New Raff recording project

[Mark Thomas]

I'm delighted to confirm that Tra Nguyen, who has contributed so much to the Raff recorded repertoire with her six fine discs of solo piano music for Naxos' Grand Piano strand and as soloist in the Suite for Piano & Orchestra and Die Tageszeiten on the Sterling label, will be recording the Piano Concerto and Ode au Printemps with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra under Kerry Stratton in Prague this May. The CD will also feature an intriguing bonus: Raff's own Caprice on Motifs from his Opera King Alfred for solo piano. A modern recording of both concerted works is sorely needed and the solo Caprice will be a recording premiere.

More details (label, release date) when I'm able to confirm them.

[Alan Howe]

Now that is something to look forward to!

[Gareth Vaughan]

Hear, hear!!

[FBerwald]

Amazing news

[Mark Thomas]

A minor update: the Caprice on Motifs from Raff's Opera King Alfred will be recorded on 4 May, with the Concerto and Ode au Printemps following on 10 and 11 May. I hope to be at the latter sessions in Prague. The album should be released by this time next year and possibly earlier.

[Alan Howe]

We'll look forward to your report after the recording has taken place...

[Mark Thomas]

I've spent the last two days in Studio 1 at the Czech Radio Center in Prague where Tra Nguyen has been making her new recording of Raff's Piano Concerto and Ode au Printemps with the very fine Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra under the Canadian conductor Kerry Stratton. The studio itself is a modern, state of the art facility, and the recording has been made in hi-def sound. As one might expect, or at least hope from the artists involved, and particularly with Tra's impeccable track record as a Raff interpreter, these performances should prove to be of the highest quality, although it is always difficult for an amateur to judge with certainty from the many takes required to make a modern studio recording. I'm sure that Kerry Stratton wouldn't mind me saying that these are primarily the soloist's interpretations, as is right and proper with concerted works, and with Tra we are in very experienced hands. She has such an intuitive feel for Raff's music that all I need say is that her performances match that combination of fire and poetry, coupled with technical brilliance which characterise all her previous recordings of his music. The orchestral contribution has been superb, though, with the brass particularly vibrant and warm throughout. There were also especially fine solos from the first viola and cello in the Ode and a beautifully wistful oboe contribution at the beginning of the Concerto's slow movement. Overall Kerry's disinclination to wallow, sensitive gradation of dynamics and his focus on bringing out inner voices often made me hear these familiar scores as if for the first time and, having heard the playback of the takes, I can confirm that the finished article should faithfully record what I heard.

Am I biased? Yes, I expect so. After all I've been involved in this project since its inception, and have just returned from the intense experience of sitting amongst the artists, acting as Tra's page-turner for the sessions recording the Concerto's middle and closing movements. That said, I do believe that these performances will meet the highest expectations of anyone who has been looking forward to a new, definitive recording of these ravishing works.

I hope to be able to confirm these impressions once I've heard the master in a couple of months' time, and I'll confirm publication details as soon as I know them myself.

[Alan Howe]

All I can say is: how wonderful - and many thanks!

[Gareth Vaughan]

Hear, hear! I look forward to hearing this CD very much indeed. Thank you so much, Mark - and, of course, Tra.

[Ilja]

Thank you for this report, Mark. I can't wait for the results!

[Mark Thomas]

It's too early to get the first edit of the Piano Concerto or Ode au Printemps, but I have listened to the solo piece, the Caprice on motifs from Raff's opera King Alfred, which was recorded separately and will be a premiere recording. It's quite a substantial work lasting 15 minutes, and showcases Raff's most brilliant style. Anyone familiar with the opera's Overture from the Sterling or Chandos recordings will recognise some of the themes: Alfred's noble patriotic song which opens both pieces, the battle music and the jaunty triumphal march from the finale, to which Raff returns several times in the Caprice to stitch the work together. Unlike the Overture, he also employs a number of other themes from the opera and weaves them all together to produce something which absolutely transcends pot pourri, and works impressively as a stand-alone composition.

[Alan Howe]

Appetite duly whetted...

[Mark Thomas]

There are a few (amateur) photos and videos of the recording sessions in Prague posted on Tra Nguyen's Facebook pages here and here.

[Alan Howe]

Exciting indeed!

[Mark Thomas]

Rather sooner than I'd thought I would, I have just listened to the first edit and am relieved to say that both Tra's performance and the orchestral contribution in the Concerto and Ode utterly eclipse all previous recordings of these works - the Caprice is a recording premiere, of course.