Robert Radecke's Symphony in F Major, Op. 50 was played in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, last night in a concert by the Biel Solothurn Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kaspar Zehnder. The Symphony is a marvellous work IMHO, in four movements rich in melodic invention, about half an hour long.
The concert was very good and was very well received by the audience (who were told that there are plans underfoot to dissolve the orchestra for economical reasons!)
In June they will record the Symphony and four other orchestral works (all world premier recordings) for CPO. The other works are:
Overture to Shakespeare's «King John», Op. 25
Two Scherzi, Op. 52
«Nachtstück» (A Night Piece), Op. 55
That's very good news indeed. Very sorry to hear about the orchestra's future, though.
The SOBS (Symphony Orchestra Biel Solothurn) has started a crowdfunding project to help finance the CD production (wemakeit.com).
All may not be lost for the orchestra as the suggestion by certain politicians that having a so-called project orchestra instead of a regular one would be cheaper while providing the same quality and flexibility was met with widespread disbelief and has apparently resulted in a lot of people signing a petition to keep the orchestra.
Here's a link to the Radecke page at the crowdfunding site:
https://wemakeit.com/projects/robert-radecke-cd-aufnahme (https://wemakeit.com/projects/robert-radecke-cd-aufnahme)
Worth backing, I'd say. £35 (approx) gets you a CD and an invitation to the launch...
The project is now 124% funded with 12 days still to go - that is very good news. Now it is just a question of waiting for the recording to be made and to be released...
Oh, brilliant. Very good news indeed.
glad for the support
Tom :)
The recording is due to take place on 18th and 19th of this month (June). No news yet about launch or release dates.
My perk for contributing towards the funding is that I can be present at one session of the recording, either on 16th, 17th or 18th June. How long it will take for the recording to be ready and, more crucially perhaps, for CPO to release it is another matter. There's also no news as yet regarding the Trio Fontane recording of Radecke's Piano Trios, recorded for CPO last October. I'll just have to be patient and listen to 'some' other music I have...
I trust you'll report back on how the session went...
The CD launch has now been scheduled for 10th May 2016 - I can hardly wait, especially since I unfortunately missed the recording session.
I've received the same message.
That's exciting news.
Dear Friends,
First post.
I was surfing on the web and found this forum and this thread.
I can give you news from the Radecke Symphony recording with the SOBS and Kaspar Zehnder as I was the artistic director and the first sound engineer with this production.
I did this project with my firm.
The recording sessions were in June 2015. The CD will be available by CPO at the end of february 2016.
We recorded:
König Johann Op.25
Symphony Op.50
Nachtstück Op.55
Scherzo 1 Op.52
Scherzo 2 Op.52.
It has been a really nice work.
The music is really beautifull and interesting.
You can find some few pictures on my website here:
www.adcsound.ch/fr/actualites-2 (http://www.adcsound.ch/fr/actualites-2)
(avril/mai/juin 2015, in french or german, not yet available in English).
A video trailer "The making of the recording" has been shooted by a team from Berlin and will be available soon. I just saw the first editing and it's really nice. You'll also see Christian Radecke who was also invited by Kaspar for one session.
Really impressive meeting.
All the best to all of you from Bern (Switzerland),
Fred.
Thanks for this very encouraging update Fred, and welcome to UC.
Dear Friends of Radecke,
I am very glad to share with you the movie "The making of the recording":
http://www.adcsound.ch/Videostream/SOBSRadecke.mp4 (http://www.adcsound.ch/Videostream/SOBSRadecke.mp4)
I hope you'll enjoy it and feel the same pleasure that we had to record this music.
All the best from Bern,
Fred.
Edit: A video with a lower definition is also available here:
http://www.adcsound.ch/Videostream/SOBSRadecke_low.mp4 (http://www.adcsound.ch/Videostream/SOBSRadecke_low.mp4)
I prefere to let the orchestra upload this film on Youtube with their own account...
Thank you very much indeed for this link.
This is all tremendously encouraging and the music itself certainly sounds most attractive in a Mendelssohn/Schumann vein (and none the worse for that).
Listening to the comments of the performers, once again one hears such enthusiasm for the music of an unsung romantic and surprise that it is so good, so rewarding to play. I have heard the same thing time and time again when attending recording sessions and performances of other unsungs. What a shame that this enthusiasm is then killed off by concert organisers and conservative audiences, as we have discussed so many times already.
The most interesting aspect of the film is that the music is clearly not a mere clone of either Mendelssohn or Schumann, although it's in that tradition.
cpo are now officially advertising this as a late February release in Germany:
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/robert-radecke-symphonie/hnum/8455669 (https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/robert-radecke-symphonie/hnum/8455669)
Dear Friends,
The Video is now available on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3060vcTizM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3060vcTizM)
All the best from Bern,
Fred
Thanks, Fred. I'm really looking forward to hearing this CD.
The Symphony, by the way, was published in 1878.
Dear friends of Radecke,
For those interested to see the quality of Robert Radecke's Symphony manuscript... Really impressive!
http://www.adcsound.ch/Archives/RadeckeOp50PV.zip (http://www.adcsound.ch/Archives/RadeckeOp50PV.zip)
First movement, prima volta, .pdf file, 22 Mo.
Cheers from Bern,
Fred.
My copy of the CD arrived from jpc ths morning. The Symphony is a very fine piece indeed, very clearly in the Mendelssohn-Schumann tradition, but equally clearly not a mere copy of either's style. I'm put in mind somewhat of Goetz's almost contemporary Symphony (maybe it's the key?) and just occasionally of Raff or Dvorak. Overall this is just the sort of work that might create an audience for unsung music. In sum, it's a gorgeous piece and a bit of a discovery.
I've changed my mind. This is a masterpiece...
Well the excerpts in the video were rather impressive. Good oh!
The Symphony is full of surprises, both rhythmic and harmonic. The orchestration's superb, too. A major addition to the repertoire.
I can't wait but, as I want the digital download, I guess I'll have to!
By the way: there's an extraordinary foreshadowing of the third movement of Tchaik 6 in the first of Radecke's Two Scherzi, Op.52 (pub.1888). I wonder....
...or had he been listening to Raff (Im Walde - finale)?
Dear Alan,
If you are interested to give a look to the scherzi scores:
http://www.adcsound.ch/Archives/Radecke2ScherziOp52.zip
.pdf file 52Mo.
Greetings from Bern,
Fred.
Thanks!
Quite coincidentally, I watched the video on YouTube last night, and was extremely impressed by the quality of the music. Is it possible to get a pdf of the Symphony's full score?
And thank you for the scores to the Scherzi. I can look briefly and tell that they are really good works.
The first movement of the Symphony is based on the same rhythmic figure which dominates the equivalent movement in Schumann's 3rd, although its character is totally different. Radecke really doesn't sound much like Schumann.
To minacciosa and others interested:
http://www.adcsound.ch/Archives/RadeckeSymphonieOp50.zip (http://www.adcsound.ch/Archives/RadeckeSymphonieOp50.zip)
.pdf 197Mo.
http://www.adcsound.ch/Archives/RadeckeNachstuckOp55.zip (http://www.adcsound.ch/Archives/RadeckeNachstuckOp55.zip)
.pdf 45Mo.
http://www.adcsound.ch/Archives/RadeckeOuvertureOp25.zip (http://www.adcsound.ch/Archives/RadeckeOuvertureOp25.zip)
.pdf 81Mo
All the scores that I have linked on this website will be available until March 2016, the 20th. Then I'll cancel the download links.
All the best from Bern,
Fred.
Thanks again!
Thank you very much!
Thirded!
What a rewarding discovery Radecke turns out to be! Here is a composer who wrote in the conservative tradition for his time, but who still managed to have an original voice. Of course one can hear reminiscences of other composers, but Radecke is no epigone and he melds all these influences into an individual and characteristic style. There's a nervous energy which pervades almost all the music here, lending it an excitement and vitality which is quite exhilarating. The praises of the Symphony have already been sung elsewhere here (although that won't stop me adding mine later in this post !), but I do want to say how enjoyable the four shorter pieces are. All of them are works of consequence in their own right.
The earliest is the King John Overture, written in 1860 when Radecke was 30. At about 11 minutes it's the longest of these works, but it's certainly not diffuse. Over a third of its length is occupied with a darkly brooding slow introduction. When the work speeds up it is dramatic, with plenty of incident and contrast - full of that feverish activity which seems to characterise Radecke. Thematically it's not as individual as the other works here, and the emphatic brass interruptions have strong echoes of Schumann's symphonies, but it remains a very enjoyable concert piece. I was reminded of Brüll's Macbeth Overture. The Two Scherzi post-date the Symphony by a few years (1888) and are both fine, short pieces which could easily have come from Raff's pen (a compliment, by the way). The first piece, with those frenetic strings very much to the fore, is a rhythmic tour de force, unrelenting in its propulsive momentum. The second is rather gentler, with a couple of delightful trios featuring the same contrasting pastoral material. Both works are thematically strong and are most impressive despite their small scale. Written two years later, the Nachtstück like the Overture features a substantial dramatic slow introduction leading to a fast main body. The booklet gives no clue as to what nocturnal event Radecke had in mind, but this is no calm Notturno. Once the introduction is over, despite the main section being based on an ever-present leaping theme, he maintains interest by constantly varying the music's rhythm and orchestral texture. The 10 minutes goes very quickly.
The Symphony is even more impressive than its companions. The opening Allegro is a vigorous, lyrical, generously open-hearted movement with, again, plenty of momentum. Although the work dates from 1877, it seems that this movement dates mostly from 1851, making it a most impressive achievement for a 21 year old. The Scherzo breathes the same air as the two later Scherzi, it's full of propulsive rhythmic energy and melodic verve. The Andante sostenuto which follows is a passionate interlude which features some gorgeous, yearning string writing which is in marked contrast to Radecke's usual busyness in the string section. It's the emotional heart of the work and is a powerful testament to Radecke's ability. The final Allegro con spirito is just that, an appropriately spirited conclusion, but not an empty one as there's lots in it to enjoy. That it is perhaps the weakest of a set of four strong movements is only the faintest of criticisms.
Having listened to this CD at least half a dozen times, on each occasion I have found more to appreciate in these five fine works. Not a note is wasted or needlessly repeated. Radecke uses his excellent themes sparingly, developing them satisfyingly and to good effect. His orchestration gets the maximum of excitement and emotion from a modestly sized orchestra. His harmonic language may not be adventurous for its time, but that doesn't detract from the effectiveness of his compositions. Radecke may have been a conservative but, my word, he wasn't a dull one. I only wish there was a lot more of his orchestral music to discover.
Here's a link to Rob Barnett's review at MusicWeb:
http://musicweb-international.com/classrev/2016/Mar/Radecke_sy_7779952.htm (http://musicweb-international.com/classrev/2016/Mar/Radecke_sy_7779952.htm)
It's very good to know that there's a second disc in prospect, I hadn't picked that up before.
IIRC vol.2 will be of chamber music.
Somewhere I have a recording of a piano trio of Radecke's. I can't remember now where it came from, but I must look it out and give it a spin.
In another thread I reported about a performance of (the) two Radecke Piano Trios by the Trio Fontane and that they would record them for CPO in October 2014. According to their website this is to be released in 2016.
Thanks Wheesht! I see that the radio recording which I have of the first of the two piano trios (in A flat major, published ca.1868) has recently appeared on YouTube here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7--n-_ak5o). It's a lovely piece, and very much what you'd expect from the composer of the orchestral music. If you enjoy the Raff trios (and how couldn't you?) then you'll love this sunny work.
Thanks a lot for this YT link! This will make waiting for the CD release of the two trios easier :) I still have to wait until May to receive my copy of the orchestral music CD (the reward for contributing to the crowdfunding campaign) - as it has not been released here yet. Maybe I should not read enthusiastic reviews like yours until I too have access to the orchestral works...
Don't worry, you won't be disappointed, but it's a shame that you have to wait considering you contributed to the crowd-funding effort.
I contributed, but couldn't wait! It'll make a nice Xmas present for someone...
Frankly, I'm not sure I can wait much longer... And yes, a Xmas present or b'day present is always an idea. Although not many people seem to appreciate my hunger for unsungs, there are few who will be happy to get to know a composer they have probably never heard of before. Then there are those who think they know everything worth knowing, and I sometimes enjoy surprising such people ;D
Radecke's Piano Trio is on Youtube... and very nice it is too.
... and the link to it is in my post five above yours, Mike! ;)
I received the new CPO recording of orchestral music of Robert Radecke last week and it hasn't left the cd changer in several days. Has anyone else heard it? The Shakespeare overture is no forgotten masterwork. The Nachtstuck and Two Scherzi are interesting enough. But the symphony is a delight! It's brief and no movement outstays its welcome. And unlike a lot of other forgotten music that I've listened to, this symphony is remarkably easy for the ear to assimilate - maybe that's the problem. But the themes and form of each movement are clear cut, the harmonies have enough chromaticism to make it interesting, and the orchestration is textbook perfect. Has elements of Mendelssohn, Schumann and other influences. It's a wonderful discovery. The orchestra seems small - the strings are kind of thin in the upper register. But the winds play beautifully and the recording is clear and well-balanced. The score is on IMSLP, too bad the parts aren't! This music is well worth the outlay.
Dear Friends,
A small information regarding the "Radecke Orchestral works":
The CD won 5 diapasons (France) in June 2016 and 5 stars in the Fono Forum (Germany) in August 2016.
It's already a great result for the all production staff and we are thinking about the next recording project in 2018.
Could be a CD with orchestral works from Ferdinand Thieriot...
All the best,
Fred.
That would be an extremely welcome development.
Hear, hear, hear!!!
Yes, please do go ahead and record some Thieriot. He's a very rewarding composer - and none of his orchestral music has ever been recorded (as far as I know).
Congratulations on the success with the Radecke CD - a thoroughly worthwhile project.
Agreed too re Thieriot by the way; there's a sample uploaded by the editor of one of his symphonies that's intriguing... and of course some of his orchestral music was published before he died :)
I can see from the booklet info that Radecke wrote 3 symphonies. Now that we have this beautiful F Major work, has the other 2 survived?