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...ein Wunder ist geschehen! (German: a miracle happened!)... Thank you very much for this. The very first time I have been able to trace an actually existing recording of this piece.

...I guess this question fits well with the name of the thread: Is anyone aware of an existant recording of his 2nd Symphony (E-minor)? On Youtube I can find recordings of the 1st, but have been unsuccessful in finding a recording of the 2nd there or on any other platform.

And an another fine recent performance of the Piano Quintet, at ChamberFest Cleveland in 2023:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNofHicUs9Q&list=RDmNofHicUs9Q&start_radio=1

Hector,

I have sent you a PM which may be of help.

Is this not one of the finest unsung romantic-era symphonies?

Will listen to this recording as soon as I'm back home. But yes, Taneyev's Fourth is a high peak by any standards... and again, never once did I see it programmed in Germany...

I have the unfortunate impression that nobody either in the US or in Germany is really interested in actively promoting Draeseke's music to the wider classical music-loving public. I am afraid that this has largely been the case since the passing of Dr Alan Krueck back in 2010. We are fortunate to have much of his music on CD, but there are yawning gaps that no-one seems determined to fill.

I must confess that reasons for this are a mystery to me. Why would it be so difficult to program a Draeseke symphony once in a while instead of playing only Brahms, Bruckner etc. all the time? One doesn't even have to have a whole concert with just unsung works, what is preventing the programming directors or whoever is in charge of making these decisions to make a program which consist e.g. of Mendelssohn's Hebrides overture, Schumann's Violin Concerto and Draeseke's 2nd Symphony?

I cannot imagine that, on average, such a concert would draw an audience any smaller than your standard "well known names" only concert. Any ideas (or knowledge?) on why we have this sorry state of affairs?

It's a great piece. I have the all-star performance on DG (Vadim Repin, Ilya Gringolts, Lynn Harrell, Nobuko Imai & Mikhail Pletnev).

I have this recording too - it's magnificent!  There aren't many CDs of his works about which is a real shame.  The 4th symphony is indeed excellent, Alan - I believe I sent you an off air recording of it more than a decade ago 

Yes, a great recording. Here is an another wonderful, very recent recording (I think it's currently the youngest available), paired with the charming Violin Sonata:

No need to hesitate about posting on Taneyev; while there have been quite a few recordings of his music he's all-but unknown to the general public, not to mention any number of (so-called) critics.

Great. I will remember that.

My own favourite Taneyev work is his 4th Symphony - a really fine, original piece.

Agree, together with Rachmaninov's Second it's my favourite Russian symphony of the period. If I remember correctly, Rimski-Korsakov held it to be the greatest symphony written by a living Russian composer.

This is my favorite recording (well, at least for the slow movement, which is really given the breadth and depth it deserves here), performed by the State Symphony Orchestra of the Soviet Union, conducted by Jevgeny Svetlanov:

Not sure if this particular piece would qualify as "unsung", as it is one of Taneyev's most known works and by now we do have a selection of excellent recordings , including videos of live concerts such as a recent (and very good one) in Utrecht:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhlJ_McHp7Y&list=RDIhlJ_McHp7Y&start_radio=1&t=1493s

However, Taneyev in general still qualifies as a composer largely unknown to wider audiences. Which is sad, considering that his best music (chamber music in particular), IMHO is comprised of works that stand as equals to that of any other composer and any other work for the ensemble in question, primus inter pares being his monumental Piano Quintet...

Any other admirers of the Piano Quintet (and Taneyev's chamber music in general) here? What are your favorite recordings of the piece?

Because no existing recording of any of Draeseke's symphonies can be called really appropriate, it is the more on yourself to dive into the scores. Speaking of myself, I only came to understand the development section of the first movement of No. 1 after doing my own reading and playing sessions at the piano. Neither Hanson nor Weigle really make the music "go" here for my ears.

While, speaking for myself, I am capable of thoroughly enjoying both Weigle and Hanson recordings of the symphonies and I think they are both good enough to introduce any open-minded listener to the richness and depth of these grand works, I very much agree with going into the scores as the way to really deepen and enrich one's "symphonic Draeseke experience".

I will never forget listening to Weigle's Finale of No.1 with the score for the 1st time - only from there did I truly begin to appreciate the beauty and sophistication of that fabric of secondary voices which Draeseke so masterly weaves throughout that movement. The score suddenly made the details which I was only hearing as a kind of a "background" come to life in a very immediate and "three-dimensional" way.

... if you're in for some wonderful slow Draeseke and have a range beyond the symphonies that are the topic of this thread, find a recording (there's only one commercially, but I think there may be another on YouTube) of the viola alta sonatas and hear the slow movement of the 1st (C minor). Or... well, there's quite a few, really (that I, anyway, rate above any of those of the symphonies. He had a knack for melting chamber slow movements.)

Thank you for the recommendation, I have managed to trace the recording!

The Violin Concerto only exists in a violin & piano reduction - the original orchestration is lost, but a replacement was produced about a decade ago by Draeseke expert and pianist, Wolfgang Müller-Steinbach.
Please refer to this webpage: https://www.draeseke.org/news/IDG2009VC/index.htm

Christus is, I am afraid, a monumental bore. The only available recording probably doesn't help, but, on this occasion, I agree with that rather damning verdict.

Thank you for that information on the Violin Concerto.

Christus - I presume you have that only available recording, is it this one?

Yes, I have all his symphonies in my collection.  I am going to give numbers 1 and 2 another spin,in the light of your strong recommendation.

I fear that the Third will never be for me,and I listened to Alan's YouTube recommendation the other day. I was shaken,but not stirred.

Especially if you are in for some wonderful slow Draeseke, no better place to start than the Adagio of the 1st Symphony... but I would go with Hanson's recording for this one (I find it "softer" and more thoughtfully paced, Weigle is sometimes too rushed for me, though I very much enjoy the panache with which he executes e.g. the Finale).

Thank you for posting this. Are you familiar with any recordings of his music you could recommend?

Back, if I may, to the Piano Concerto. John Boyer called the outer movements "vulgar" and that's a very apt description. It's almost as if Draeseke is deliberately parodying the worst excesses of the virtuosic Lisztian concertos of his contemporaries. The bombast, oversized gestures and unsubtle orchestration of these movements are in stark contrast with the central Adagio, which is indeed lovely, but so out of keeping with the rest of the work. It really is the oddest, inexplicable piece.

Ok, now I really am intrigued to listen to that one... Don't remember the last time somebody wrote about a piano concerto in terms of it being "the oddest, inexplicable piece"...