does anyone know of any recent plans to perform / record Hans Huber's violin concertos (the 2nd of which got its premiere publication in 2013) and/or his symphony in A (the "1.5"ish one premiered in 1889 by Friedrich Hegar, not the later published one) ?
Nope, sorry.
Anyone?
There is an exhibition on until 31 August about Huber at the Museum Kleines Klingenthal in Basel and in an aparently unrelated concert on 28 February this year, the 2nd violin concerto was performed by Maria Solozobova and the Collegium Musicum Basel conducted by Kevin Griffiths. I've no idea whether or not a recording is planned, but this coincidence seems to show that Huber is getting more attention than used to be the case.
That's great news. Thanks!
Thanks a lot - great news for me as well. A little Google search has given me the link
to a recording posted on YT:
http://youtu.be/CrH5r1fco9Y (http://youtu.be/CrH5r1fco9Y)
Thanks!
Is that the complete concerto???
Yes. It was originally the Sonate Pathétique from 1885. Huber made this into a concerto in one movement shortly after, but it was never performed in his lifetime. He let it lie for 15 years and then thoroughly reworked it into the first movement of the Sonata no. 6 for violin and piano Appassionata Op. 116. It is thanks to the Collegium Musicum Basel that the concerto was rediscovered and performed, according to the catalogue of the Huber exhibition at Museum Kleines Klingenthal.
VC2 is a fine work, its idiom varying from Bruch-like warm-hearted lyricism to forceful orchestral tutti betraying the influence of the New German school. Its themes are certainly richly memorable, some pretty glorious actually. This is the precisely the sort of thing that ought to be recorded in Hyperion's RVC series. How about a CD with the two Huber VCs and the Draeseke VC (about 70 mins running time in toto)?
I do agree, this is a surprisingly good work from Huber, a composer whom I don't generally admire. At around 18 minutes long, it benefits greatly from its brevity and the fact that its three movements (which are played attacca) have such strong thematic links. I've made an mp3 from the YouTube recording, and that's now in our Downloads board here (http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,5096.0.html).
Thanks for uploading that, Mark. I can't say Huber has ever made much impression on me, but "one never knows, do one?" as a certain jazz pianist used to say!
I agree with Mark. Huber can so often be prolix and rather dull (at least, that is my impression of the symphonies, despite the fact that they all contain some lovely moments), but this VC is unfailingly attractive throughout, and benefits from its brevity.
Mark, I may have missed it, but can you tell me the source of the uploaded performance of the 2nd VC? Thanks.
Colin: it was found on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrH5r1fco9Y (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrH5r1fco9Y)
Regarding Huber, I find that the symphonies do not usually leave much of an impression - oddly enough, because much of the material is quite memorable.
The Third Piano Concerto, on the other hand, is one of my favorites of them all - particularly the lovely first movement.
I have always found Huber's later orchestral works less interesting than his earlier ones. Hmmm...