As we approach the end of another year, it would be interesting to find out what members have found special in the world of recordings during 2010 and what they are looking forward to in the coming year.
Personally, I think that this has been a fantastic year for anybody interested in British music. A year that begins with a first-class recording of Sullivan's Ivanhoe and closes with Boughton's The Queen of Cornwall is pretty special. In between I have particularly relished discs of Holbrooke and Foulds from Dutton and Wallace's Lurline from Naxos.
Through discussions on this forum I have also caught up with recent releases of Draeseke, Raff, Hamerik, Langgaard and Rufinatscha.
Looking forward to 2011, I anticipate purchases including Macfarren's Robin Hood from Victorian Opera Northwest, Schreker's Der Schmied von Gent (CPO), York Bowen's Symphonies 1 & 2 (Chandos) and (hopefully) volume 54 of the Hyperion RPC series featuring works by Arthur Somervell and Frederic Cowen. No doubt there will be some pleasant surprises too!
For me personally the highlight of 2010 was the release of the two Gernsheim Piano Quintets on Toccata - partly because I had been involved in getting the CD off the ground, but mainly because it was proof that there are still masterpieces out there waiting to be discovered.
As far as 2011 is concerned, I'm looking forward to:
Urspruch Symphony/PC on cpo
Cliffe VC/d'Erlanger VC on Hyperion
Rufinatscha 6 on Chandos
Klughardt Symphony 3/VC on cpo
Jadassohn Symphonies on cpo
Hofmann Frithjof Symphony on Sterling
Noskowski Symphonies 2 and 3 on Sterling
Not bad, eh?
Looks very interesting. I must add Kalliwodas symphonies (no. 2 and 4) on CPO. If they are as good as his 6th. More symphonies by Cliffe had also been welcome.
2011 should bring us the symphonies of Joachim Eggert by Naxos.
I look forward to more Holbrooke from cpo, but also to the disks mentioned by Alan.
Quote from: Hofrat on Friday 05 November 2010, 13:10
2011 should bring us the symphonies of Joachim Eggert by Naxos.
Have they solved the problems re conductor?
I judge the quality of the year by how many times I'm forced to visit the timber yard to acquire material to construct yet more new shelves for CDs (this year the CD collection has expanded by a fearsome 18 metres - there is a line in a Beckett novel about how astonishing it is that mathematics helps you to know yourself).
As Albion remarks above, it has been a wonderful year with Ivanhoe at one end and The Queen of Cornwall at the other - and all kinds of unsungs becoming sung at last in between. Thank you Hyperion, Chandos, Dutton Vocalion, Signum, Delphian, MDG, Divine Art, Timpani and many others not forgetting Naxos.
However for me what has proved especially treasurable has been the blossoming of Toccata. True, the label did exist before 2010, but it is in this last year that any (bar Telemann) Toccata recording has become a truly compelling purchase. Just contemplate:
Alkan - 2 CDs of organ music to keep company with the piano works
Algernon Ashton - a wonderful discovery
Vytautas Bacevicius - especially Symphony 2 with its harrowing fears of WW2 by a Lithunian Polish composer never to return to his homeland
Julius Burger - yet another Viennese late romantic who sought refuge in USA
Gernsheim - the CD of the year surely
Herzogenberg - delightful 4 hands music played by Goldstone & Clemmow
Jadassohn - another indispensable to those with ears and souls
John Joubert - wonderful song cycles from a distinguished British composer far less sung than he ought to be
Liszt - the Stradal transcriptions, 'astonishing' doesn't begin to do it justice
Ester Magi - an Estonian composer of whom we need to hear far more
David Matthews - please, please, may Volume 2 of the String Quartets follow on fast
Gunter Raphael - along with the CPO discs another startling discovery
Taneyev - the piano concerto
Matthew Taylor - hurrah for the vitality of contemporary chamber music
Boris Tchaikovsky - some very significant bits and not mere chippings from the composer's bottom drawer
Ferdinand Thieriot - I believe they're playing the String Sextet in heaven right now
Tovey - chamber music, and again, please, please, Volume 2
Harri Vuori - not sure whether I'd choose to spend my penultimate day on earth listening to this, but quite brilliant Finnish symphonic wizardry
Weinberg - may it become a complete survey of the Violin Sonatas!
Hugh Wood - marvellous stuff and don't be daunted by it
There are of course many other Toccata CDs. (My next Toccata order will probably include the piano music of Galynin and Lyadov - any views on these discs?) We get first class recordings together with notes and commentaries that put many other labels to shame (with the exception of course of the Graham Johnson commentaries on the Schubert songs on Hyperion, an act impossible to follow). Behind this steady stream of excellent and very welcome recordings is the manifest indefatigable energy of Toccata in making hitherto inaccessible or unknown music at last sung. Despite the wealth of things coming from other labels, does not Toccata deserve heartfelt thanks from those with a special interest in hearing unsung music? Let us hope that 2011 will see Toccata continuing to flourish.
Peter
PS And if anyone picked it up - my last day on earth? Insofar as I can arrange it that of course will be spent in the company of Die Meistersinger. What other?
Quote from: Alan Howe on Thursday 04 November 2010, 20:05
As far as 2011 is concerned, I'm looking forward to:
Cliffe VC/d'Erlanger VC on Hyperion
Quote from: Gareth Vaughan on Friday 05 November 2010, 17:14
I look forward to more Holbrooke from cpo.
These will both be mandatory purchases! The former is already scheduled for next February:
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDA67838 (http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDA67838)
Syrelius;
As far as I know, Naxos is still looking for a conductor. Bust they are optomistic that they will find one.
Sorry that I can not supply any new information concerning the Eggert recordings.
By the way, another post on this forum referred to CPO's release plans for 2010, and recordings of van Gilse's 3rd Symphony plus Edvin Kallstenius' Symphonies nos. 1 & 2 particularly interested me. I'm eagerly awaiting both releases. Does anyone have more updates on these?
Morten
No, but I know that Van Gilse's Third was recorded in the first months of this year. However, CPO can take an awfully long time getting their material to release. Reznicek's First took about four years or so.
2010 was another very successful year for my CD collection of unsung composers. How to make a choice out of so many new discoveries? Fascinating British piano sonatas from Ashton, Dale and Hurlstone. Volume 2 of Czerny's Piano Sonatas by Martin Jones. Captivating chamber music from Draeseke (the Cello Sonata op. 51 being my favourite). And let me not forget Raff's 'Die Tageszeiten' on Sterling. But for me the trouvaille of the year is Röntgen's PC op. 18 (another version will be released by cpo soon).
Looking at Alan's list of new releases, 2011 will be another great year. But most of all I'm looking forward to Noskowski's Symphonies 2 & 3. If these symphonies are of the same calibre as the 1st (IMO a masterpiece), it could be a serious candidate for the disc of the year 2011.
Quote from: Peter1953 on Saturday 20 November 2010, 15:55But most of all I'm looking forward to Noskowski's Symphonies 2 & 3. If these symphonies are of the same calibre as the 1st (IMO a masterpiece), it could be a serious candidate for the disc of the year 2011.
Noskowski 3 is an undoubted masterpiece: it is played regularly on BBC Radio 3's
Through the Night programme in a Polish radio performance which, I imagine, will be the one that Sterling license for release. Unless it's short, I would think that No.2 will occupy a separate CD.
I seem to vaguely recall somehow that Noskowski sym. 2 was the main matter of a limited distribution LP at one point (haven't heard, though) and not brief, no... I agree about symphony 3, wonderful stuff.
Eric
I believe that Bo plans at least three Noskowski CDs, with successive symphonies being the main work in each case.
Nowkowski Sym 1 turned out a far far better work than I ever expected it to be (a real masterwork indeed). So if Sterling do go ahead with the other two symphonies, that would be terrific news.
Wandering off thread, I know, but what of Wladyslaw Zelenski? Given the dates (1837-1921) he was almost an exact contemporary of Noskowski, and both were rated equally highly in the history of Polish music. The only work I know is the Op 61 Piano Quartet, which is on an Olympia CD along with the Op 8 Noskowski Piano Quartet - and a rather more rewarding work than the latter. (And, of course, being an Olympia record it now only seems to be obtainable at a silly price from some wretch on Amazon).
Zelenski has 2 symphonies, a piano concerto, and many chamber works (along with 4-5 operas). Who knows, we could be in for a real treat if someone gave him the chance.
Peter
The Piano Concerto in Eb has been available on CD.
Quote from: jerfilm on Monday 22 November 2010, 02:00
The Piano Concerto in Eb has been available on CD.
Do you remember the details by any chance?
QuoteZelenski has 2 symphonies
In fact, Zelenski
had two symphonies. They are lost or destroyed - only the Andante of No. 1 survives as a separate piece called "Funeral Tones". The score and parts are available from PWM, the main Polish music publisher.
Thanks, Gareth, for that information. I was going on various on-line sources, such as the Polish Music Centre, and when you see dates and opus numbers allocated to works then an innocent chap such as I makes the natural assumption that at least scores are available and the job is to persuade someone to perform them. Life, unfortunately, isn't as simple as that!
The sentiment has been expressed on the site before, but I find it very distressing to think of a major work such as a symphony as being forever unsung. Just try the mental experiment of putting yourself in the composer's shoes now knowing that your work will never, ever, be performed, let alone heard by others. The thought is gruesome.
So, alas, Zelenski 1 and 2 are things we shall never hear - they promised much. Unless of course some benevolent angelic orchestra plays them in heaven. But perhaps not - only harps get strummed in that dull place. Maybe I'd much prefer hell - heigh, ho, lots of Liszt, and those thoroughly mad but rather good late symphonies of Tischenko. For the musically inclined, hell appears far preferable to heaven, eh?. (Forgive my frivolity!)
I haven't checked, but presumably much of the Zelenski chamber music is up for grabs by any enterprising chamber group? As I remarked above the Piano Quartet is certainly worth a go.
Peter
Well, I'm glad I didn't say "commercial" CD. My database is pretty complete but I don't keep track of performers or labels - heck I figure the few times anyone asks, I can just go look at the disc and find out.
In this case, the performance of Zelenski's Piano Concerto in Eb came from a friend and apparently was originally taped from Polish Radio in 1952. The performers are Ilga Martusiewicz, piano, Polish Radio National SO under Bydgoszcz (that's what it sez......). The sound is 1950 mono so not great but at least you get to hear the concerto. 33 minutes
ON the same CD is a quite lovely little Concerto in a by Aleksander Zarzycki (1834-95). This one apparently was on record, probably Lp, a label called Selene, number 9905.50. Same orchestra and director but the piano is Jozef Smidowicz. This one is only 18 minutes long.
Jerry
The Zarzycki PC is indeed a gem. I have that Selene CD of the historic performance by Smidowicz - not great sound, I'm afraid, but quite listenable-to.
I wonder if Zelenski's PC, Zarzycki's PC and Zarebski's Piano Quintet (which is very like a concerto for piano and strings) would fit on one CD. If so, all the Zed's would be something that might appeal to Hyperion. Of course, there is also the left-hand concerto by Geza Zichy, but he was Hungarian and I am told the piano part is uninspiring. I once searched for the full score and orchestral parts (not too diligently, I admit) but drew a blank.
Quote from: Gareth Vaughan on Wednesday 24 November 2010, 13:33
Of course, there is also the left-hand concerto by Geza Zichy, but he was Hungarian and I am told the piano part is uninspiring.
You would need to bring Dreyschock back to life for that one.
Make it 2 disks and chuck on 2 Zimmermans and a Zellner.
Thal
makings of an amusing thread in the other subgroup(?) there, I think... from Zach through Zeisl to Zollner and the modern Zwaag, and of course well beyond... (speaking generally; piano chamber music or piano concertante music limits it!)
Eric
The Stradal disc was the highlight of the year for me, but I have not heard the Raff Die Tageszeiten yet, although I have asked Santa to give me it for Christmas.
I seem to listen to but a fraction of what some learned members here do. I keep getting the urge to play all the time and as we speak the Yankee Doodle variations by De Meyer is beckoning.
Thal
I'd have to agree with Thal here - the Stradal disc is superb!
For me the outstanding disc of 2010 was the Dutton recording of Sainsbury's wonderful Violin Concerto.