A forthcoming release of Lauber's first two symphonies:
https://www.schweizerfonogramm.com/en/uncategorized/a-sensational-rediscovery-joseph-lauber-1864-1952-world-premiere-recording-of-his-symphonies/ (https://www.schweizerfonogramm.com/en/uncategorized/a-sensational-rediscovery-joseph-lauber-1864-1952-world-premiere-recording-of-his-symphonies/)
Great news. I didn't even know this label that was founded in 2017. Details about the project including a press release (all in German) are available on conductor Kaspar Zehnder's website (https://www.kasparzehnder.com/en/news-and-press/news/) (scroll down to the third item, 22 June 2020). It was Zehnder and the same orchestra who recorded the Robert Radecke disc a while back, and based on that I'm certainly looking forward to this release.
A recording of Lauber's Symphony No.1 is in our Downloads Board here (http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,7709.msg80759.html#msg80759). The performers are the same as advertised on this welcome CD, so it may well be the same performance, in which case the post will be deleted when the recording is issued commercially.
The performance in our Downloads Board was a live recording made in February when the same performers played Lauber's first symphony for the first time before an audience. The recording for the forthcoming CD was not a live one, it was made this June, in a church in Bern. They intend to record all six symphonies by Lauber over the next three years.
I enjoy the Radecke. Was that a quote from Johann Strauss in the finale of the Lauber?
QuoteThe recording for the forthcoming CD was not a live one, it was made this June, in a church in Bern. They intend to record all six symphonies by Lauber over the next three years.
Thanks, Thomas, that's good to know, and that our recording doesn't need to be deleted. It's a very engaging work, and I'm looking forward to hearing his other symphonies.
Release date is November 30th. Booklet and pictures from the recording session are now available. They even list all of the microphones used for every instrument!
https://www.schweizerfonogramm.com/en/cd/joseph-lauber-1864-1952-a-swiss-late-romantic-rediscovery-symphonies-no-1-2/
(https://www.schweizerfonogramm.com/en/cd/joseph-lauber-1864-1952-a-swiss-late-romantic-rediscovery-symphonies-no-1-2/)
Schweizer Fonogramm deserves kudos for proceeding with this recording back in June, given the pandemic.
already available streaming eg over amazon music-will get back to you :)
It's also already available on Spotify.
Info on the two symphonies here:
https://www.schweizerfonogramm.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/20_10_SFG_Lauber_iTunes.pdf
Lauber's Symphony No.2 proves to be cut from very much the same cloth as the First, which we already have in our Downloads Board (http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,7709.msg80759.html#msg80759). It's a modest, mainstream late 19th century work, confidently and competently put together, thematically attractive, harmonically and tonally unadventurous, and with orchestration owing something to Dvorak perhaps. The modestly-sized Biel Solothurn Sinfonie-Orchester play very well and Kaspar Zehnder''s interpretation gives the work plenty of light and shade and dynamic contrast. At first acquaintance I thought it all rather enjoyable in an undemanding way, and I mean that positively - one doesn't always want to be scaling the artistic heights and this is a work I shall definitely return to once the CD arrives (I listened to it streaming on Spotify).
A modest pleasure, then, but evidently a genuine one?
Indeed. I've heard a lot worse.
If anything, the second sounds more old-fashioned than the first - interesting to see where Lauber went after this pair...
Well, a few of his later works (for chamber ensemble eg wind quartet) have been recorded which may help answer that question in part :)
I wonder if they're considering coupling one of the symphony discs with his "Ode lyrique en 3 parties inspirée du Triptique de Paul Robert au Musée de Neuchâtel" Op.40 published in 1912 (in vocal score- if the parts still exist, though..) - could be nice. Or something similar. :) (there's also an undated? flute concerto in manuscript, but we'd have to see how that sounds, and a double bass concerto that's been posthumously published, etc. ...)
The wikipedia entry is in german. Do I spy 2 piano concertos and 2 violin concertos in his worklist?
You do indeed!
Dear friends,
Below is a Youtube link to a short trailer (in German):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQmthQz0KZc
QuoteDo I spy 2 piano concertos and 2 violin concertos in his worklist?
I noticed these and was immediately interested. But are the scores extant? I suppose one would start by writing to the BCU Lausanne MusikArchiv.
... good question. Maybe in Swiss libraries? Will look.
(Hrm, I did not know Frank Martin was among Lauber's students.)
btw according to Joseph Lauber : (1864-1952) : catalogue des oeuvres the 2nd symphony is dedicated to Willy Rehberg.
The CD is listed by jpc as available from 25th November:
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/joseph-lauber-symphonien-nr-1-es-dur-nr-2-a-moll/hnum/10369987
Download at Amazon already available:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Joseph-Lauber-Sinfonien-Premiere-Recording/dp/B08NPRP8S3/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=joseph+lauber&qid=1606131560&s=dmusic&sr=1-1
https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Lauber-Sinfonien-Premiere-Recording/dp/B08NPN1JJ6/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=joseph+lauber&qid=1606131634&s=dmusic&sr=1-1
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91q3ZXRx87L._SS500_.jpg)
We were supposed to record the next volume next summer, but due to the covid restrictions and the new swiss rules we shall record the 3rd, the 6th and "Die Alpen" next month. Fred.
That's very good news, thanks for updating us.
Yes. Thank you very much. Do you, perhaps, know anything about the piano and violin concertos?
I don't know anything regarding the concertos, sorry.
You'll find below a scan from the "Catalogue des oeuvres", I did a scan from the "concerto" pages:
http://www.adcsound.ch/VideosPhotosDocuments/UnsungComposer/Lauber_Index_des_oeuvres_par_genres.pdf
We went with the conductor to the "Fonds Joseph Lauber" located in Lausanne "Bibliothèque cantonale et universitaire". A lot of documents and scores, that is where we found the symphonies.
If we keep what is planned (and it is a really problematic situation at the moment), the 4th and 5th should be recorded next summer. Fred.
That's a very attractive prospect - thanks.
I note that the VC was dedicated to the great Henri Marteau.
Thank you very much, Fred. I really appreciate your sending a scan of the relevant pages in the catalogue. Most interesting.
Quote from: Ilja on Thursday 19 November 2020, 21:32
If anything, the second sounds more old-fashioned than the first
I agree with you, Ilja. Particularly in the 2nd movement, it has that loveliness of decades prior with the recurring theme.
I also have to add that this studio recording of the 1st symphony is superior to the radio broadcast. The strings sound fuller and less tinny, and the bass is much more wholesome. The tempo in the Andante espressivo is also taken at a slightly slower pace, which helps bring out the melodies to full effect.
Bravo!
Review for the album from Pizzicato.
https://www.pizzicato.lu/zwei-symphonien-aus-der-schweiz/ (https://www.pizzicato.lu/zwei-symphonien-aus-der-schweiz/)
The Pizzicato review:
<<The label Schweizer Fonogramm presents a studio recording of the first two symphonies by the Swiss composer Joseph Lauber (1864-1952). Born near Lucerne, he grew up in western Switzerland and studied in Zurich, in Munich (with Josef Gabriel Rheinberger) and at the Conservatoire de Paris (with Jules Massenet). He later taught himself in Zurich and especially in Geneva, where he was also conductor at the local Opera. His most famous student was Frank Martin.
So far there have been only a few chamber music recordings with works by Lauber. The scores of his six
symphonies were hidden in the archives of the University Library of Lausanne. The conductor Kaspar Zehnder discovered them there and conducts his Symphony Orchestra Biel Solothurn in this world premiere recording.
The first two symphonies show not only solid compositional craftsmanship but also a characteristic musical language that places rural Swiss-German colours next to more elegant sounds with a French touch.
The very first movement of the First Symphony mixes this elegance with alpine sounds in a very imaginative music, compared to which the second movement falls off slightly. The Scherzo is all the more remarkable and effective. This imaginative power is also found in the lively finale.
In the first movement of the Second Symphony, there are plenty of original ideas, while the slow movement is again less characteristic. Lauber obviously loved composing faster music. The Scherzo of the second movement is again quite outstanding and memorable, just like the Allegro Vivo, the lively final movement.>>
This is beautiful music, often consoling in its lyricism, alternating with more questing passages and, in the slow movement of No.1, great floods of sound - and all in a confident, optimistic, 'outdoor' idiom. Very lovely indeed.
The playing and recording are beyond reproach.
The more I listen to Lauber, the more original I find him. He just doesn't sound like anyone else I can think of.
Similar to Robert Hermann, Alan. Not their sound, but that they are both Swiss composers who stand out like no other.
I see what you mean. I enjoy Lauber rather more, though.
Coincidentally, I played the Sterling CD of the two Hermann CDs again recently after a gap of many years, and thought them much better than I remembered them being. That said, they don't have the freshness of Lauber's.
Hermann has much more emphasis on the brass than Lauber. Lauber's symphonies sound more "stately," if that makes sense. They do a better job at representing that Swiss pastoral theme, with more inventive writing for woodwinds, particularly in the Andante of the 1st symphony. That's where I see the contrast.
Hermann's also rather odd in some of his harmonies.
I know I wouldn't mind hearing more works like Hermann's 2nd symphony, whose progression towards its last chords feels like a certain kind of inevitable, for want of a better description. Wouldn't mind hearing his chamber music, either, or Lauber's :)
Favorable review from Musicweb:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2021/Jan/Lauber-sys-SCHWEIZER-FONOGRAMM.htm (http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2021/Jan/Lauber-sys-SCHWEIZER-FONOGRAMM.htm)
I've been enjoying these symphonies from a download. Earth-shattering - not even close, but quite enjoyable. The Musicweb review tells it all. I can think of a lot worse way to spend 71 minutes of my time! There are times, especially in the 1st, where the string writing sounds so much like something you'd hear in Melachrino or even Mantovani. I'm looking forward to the next four symphonies.
Listening to them, the thought occurred to me that they are like an antidote to a surfeit of Mahler.
I´m relieved that someone mentioned Mantovani. In Town Tonight, which came to my mind,now doesn´t seem so shocking an admission.
Soundtracks of this recording can now be heard on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=joseph+lauber+sinfonie-nr.+Sinfonie-Orchester-Biel-Solothurn-Topic
;D
Of course you know that making recordings is not free.
How can you imagine a small label with a small orchestra keep on recording new pieces if they don't get a little money from selling?
I hope serious listener 'll still buy CD or downloads to support unsung composers pieces...
I absolutely agree. YouTube can be a means of winnowing out the chaff, but I like to collect the CDs. I have purchased both the Lauber and the Walter directly from the recording company and I received a lovely handwritten thank-you note as well.
Another positive review, this time from Schweizer Musikzeitung, in German:
https://www.musikzeitung.ch/de/rezensionen/tontraeger/2021/01_02/lauber.html#.YBIy_-hKhPZ (https://www.musikzeitung.ch/de/rezensionen/tontraeger/2021/01_02/lauber.html#.YBIy_-hKhPZ)
Another positive one from NDR, also in German:
https://www.ndr.de/kultur/musik/klassik/Eine-grossartige-Entdeckung-Sinfonien-von-Joseph-Lauber,lauber102.html
Fred, are you the one who did the mixing for the album?
Yes I am.
I wonder if anyone can advise me on this. I Attempted to order this disc today directly from Schweizer Fonogramm but they seem not to recognize Canada as a valid shipping destination (!) (?). Has anybody else encountered this and if so have you figured out a workaround? Amazon has the downloadable version but I wanted to get my hands on a CD. Thanks in advance!
jpc sells them:
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/joseph-lauber-symphonien-nr-1-es-dur-nr-2-a-moll/hnum/10369987
A new review from Belgium (in French):
https://www.crescendo-magazine.be/joseph-lauber-surprenant-symphoniste/
Another one in English
https://theartsdesk.com/classical-music/classical-cds-horses-hats-and-hardanger-fiddles
Fred
Dear Friends,
This CD and the other one are both nominated for the International Classical Music Awards 2022!
The third and final volume with symphonies 4&5 will be released early next year.
Fred.
Congratulations! It's a significant achievement. ;)