the even more extravagant 'Polonia' symphony by Paderewski.
And the Zubiaurre symphony is available as an Amazon download here:
http://www.amazon.com/Basque-Music-Collection-XIII-Zubiaurre/dp/B004CLABXE/ref=tmm_other_meta_binding_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1358957869&sr=1-8 (http://www.amazon.com/Basque-Music-Collection-XIII-Zubiaurre/dp/B004CLABXE/ref=tmm_other_meta_binding_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1358957869&sr=1-8)
Jerry
Zubiaurre's Symphony is very pleasant, but also very provincial-sounding. It sounds like the sort of thing that a composer familiar with, say, the world of opera would write when there is no tradition of symphonic writing. Of historical interest primarily, I'd say, but amid all the conventional and predictable musical material there are some nice tunes (he said, damning the piece with faint praise!), the slow movement in particular being a very enjoyable listen.
You beat me too it. On the plus side, throughout Zubiaurre's Symphony I was reminded of Schubert (in his amiable, not melancholy, mood) and, rather to my surprise, of Gouvy. Now, he doesn't sound like Gouvy at all, but his orchestration has that sort of sharp clarity which Gouvy's symphonies have. Melodically he can spin a tune, but they all tend to meander. In fact, the whole work meanders and it is way, way too long to maintain concentrated interest. Music to read by IMHO.
hrm, another for the list; a symphony by Danish composer Peter Krossing in manuscript at DKB (also at IMSLP) (looks - well, I've been planning to extract the parts and try to typeset them unless someone else on IMSLP who does that more often has "dibs" ;) ... - and to do that before I really make a judgment on how I think it looks; manuscripts are more-than-usually difficult that way, and I've only seen two works of his at all.) Born 1793.
Quote from: eschiss1 on Saturday 19 January 2013, 10:57
About the Vorob'ev, I tried finding out info but will try again. About Thuille -hrm.. there is a recentish book on Thuille (Bernd Edelmann, Bavarian Composers series, in German); a "snippet-view" search @ Google reveals only mention of the F major (1885/6) symphony, but I am likely missing something or it may be a collection of papers and the D minor symphony may just not be discussed in them...
According to a 1923 book about Thuille by one Friedrich Munter (in German) there is only the F major symphony, which was considered a 'masterwork' if not a masterpiece by Rheinberger (Munter sees a subtle diference there, apparently). It only existed in manuscript form when that book was published.
I know of no publication now either, but may be mistaken (though given that it's been recorded and how difficult it often is to read from manuscripts, I'm guessing it doesn't -just- exist in manuscript form- maybe typesets of the parts exist for rental that have been made by computer now, or something. Don't know. Munter's name is familiar...)
While Franck's Symphony is certainly not an unsung work I've been listening to some different recordings and I feel the best one is Pierre Monteux conducting the Chicago Symphony. Does anyone else have an opinion?
That's probably the greatest recording the piece has ever received. I have a number of recordings, ranging from the fleet of foot to the monumental: Monteux's is a lean, purposeful performance, played by a world-class orchestra.
Did I already mention somewhere else Sylvio Lazzari's great Symphony in B flat of 1906? I struggled for many years to get it recorded...
You did - and I have your recording! Many thanks for it!
@sdtom - I agree with you - but I also like very much Karajan's version and, why not, Ansermet's ;)
I like Karajan's recording of the Franck too. It badly needs remastering, though.
Thanks, Alan :-)
Sorry for having repeated myself... Yes, the Karajan Franck needs a remastering - in the style it is now being done by Warner of some EMI recordings which have not been yet remastered in the early 2000's. I've just bought two of Karajan's Strauss items from Japan, which are quite satisfactory, although the Sinfonia Domestics is in super sound already in the 1988 (first) German remastering (In my opinion, the supreme interpretation of this work anyway...). Warner are on the way of reissuing a lot of older recordings on bargain series with original cover design, of which the "complete Satie" box is a real highlight. For example, the digital remastering of Beethoven's Piano Concertos with Klemperer/Barenboim is from 2006 - but excellent. The series "Home of Opera" has also started, supposedly only with downloadable libretti, but in there too, there are already titles which were remastered in the early 2000s. Another important Warner reissue series is "Erato Story".
Does this not look like a big last surging before the definite disappearing of CDs?
Very possible, although maybe there are still a lot of 'older guys' like us out there who will buy this stuff?
we just really don't know. If I guessed I'd say 5 years
Meanwhile computer technologists have decided that e-mail too will just survive just a couple of years and that other communication forms will be taking over, based on those silly social media platforms like Twittter and Facebook - o my, how happy I am to be an oldie already!
If we lose email there will be nothing for it but to return to pen and ink and snail mail. I absolutely decline to use Facebook or Twitter. The latter is just silly, while Facebook seems, uniquely, to combine the superficial with the pernicious.
Absolutely right. Pen and ink it would have to be for me too...
I know we're way off topic - but there's this to consider:
Radical improvements in recording technology and a changeover takes roughly 30 years. You had the lowly Edison 78s, which were then replaced by the long playing record. That was then disposed of by the Stereo LP. LPs ruled the roost from about 1955 to 1985 when the CD started taking over. Now here we are 30 years later and the preferred method of music reproduction seems to be downloading or audio feed from outlets like Spotify and iTunes. In virtually every prior tech era, there was a rush to re-record the repertoire using the new, improved format. So we had Elgar symphonies in acoustic recordings, then electrical, then LP, then stereo, then cd - but now what? Same thing happened with all the hallowed classics: Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Wagner...
So I wonder, now that the medium seems to be moving away from a physical object, will there be the same need to re-record everything? Certainly Unsung composers benefitted by the LP and especially the CD era, but will Raff, Reinecke, Rubinstein stand a chance in the music-in-the-cloud era? I don't think so. I think the great era of recording music is about to end, and if you want to hear some orchestra it's going to be like what the Berlin Philharmonic is doing - subscribe and listen (and watch) at home. The Metropolitan Opera currently runs operas in movie theaters across the country, but it's only a matter of time before they make it a home option.
I don't know how I feel about all this yet. I have enough great cds to last a lifetime and downloading or using a streaming service doesn't interest me in the least. I could go for orchestra concert broadcast subscriptions. I'd pay to have a high quality transmission of say the London Symphony, the Vienna Philharmonic, or the Boston Symphony. It's going to be interesting to see where all this goes. But I fear terribly for the future of classical music; the way we discovered it - in record stores - is long gone, and kids today don't have that luxury and will likely never discover the glorious treasure of music that lies waiting for them.
...and yet and yet: the independents seem to be issuing recordings of unsung music at an unprecedented rate....
MartinH and Alan, I fully agree with you :-)
Just see what Botstein and his orchestra are doing since quite some time now - only downloads. Fortunately enough I am not a great fan of him :-)
Will never forget my trepidations, in the 60s and 70s, hunting in LP shops or second hand shops... My travels to big cities included running to these locations immediately after arriving at the train station, before checking in to my hotel. Casual discoveries of unsung or yet unknown pieces would caused sleepless nights! Or DGGs splendid boxed issues of Karajan's Beethoven, Brahms and Tchaikovsky, or some other nice cover design - all this became part of an additional sensual experience (to the musical one). Will never forget the EMI boxes of Busoni's Piano Concerto and Sibelius' Kullervo Symphony, or those Decca (Tebaldi and Sutherland) operas with horrible cover art - which you were getting used to, or nicer cover art of symphonic repertoire, or those RCA Soria boxes with gorgeous libretti... Such optical and tactorial experiences made me feel happy. You would have your favorite jackets liying around in your flat or placed againt a wall, and often look a them with joy. Or some nice French EMI gatefold albums...
The most luxurious items were Decca's Ring in that wooden slipcase (which we insider called "the tombstone") or Bernstein's GMS, with that little golden Mahler medal sticked on, or Vivaldi's and Chopin's Erato wooden box.
During my student years I jumped meals in order to save money for LPs...
Will also not forget my big disappointment when labels had departed from using linen backridges on their boxes; I even wrote letters because of this!
These were times you just had Radio (which over here was not yet so pioneering concerning unsung pieces), the Gramophone, Schwann and Bielefelder catalogues - or mouth-to-mouth propaganda - and not much more information sources, except reviews, of course, but unusual repertoire was not yet reviewed so frequently. In England and the USA the LP genre was much more cultivated. But one must not forget, that LPs were quite expensive in those years!
Must say reviving now similar "extra enjoyment" experiences with some recent luxury CD boxed presentations, as Stravinsky's and Glenn Gould's Sony-CBS, or Warner-EMI's definite Callas edition. This reveals that a few cultured freaks are still sitting around in those hopelessly personnel-reduced production offices of the few left over big labels...
All this applies, naturally, to my love for books...
Martin, having been a witness of the transfer period of LPs to CDs, I have witnessed precious little repertoire innovation. What mostly happened was that LP repertoire was being re-recorded, and (perhaps more importantly) that the lower cost and higher retail prices of CDs meant that record companies' profits were higher than ever before. How much of that revenue went into new product you may calculate for yourself, but I wouldn't be optimistic.
What CDs have done in the long term is to simultaneously drastically reduce the cost of the music carrier, and to lower the barriers for content creation. Everone with a PC can record music (in principle) and reproduce it. But a CD is only a carrier, just like a floppy disc is a carrier. We're living as much in the age of digital recording as we have been over the last thirty years - there's just a shift in carriers that change and become even cheaper. That means that everyone with an ounce of perseverance is able to produce their own recording, but also that the commercial recordings can much sooner reach the critical mass which makes producing the recording worthwile.
In other words: taking a risk will pay much sooner. The traditional way of recording with big-name (and big-wage) stars, on the other hand, has become much more problematic, since the market doesn't allow for those costs to be recouped. As for the unsungs, though, I'm optimistic, and I think the story of the past decade justifies that optimism.
Personally, I'm grateful if the CD goes. I've always loathed them as objects. The big problem, however, is providing documentation with recordings, but there are more ways to get around that issue and let's be honest, CD booklets are hardly ideal for reading purposes. Recently I picked up a recording of Van Bree's Allegro moderato for four String Quartets in a lovely book, with the files in the back of the volume as a USB thumb drive. It was a joy to use.
I have to disagree with your initial premise. From my observations, the cd era was a gold mine of repertoire innovation. Yes, there were some valiant, intrepid producers in the LP era. Candide, Turnabout, Genesis, and others certainly brought us some rare repertoire. But it was a lucky coincidence of economics and technology that gave us the (nearly) complete works of Franz Schmidt, Glazunov, Bax, Stanford, Parry, Rontgen, and many, many more. My first exposure to any symphony by Glazunov was 40 or so years ago on a Columbia LP, which only whetted my appetite and increased my frustration that I couldn't hear the rest. There was an LP set on Melodiya which was really hard to get. But it didn't take long in the cd era that I had not one, but now five complete sets of Glazunov symphonies - astounding! I thought I would never hear any symphony of Schmidt besides the 4th, yet thanks to cds, there are multiple versions of each. So yes, I think the economics of cds dramatically improved the chance to hear rare repertoire.
I recently read an astonishing statistic: the 1977 Karajan Beethoven symphony set sold 8 million copies. Sales of that level will never happen again. First, there are already so many fine sets, it's going to take a lot to get people to buy another. Then the general public is much less interested in classical than ever, and lastly, there are no more Karajans. H
CD booklets are all over the place. Some great, some awful. Some hard to read, others not worth reading. I love the cd as a carrier just as others still cherish the LP. I just hope that there are cd players, for home and auto, to last me for the rest of my life.
And with that, let's return to the thread topic...
As it happens I've just been listening to the Grimm and Dietrich symphonies. Both contain some fine music and seem to look forward to Brahms. The Dietrich though is let down by a rather weak finale but he was by no means the only composer to grapple with the "finale problem". Arriaga, Voříšek and Rott would no doubt have written more.
Rott had a mostly complete symphony for strings, so yeah.
QuoteAs it happens I've just been listening to the Grimm and Dietrich symphonies. Both contain some fine music and seem to look forward to Brahms. The Dietrich though is let down by a rather weak finale but he was by no means the only composer to grapple with the "finale problem".
Yes, that's a fair assessment. Both are clear examples, though, of symphonies that deserve to be included in concert programmes. They also prove beyond doubt that there's rather more to the 'Dahlhaus Gap' than that particular musicologist thought existed. We ought to be grateful that we can at last hear them for ourselves and make up our own minds...
Now that we're on the subject of individual symphonies, I have been listening of late to three Flemish symphonies that were composed in around 1900 more despite than thanks to the influence of Peter Benoit, who maintained that Flemish music ought to be 1) vocal and 2) written in Dutch. Because of Benoit's influence (he was the director of the Antwerp conservatory) all three composers never continued after that one symphony. They are:
- Lodewijk Mortelmans' Homerische Symfonie (Homerian Symphony) of 1898. A clear mix of Beethovenian and Wagnerian influences, conceived on an ambitious scale, both in scoring and length, and quite satisfying even if the "finale problem" crops up up here as well.
- Adolphe Biarent's Symphony in D minor (1908), influenced rather by Franck (a theme of whose symphony is briefly quoted), Gounod, and to a lesser degree, Wagner. Quite compact at just under 30 minutes, and with a lightness of touch that offers an interesting contrast to Mortelmans' more monumental approach. A short but beautiful adagio, and a solid conclusion for a change.
- August de Boeck's Symphony in G major of 1896 falls between the two above in terms of scale, and in my view the strongest work of the three. Again, Franck is a notable influence, but there are others. Some passages sound positively Rimsky-Korsakovian (e.g., the end of the first movement and the andante). The movements all have their individual character but work together very well, and the playful finale offers a fitting end to the work, with good tension throughout. A very, very good piece.
Here we have three composers demonstrating great skill in creating orchestral works in their early years, and then only finding a a career in vocal music and largely abandoning orchestral composition. This seems to happen quite often - compare it to the career of people such as Ruperto Chapí and Conrado del Campo in Spain.
I always thought Flor Alpaerts' charming Pallieter was a Symphony, but it turns out, it's a Symphonic poem; yet his work list mentions a Lentesymfonie.
There is a definite avoidance of "symphony status" in Belgium around this time - an interesting phenomenon in itself. I was told Pallieter started out as a symphony based on Felix Timmermans' novel. Something similar goes for Paul Gilson's La Mer, which remains a crypto-symphony even in its eventual form.
Significantly, the next Belgian and particularly Flemish generation of composers started churning out symphonies by the handful. Think of Arthur Meulemans' fifteen, and six each for Jef van Hoof and Joseph Ryelandt.
Edit: Ryelandt was born in 1870, so really the same generation as De Boeck et al., but being an independently wealthy nobleman he could afford to make his own decisions.
The Austrian Franz Xaver Müller (1870-1948) falls into this category. He was a priest, organist in St. Florian and later Kapellmeister of the cathedral of Linz. In his youth he had regular meetings with Anton Bruckner, but did not study formally with him. Bruckner, to whose memory he dedicated an organ piece, was nevertheless the greatest influence on Müller's composing style. Müller wrote mostly church music: an oratorio on the life of St. Augustine, masses, motets. His most ambitous instrumental piece is his Symphony in D major from 1910, which, according to contemporary reviews, is 1 hour and 7 minutes long, and shows that its composer was a devoted Brucknerian.