Just suppose that you were as rich as Croesus and instead of frittering your untold wealth away on Old Masters, loose women and fast cars you chose (out of sheer philanthropy) to mount a week-long music festival devoted to works by your favourite composers, how might the programmes look? Should you choose to utilise their talents, you have a world-class orchestra, chorus and top-flight (vocal or instrumental) soloists for one concert each evening from Monday through to Saturday. If you're feeling adventurous you could impose the following optional 'rules' on your selection:
1. you are restricted to one representative item per composer;
2. the week-day programmes should approximate to a standard overture-concerto-[optional extra]-symphony format. However, the final (Saturday) gala night can be a free-for-all;
3. the concerts must be of a practicable length!
Mine would attempt a (rough) chronology of British worthies and might possibly look something like this:
Monday
George Macfarren: Overture 'Chevy Chase'
Sterndale Bennett: Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor
*****
William Vincent Wallace: Overture 'Lurline'
Cipriani Potter: Symphony No.7 in F
Tuesday
Parry: Symphonic Variations
Cowen: Concertstuck for piano and orchestra
*****
Sullivan: Scene 3 from 'The Golden Legend'
Stanford: Symphony No.6 in E flat
Wednesday
Ethel Smyth: Prelude to Act II of 'The Wreckers': 'On the Cliffs of Cornwall'
Mackenzie: 'Scottish Concerto' for piano and orchestra
*****
Cliffe: Orchestral Picture, 'Cloud and Sunshine'
Edward German: Symphonic Suite in D, 'Leeds'
Thursday
Hurlstone: Variations on a Original Theme
Coleridge-Taylor: Violin Concerto
*****
Hamilton Harty: 'Ode to a Nightingale', for soprano and orchestra
McEwen: 'Solway' Symphony
Friday
George Dyson: Overture, 'The Canterbury Pilgrims'
John Foulds: 'Dynamic Triptych' for piano and orchestra
*****
Bantock: Overture, 'The Pierrot of the Minute'
Cyril Scott: Symphony No.3, 'The Muses'
Saturday
Rutland Boughton: Overture and extracts from 'The Queen of Cornwall'
York Bowen: Piano Concerto No.3
*****
Holbrooke: Symphony No.2, 'Apollo and the Seaman' [with lantern slides, drapes and foliage as recommended]
Well I'd turn up for it!
Monday - Unsung British works for Piano & Orchestra
Baines - Poem
Alice Mary Smith - Introduction & Allegro
******
Bache - Morceau de Concert
Hopekirk - Concertstuck
Tuesday - Thalberg day
Complete Bellini transcriptions
****
L'art du Chant Op.70
Wednesday - Strauss Transcriptions Day
Kovacs, Pennario, Schutt, Rosenthal
******
Freidman, Stradal, Cziffra, Schaefer, Godowsky
Thursday - Unsung Sonatas
Dussek Op.77, Woelfl Op.33, Eberl Op.1, Potter Op.1
******
Nicolai Op.22, Kalkbrenner Effusio Musica, Moscheles Sonata Melancholique
Friday - Sean Moyses and his Plectrum Banjo.
Might be on me own for some of these.
Thal
Dunno about a week, but my opening concert would be:
Raff: Prelude Macbeth
Draeseke: Violin Concerto in E minor (World Premiere of Orchestration by Wolfgang Müller-Steinbach)*
*****
Wilhelm Berger: Symphony No.2 in B minor
Nikolaj Znaider*
Dresdner Staatskapelle
Mariss Jansons
I'm going to break the rules, and have a chamber music festival (with as few visitors as possible - what do I care if I'm rich enough to organise something like that?):
Monday
Bela Bartók: Piano Quintet
***
Julius Zarebski: Piano Quintet
Tuesday
Reynaldo Hahn: Piano Quintet
***
Florent Schmitt: Piano Quintet
Wednesday
Christian Sinding: Piano Quintet
***
Louis Glass: Piano Quintet
Thursday
Wilhelm Berger: Piano Quintet
***
Erich Korngold: Piano Quintet
Friday
Sergey Taneyev: Piano Quintet
***
Nicolai Medtner: Piano Quintet
Saturday
Parsifal (by Wagner, that is) arr. for Piano Quintet ;D
Monday
Unforgettable but Unobtainable
Gernsheim: Piano Concerto in C minor, op. 16
Schmidt-Kowalski: Violin Concerto No. 1 in D minor, op. 50
*****
Bortkiewicz: Cello Concerto, op. 20
Tuesday
Female Attraction
Farrenc: Symphony No. 2 in D major, op. 35
Ethyl Smith: Serenade in D major
*****
Beach: Piano Concerto in C sharp minor, op. 45
Zwilich: Chamber Symphony for piano, violin, viola, cello, clarinet and flute
Wednesday
Lovely & Cosy
Thalberg: Piano Trio in A major, op. 69
Stolpe: Piano Sextet in E minor
*****
Von Henselt: Piano Trio in A minor, op. 24
Von Herzogenberg: Piano Quartet No. 2 in B flat major, op. 95
Thursday
Amazing Firstlings
Sterndale Bennett: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, op. 1
Atterberg: Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra, op. 1
*****
Cliffe: Symphony No. 1 in C minor, op. 1
Friday
A wink to Schumann
Kirchner: Neue Davidsbündlertänze, op. 17
Bargiel: Fantasies No. 1 in B minor, op. 8 and No. 2 in D major, op. 12
Fuchs: Piano Sonata No. 1, op. 19
*****
Burgmüller: Symphony No. 2 in D major, op. 11
Saturday
Symphonic Surprises
Xaver Scharwenka: Overture in C minor
Rufinatscha: Symphony No. 6 in D major
*****
Raff: Symphony No. 1 in D major, op. 96
Sunday
Opera
Rubinstein: The Demon
Peter, Rufinatscha's 6th is in D Major.
You're right, Jim.