At least once in the past we had a thread at the end of the year inviting people to say what their best musical discovery has been during the year that falls within UC's remit. So, I thought I'd try it again now. BUT you must give some reason or justification for your choice. We don't simply want a thread that becomes a list of works, and so posts that give no reasons are likely to be deleted.
I'll choose the symphonic music of the Flemish composer Jef Van Hoof, on the Phaedra label, which includes his 2nd and 3rd symphonies. His music is unequivocally in a 19thC romantic style although written in the 20thC. Eric and others mentioned his music years ago on UC but I can't recall ever really listening to it until this year. The reason for my choice is that his music is melodious without being trivial, and there's a suspicion of a carefully designed and disguised 'subtext', often articulated through parody. I like the way that he creates and resolves tensions, never letting them become oppressive (especially noticeable in his 'retro' Brahmsian 3rd symphony) but rather using them to propel the music forward. His inventiveness holds the attention just long enough! It is hard to believe that he wrote the symphonies during World War 2 - there is little sign of the pain that he must have felt in the face of the suffering around him - again one looks for the subtext. The songs that appear on the Sym.3 disc are beautiful and sung with passion, and the orchestral suite from an opera is enchanting.
I may be considered 'cheating' by naming whole discs, so I'll pick out the 2nd symphony as my personal find of the year, for the reasons above. :)
I am happy to submit the recording of Saint-Saens' "Ascanio" as the top discovery for 2018. The opera is magnificent- the characters spring to life, and the music is beautiful, powerful and completely captivating. All of the people involved have the musical skill and in the case of the singers, the voices to tackle this major work. I would place Ascanio in the same league as Saint-Saens' Henry VIII - a great work! Strongly recommended- I cannot imagine anyone who is interested in Romantic period music not enjoying this superb opera.
I have two nominations, both operas. Firstly Bruch's Loreley, issued by cpo. I love Bruch for his melodiousness and the sonority of his orchestration, although there's little stylistic development throughout his long career. Most of his choral works have their longeurs, even though often punctuated by the odd "purple patch", but not so this early opera, which is one long purple patch. The writing is very grateful for both principals and chorus, Bruch is generous with his melody but the work has plenty of sustained drama and the interest of the listener never flags. The musical setting is appropriate to the action and the performance itself is superb. I suppose the work could be criticised for being rather conventional for its time, but that needn't worry us nowadays, and it remains a hugely attractive, approachable and above all enjoyable piece of work.
My other nomination this year is to echo mjmosca's of Saint-Saëns' Ascanio, an absolute belter of a work. It's a bit of a slow burner, but by the time the third of its five acts is reached, the action is at white heat and the musical drama is almost unbearably vivid. Who knew that Saint-Saëns could write with such passion and intensity? Palazetto Bru Zane's production standards are always tip top, and this release is no exception - a superb cast is matched by fine direction and an excellent recording. I can give no higher recommendation than say that in this work Saint-Saëns approaches Massenet at his best.
Allow me to forward the entire oeuvre of the Swiss composer and conductor Volkmar Andreae, which had inexplicably passed me by entirely, as my discovery for 2018. Two beautiful symphonies, delicious chamber music, various very good concertante music and a somewhat unexpected foray towards more modernist style in later years: here is a composer of great skill, working in largely traditional forms but whose expression is more inward-looking than usual, particularly in his chamber works. And just very, very enjoyable music, brought to us largely through the effort of the composer's grandson, the conductor Marc Andreae.
For me the finest release of 2018 is almost certainly Ascanio, closely followed by Die Loreley. The Saint-Saëns is a magnificent score, magnificently played, sung and recorded in the recent release. At times I was almost reminded of the sweep of Les Troyens, especially in the choral sections.
I said 'almost certainly' because it's hard not to prefer a fine operatic recording over some unsung chamber music; neverthless, cpo have surpassed themselves this year with two releases of complete string quartets, one of those by Bargiel and the other of those by Reinecke. I suppose the highlight would have to be Bargiel's String Quartet No.4, a masterpiece worthy of comparison with Brahms, but the claims of Reinecke's No.4 are almost as strong. When you hear such mastery of the medium, you're left scratching your head wondering why these pieces aren't part of the standard repertoire.
Otherwise, I'm currently rediscovering the Russian operatic tradition - and being bowled over by R-K's The Tsar's Bride in a fabulous recording featuring Vishnevskaya, Arkhipova, Atlantov and Nesterenko. Say no more!
My listening year has been dominated by John Blackwood McEwen. I hadn't heard any of his music this time last year. First I heard of him was the Chandos Disc with the Solway Symphony which I am in danger of wearing out. I find there is usually an arc with enthusiasm for new music whereby initial unfamiliarity gives way to understanding and appreciation and then to a fervour which at length declines to a more studied judgement, this hasn't happened for me with the Solway, I remain in fervour. I think it is one of the top 5 British symphonies. 'Hills O Heather' on the disc is very accessible and has perhaps for that reason declined a little from a peak of enthusiasm in my estimation, but the other piece on the disc, 'Where the wild thyme blows' has only grown in my imagination perhaps because it is not such easy listening.
I then heard McEwen's Viola Concerto and found myself seized by a similar enthusiasm. To my mind easily the best British Viola Concerto. Clearly written before McEwen's style matured his genius still shines through, as I think it does with the three Border Ballads which I have now heard. I am currently listening to the Violin Sonatas and wishing someone would record the A minor Symphony that I read proceeded the Solway. Next year I intend to work through the Chandos recordings of his quartets, I believe Santa may well be bringing me the first installment this Christmas!
QuoteTo my mind easily the best British Viola Concerto
Controversial. It's an early work, and therefore not really typical McEwen. Among the few romantic-era British VaCs, I'd rate Bowen's a fair bit higher:
https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dw.asp?dc=W96_67546 (https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dw.asp?dc=W96_67546)
And then there's the Walton, which I take to be the supreme British VaC - but that's beyond our remit here.
Nevertheless, I agree in general about McEwen. His mature music is very fine indeed. Thanks for the reminder!
Yes, I am aware it is controversial- I have posted about it before on this site. I recognise the quantity of the Walton Viola concerto but it doesn't especially appeal. None of Bowen's music has ever interested me but I realise he is a fine composer. I don't expect my response to music to be entirely logical. ...
Here's Bowen's VaC:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0BTu89KwDE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0BTu89KwDE)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mwq6-_nP0c&list=PL4s5wS1PQ0XnDd47dh2mh9ztxK-vLuPxU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mwq6-_nP0c&list=PL4s5wS1PQ0XnDd47dh2mh9ztxK-vLuPxU)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPUZ4jKWwEg&list=PL4s5wS1PQ0XnDd47dh2mh9ztxK-vLuPxU&index=3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPUZ4jKWwEg&list=PL4s5wS1PQ0XnDd47dh2mh9ztxK-vLuPxU&index=3)
I think for me, the composer who is a new discovery this year was Benjamin Godard. I'd obviously been aware of him before but I have spent hours listening to his piano music CDs (via Spotify) on the Grand Piano Label. As I'd liked these discs, I bought the Hyperion recording of the Piano Concertos which I also thoroughly enjoyed - especially the jolly first concerto. I look forward to hearing more of his works next year and if anyone could direct me towards any of his other pieces, that would be great!
Try his VCs:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Godard-Violin-Concerto-Romantique-Poetiques/dp/B001LYNQTG/ref=ice_ac_b_dpb?ie=UTF8&qid=1544896864&sr=8-1&keywords=godard+violin+concerto (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Godard-Violin-Concerto-Romantique-Poetiques/dp/B001LYNQTG/ref=ice_ac_b_dpb?ie=UTF8&qid=1544896864&sr=8-1&keywords=godard+violin+concerto)
Thanks Alan, it turns out I already had that one in my collection. Sometimes I forget exactly what i've already got! :)
I was very impressed by Percy Sherwood's Double Concerto for violin and 'cello . It's purposeful, superbly argued and there's no trace of that empty rhetoric which can disfigure so much late Romantic music. As a result, after a few hearings, it lodges itself firmly in the memory. With the soloists playing as a team, the music almost has a neo-Classical feel to it but it remains essentially Romantic in spirit. I can't think of another piece quite like it.
For me the best discovery of the year came early. I followed up on a thread on Amédée Méreaux and found a string quartet (https://imslp.org/wiki/String_Quartet%2C_Op.121_(M%C3%A9reaux%2C_Jean-Am%C3%A9d%C3%A9e_Lefroid_de)) of his on IMSLP (the only one?). It was a surprising find since Méreaux is mostly known as the composer of crazily difficult etudes for pianists, a sort of composer one does not expect to engage with the elitist genre of the string quartet, even less if he is French.
I looked at it, ended up typesetting it to get a score. Matesic was so friendly as to make a recording (https://imslp.org/wiki/String_Quartet%2C_Op.121_(M%C3%A9reaux%2C_Jean-Am%C3%A9d%C3%A9e_Lefroid_de)) of it.
It is a very good quartet, well written for the four players in a rather upbeat mood on the whole. Anyhow, even just the fact that it surfaced as a consequence of a thread on this forum justifies its mention here.
Re: Godard: I have long wanted to praise the Andantino from his first string quartet. It serves as a scherzo-substitute (or intermezzo) and is a tiny set of variations on a tiny theme, first presented in pizzicato, just spiced up enough harmonically to be interesting. It is a small movement but perfect in its way, a masterpiece (the largo is also very good, the outer movements less impressive IMHO).
This CD was my revelation for 2018 https://www.phaedracd.com/nl/cd-s/in-flanders-fields/in-flanders-fields-97-lodewijk-mortelmans-de-kinderen-der-zee
Strauss, Wagner and Debussy all in one composer and still a voice of his own. I found it brilliant and you don't have to know Dutch/Flemish to let yourself go with the flow of this great selection from this opera Kinderen der Zee/Children of the Sea.
One of my greatest discoveries this years has been Kalinnikov with his 1st symphony! Gorgeous especially the first 2 movements! I adore the second theme of the 1st movement and the fugato in the development, ... and the slow movement has a unique beauty - one of the most melodious and touching slow movements I know!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EdnO6vEaHk
https://imslp.org/wiki/Special:ImagefromIndex/130802/qrur (score!!)
Yes, a marvellously lyrical and memorable work.
Indeed. Its charms never pall.
If I had encountered it earlier, my discovery of the year would definitely have been Rimsky-Korsakov's The Tsar's Bride in the Bolshoi/Mansurov recording from 1973 featuring Vishnevskaya, Arkhipova, Atlantov and Nesterenko. All I can say is this is palpably a great opera by a great composer in a performance of a grandeur and excitement that could only be achieved by a Russian cast, orchestra and conductor. It is as fine an opera recording as I have ever heard.
I would second the B. Godard vote. That disc of his Melodies was a revelation. Also, the Hyperion disc of A. Fesca's Piano Trios...
Kalinnikov was one of the first LP's I purchased in a shop in Manette street off Charing Cross Road, that imported Melodiya recordings.
The beauty of his two symphonies has never waned since, and that was 45 years ago.
It started my search for other unsung composers, initially Russian, Glazunov for example, who was unsung then, and through this forum, I have discovered so many other unsung composers that I would have never discovered otherwise. Thank you for the immense pleasure you have given me.
Ah, I remember that shop very well. An upstairs room, run by a guy who always wore an overcoat because, I guess, there wasn't enough money to heat the place!
My best discovery for 2018 is Emilie Mayer Fourth Symphony (Capriccio recording) . I arrived late in hearing this Symphony, which I know appreciated since years by many in the forum.
One would really hear more music (and mostly more symphonies) from this excellent and surprising musician (even if the double Cd Capriccio is more than something)
If I should indicate a second title it would be the gentle and not over-ambitious First Violin Concerto by Josef B.Foerster (Supraphon-BBC recording).
After Symphony No.3 it's downhill all the way for me. I think Weingartner may have been at his best aping other composers...
Yes, I'm with Alan I'm afraid, John. Weingartner's wasn't a wine which improved with age.
Distinctly corked!
Weingartner: I am joining in with Alan and Mark - so we make a trio :-)
Dissent unsurprisingly from me- what late Weingartner I've heard I've enjoyed quite a lot, including the odd 6th symphony...
My best discovery for 2018 was definitely Feliks Nowowiejski.
Which music of his particularly caught your ear?
My pick would be the early Violin Concerto by Stanford from the Dutton release and the Scholz Piano Concerto.
From Nowowiejski, The King of the Winds and Quo vadis caught my ear the most.
Is it allowed to mention music from any era, or only adjusted to the forum rules?
Within our area of interest, please.
Such a difficult choice..but if forced I'd say the Franz Krommer symphonies..the more I listen to them, the more I find them of astonishing quality one and all.
So refined and stirring and, in a way, "strange", like some sort of alternate -reality Beethovenian music that does not sound like Beethoven at all.
Plus a (very) honourable mention for an older release I did not know,the Richard Hol symphonies, an expert Mendelssohn-Schumann-Brahms concoction in Hollandaise sauce (I know, sounds undigestible, but they're not, quite the opposite).
PS I was very glad to read at the beginning of the thread a mention of Jef van Hoof, music of gentle but sophisticated and substantial appeal, a personal favourite.
Hans Pfitzer: Von deutscher Seele
Cohesive, beautiful choral sound, touches my soul.
Von deutscher Seele - a great masterwork: I hope you mean the magnificent 1966 DGG version with Fritz Wunderlich, Agnes Giebel, Hertha Töpper and Otto Wiener - conducted by Joseph Keilberth!
...which you can't buy on CD any more.
As far as Weingartner's Sextet, Op.33 is concerned, we're not dealing with a late work, but rather one that dates from between the 2nd and 3rd Symphonies, so we shouldn't be surprised at its attractiveness. Surprise should really be reserved for the lovely Octet, Op.73 which is pretty backward-looking in style for 1925 and equally appealing. Not a trace of Regerian chromatic indigestion here...
@Alan: if you are willing to pay the steep price, the Keilberth is available here https://www.amazon.com/Pfitzner-Von-deutscher-Seele-Schoeck/dp/B00004SLB2
Thanks, but that's too expensive for me.
There's a new " Live" performance from Horst Stein and the Munich Philharmonic. It's available from Qobuz for c. 10 Euros or you can stream it for free if you are a subscriber.
The Keilberth version will set you back c. 20 Euros or you can.........
In addition to the Keilberth and Stein recordings of Von Deutscher Seele, you can add:
1. On the Andromeda label conducted by Heinz Mende with Wunderlich
2. On the Capriccio label conducted by Ingo Metzmacher
3. On the Preiser label conducted by Clemens Kraus
Try the soundbites out on all 5 recordings on Qobuz.
I already have Sieghart on Arte Nova - thanks. I'd only consider adding the Keilberth.
... and there is (or was) also a live Orfeo CD with "Von deutscher Seele", coupled with Pfitzner's "Das dunkle Reich" conducted by Eugen Jochum. The pieces were performed 1952 and 1955.
Hi Alan
I've just sent you a message, but consulting the message bin, it doesn't appear. It happened already last time - a few months ago. Is there something wrong with the system?
I don't think there's a problem. I'll send you a test message.
Well, my best discovery for 2018 was the Flury's Symphony No. 1 in D minor. It's definitely a work that appealed to me in a high degree due to its unashamed late-romanticism, passionate passages, great thematic material and accurate orchestration. I felt it so aflame in places that I was blown away. Overall, this is the kind of stuff that I find so irresistible!
Deutscher Seele - also Sieghart (2007) on Arte Nova? Hollreiser (nla?) on Koch (though is that label perhaps coming back??) Jochum on Harmonia Mundi (1986 recording) which isn't the same as the Orfeo mentioned by hadrianus (the 1952 recording in the Orfeo d'or 2-CD set)?
(I'm a little surprised cpo seems not to have included it among all the other Pfitzner works they -have- recorded :) )
Hi I'm new here I'm not heavily into classical music but I like some opera and piano music. I love the music of Erik Satie for example. Anyway a couple of months ago I discovered the wonderful music of Claude Debussy. Of course I was already familiar with his piece Clair De Lune but hadn't really heard anything else by this composer. Anyway I heard Clair De Lune again on the television and I had to listen to some of his other works. After buying multiple works over the past couple of months I have to say that I've fallen in love with his work but I love his images in particular. I've heard multiple versions so far but my favourite is performed by Zoltan Kocsis. It's a little different to everybody else I've listened to. I really look forward to hearing other performances by this performer. Any recommendations would be great.
In the 1980's Kocsis recorded Bartok's complete piano works for Decca and Bartok's concertos for Philips. They are available on CD
However, Kocsis' Bartok ist more or less the worst (bloodless and cleansed) Bartok you can get...
I know, I also prefer Sandor and Foldes. How is actually Lowenthal?
I think we're getting off-topic, gentlemen. And Bartok doesn't really fit here either - sorry.
Happy New Year to all! For me 2018 has been the year of Spohr (at least so far as 19th century discoveries are concerned). He's a composer I've been meaning to devote some time to for quite a few years, and I am glad to have made the effort.
The Symphonies (NDR Radiophilharmonie, c. Howard Griffiths, cpo 5-CD box) are an extraordinary treasure trove, not least as a demonstration of the way symphonic music might have developed from Mozart onwards if it hadn't been for the Beethoven-Brahms alternative. Everything is clear, beautiful and balanced, intellectually watertight, with feeling kept securely in check. Nearly all these ten symphonies - perhaps especially the ones with literary or poetic programmes in the manner of Richard Strauss's larger tone poems - make fascinating listening, and no two are the same size or shape.
Many of them were hailed at the time as masterpieces, and his contemporaries had no doubt that Spohr was one of the greatest composers who had ever lived. Our aesthetics moved away from his harmonious balance in favour of conflict and contrast, but and his work fell totally out of favour; yet though it is impossible to put Spohr back on the pedestal he once occupied - we just don't think like he does any more - I can see why his contemporaries found this music engrossing as well as technically astonishing and lovely to listen to.
Same with the operas and big choral works: Faust and Jessonda inhabit a different world from Weber and Wagner, much closer to the enlightenment ethos of Mendelssohn's operas and Schumann's lovely (and highly rarified) Genoveva. They lack the 'common touch' of Wagner; but once again offer a beautiful alternative 'take' on romantic opera, one which I warm to considerably. Nobody would want to revive them today, as they are so far from our contemporary patterns of thought and theatre, but they are 'quality' works just the same.
One way and another, I am delighted to have finally got to know Herr Spohr a little better. His memoirs - free to download for Kindle - are a fascinating read, too, giving a vivid picture of his itinerant life as a virtuoso, his opposition to Beethovenian egotism (which he saw as artistically destructive), and the ethos of the musical world of his time. Highly recommended!
He was a worthwhile discovery for me too - on the whole.
I've now acquired - through the great kindness of one of our members - the Keilberth performance of Pfitzner's Von deutscher Seele. It is truly one of the great recordings: marvellous music, conducted with understanding, and beautifully sung by Agnes Giebel (sop.), Hertha Töpper (mezzo), Fritz Wunderlich (ten. - say no more!) and Otto Wiener (bass).
This set really ought to be re-released without delay.
This splendid, unsurpassable recording of "Von Deutscher Seele" has been coupled, on its DGG 2CD release, with Othmar Schoeck's vocal cycle with orchestra "Lebendig begraben", a great masterwork of Swiss music of the 20th century. I think we Swiss will never be able to bring out something alike again. It is thanks to Fischer Dieskau that this work had gained international renown, but already at the time of its creation (1926) it had made a great impression, even to audiences not used to "modern" music. Fritz Brun also loved it and used to perform it with the great Swiss bass Felix Loeffel - who can be heard in an 1940 interpretation conducted by Luc Balmer (a very rare historical CD of the Austrian label Uranus, issued in 1996 - which I still am looking for).
The fabulous interpretation by Fischer-Dieskau of 1962 (DGG LP) has also been re-issued in 1986 by Claves (Radio-Symphonieorchester Berlin, conducted by Fritz Rieger). It makes no real sense to compare it with other similar vocal cycles, but personally I consider "Lebendig begraben" a greater work than Mahler's "Lied von der Erde". Not to speak about Gottfried Keller's stirring, visionary poems which had inspired Schoeck to such tense (and often hair-raising) psychological music. You really experience the nightmare of a man, who is buried alive symbolically to learn to appreciate life again.
Bass Günter von Kannen re-recorded "Lebendig begraben" in 1986 with the Zürich Opera Orchestra, conducetd by Ralf Weikert; that was an LP by the Atlantis label. It's also an excellent interpretation, especially for no-Fischer-Dieskau fans.