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I listened to the Seventh Symphony "In The Alps" while hiking through the Alps in Switzerland, and while it was a perfect experience where the music matched seamlessly with the landscapes, I can't seem to recreate that enjoyment when listening to it at home. It makes me imagine that Raff spend many days hiking waiting for the melodic inspiration to come to him, and he did an amazing job. For my favorite symphony in any setting, it would be his third, "Im Walde."

Great to hear! May be going to Finland next year, then!

Thanks, Mark. It's unlikely anything will be performed here in the States. Maybe I can catch one on my next trip to Europe.

This question is mainly directed towards Mark since he is the Raff aficionado and guru (all flattery intended), but I'll ask everyone in case they have any information:

Will there be a performance of the third symphony this year or next? It was composed in 1869, and was first premiered in 1870. Therefore we have a 150th anniversary this year for its composition, and another one next year for its debut performance.

I would be surprised if there isn't anything planned to commemorate what is arguably his best work.

Much appreciated!

Would anyone happen to have the libretto for the vorspiel (overture) in the first 4 and a half minutes?

Yes, Alan. And based on Adriano's comments, it looks like the original upload by Ilja is too slow.

@hadrianus

My recording is still about 20-30 seconds faster, but the tone sounds practically the same. The only difference I can tell now is that mine has virtually no background hiss, and just pops and crackles (especially at the beginning of the second movement).

I happened to find another copy of the symphony (under catalog number 04786), although it is a bit faster than the one already uploaded on this site. The label says CCCP, which I assume is Melodya?

Perhaps someone could help determine which version is the correct speed? I would just like to verify that I can upload it legally, so if I could get a thumbs up from the moderators, pretty please? 

Thanks,

Justin

I apologize for such short notice on this broadcast which will take place today, but I thought it was particularly noteworthy due to two recent recordings of Volbach's repertoire.

His Königskinder and Symphony have appeared on this site and on YouTube, but they are older recordings. Today's broadcast will be of a recording from January 29th of this year, so it will be interesting to hear them with improved sound quality and possibly very different interpretations!

I've never been to WDR 3's website, but it appears that all concerts are available on their online player for 30 days after their broadcast, so I don't think anyone will need to personally record it off of their radio/computer.

https://www1.wdr.de/radio/wdr3/programm/sendungen/wdr3-konzert/staedtekonzerte-in-nrw-160.html

Enjoy!