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I've played this concerto - the ever adventurous Warren Cohen did it with Musica Nova years ago. A lot of fun and so different.

Besides Hansel and Gretel, Humperdinck's biggest contribution to the orchestral literature are his arrangements of the bleeding chunks from Wagner operas to make them playable! Never gets credits on program booklets, but he should.

[marital]

"The fourth movement has a similar marital spirit...". Along the lines of Strauss' Symphonia Domestica?

If anyone would like the documentation that came with that recording 40 years ago, I can send a PDF. It contains a cast list, synopsis, and other background information. I would submit it here but I can't find a way to upload it.

Contact me here: mbhaub@hotmail.com

This symphony, the Scherzo, has what is for me one of those "earworms". I remember vividly when I first heard the work: I was at a minor league baseball game of all places, with my Sony portable cd player and the then new Marco Polo cd. The tune, or maybe the rhythm, of that scherzo stuck in my head and I frequently find myself thinking about it these 30+ years later. Odd. Other than that, the work never made much of an impression, I've never sought out newer recordings. It's also one score that is somehow, strangely, missing from IMSLP.

Absolutely! 

Only two:

1) Karl Goldmark's The Cricket on the Hearth.  I play through the vocal score (badly) and there's some beautiful writing in it and some endearing tunes. Can't imagine what the scoring is like, but if Queen of Sheba is any hint, it'd be great. Actually, I wish some enterprising company would start a Goldmark project and record everything the man wrote.

2) Franz Schmidt's Fredegundis. I have the off-the-air bootleg recording, but a nice, modern, professional recording is really the only thing missing from Schmidt's library. But DVD versions of both operas would be quite welcome.

So Hyperion includes Bliss and Rubbra in the series, yet even after 81 releases there's no Raff in sight. Talk about injustice!

I have all the Bruch I thought I'd ever need, or want, but this five movement 1st intrigues me. The first published edition has only four movements. Anyway, CPO doesn't charge and arm and leg for their recordings, so add it to the pile. Give me something new to listen to during the apocalypse upon us.

Keep hoping! Let's pray this ends soon - at least so we can have some summer music festivals. And get musicians back to work so they can get paid!

I have all those ASV disks - I don't think they were involved in the horrible bronzing issue that ASV had, but I'll check and replace if needed. Thanks for the tip.

Vienna Phil did do the 2nd. I was at the BBC Proms concert that summer and hoping for a cd and then what do you know, it came out. No Mehta, but that's ok. The playing is stupendous. And they also recorded Das Buch with Harnoncourt.  Schmidt's music is really difficult and I'd like to hear a cycle of the symphonies from Berlin - that supervirtuoso orchestra. Petrenko did a fine job with the 4th.

I know Smith - grew up right here in town. Played a few concerts with him.  Amazing fellow. His university studies were in mathematics. Terrific cellist, needless to say. This looks like a fun disk. His recent one of the Castelnuovo-Tedesco (also a film composer) is great.

Thanks for the link. Extremely enjoyable - Svetlanov had his hits and misses, but there are some things he was top-notch in and here's one. It still frustrates me to no end that this beautiful symphony is so out of the standard repertoire. And yes, Jarvi can be glib and not profound, but I really enjoy his Kalinnikov recordings, too. And Dudarova.

That's an unexpected bargain box! I have all the original CD releases with the booklets and all that, so I'll keep them. I even have the original LPs if you can believe it. If anyone would be the subject of a great biography, it's gotta be Gerhardt. Fascinating, amazing life and accomplishments.