Urspruch piano music

[Alan Howe]

Friends may be interested in a 2-CD release of piano music by Anton Urspruch (1850-1907, a student of Raff) on the Genuin label, billed as Vol.1...
http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Anton-Urspruch-S%E4mtliche-Klavierwerke-Vol-1/hnum/4942819

[Mark Thomas]

Good news. The pianist's web site confirms that there are only five pieces on each CD - they must all be pretty substantial pieces.

[eschiss1]

hrm. ... ok, I'm intrigued by the violin sonata, symphony, cello sonata, piano trio, piano quintet, ... by him that haven't been recorded (nor scanned and uploaded, that I can see, either ) (my mistake, I read that the symphony and piano concerto await release on cpo. but there's a lot of other stuff there that looks interesting. I'm guessing the discs will include the 1872 opus 1 sonate quasi fantaisie) and maybe the opus 10 variations on an original theme... there's some sets of pieces (9 waltzes op.31, dances op.7) that might be being counted as '1 piece'... )
perhaps bring in a second pianist for some of the big 4-hand works Urspruch wrote, too (like the opus 13 Variationen u. Fuge über ein Thema v. J.S. Bach) and that would do it definitely. I'm a newcomer to the composer just guessing based on available resources, though (and should really check antonurspruch.de - maybe the contents of the cds are already there, ah- yes.

News contains contents of the first CD or two in the upcoming cd edition - opus 19 (5 pieces for piano), Cavatina and Arabesque (op.20) and op.2 (cavatina and arabesque). op.1 etc. will be for a later CD then!

[thalbergmad]

I look forward to these releases, but they might be beyond my attention span.

The PC is huge and if memory serves is about a long as the Busoni, but there was just not enough interesting material to warrant the length and I found myself wandering. I enjoyed it more when I listened to one movement at a time.

Greater composers have said more with less notes, but perhaps the solo works contain some gems.

Thal

[Alan Howe]

Urspruch's PC does tend to sprawl a bit, although it's half an hour shorter than Busoni's monster!! I like his music, but it's a bit of a guilty pleasure. Perhaps the piano music will be more concentrated...

[JimL]

Maybe it's just me, but once I really get to know a work, and get an idea of its organization, it tends to shorten it for me.  I love the PC from beginning to end.  In fact, I think I'll break out the CD of it someone burned for me.

[Mark Thomas]

I'm afraid that for me "Heavenly length" just doesn't apply to Urspruch. Both the Symphony and the Piano Concerto would benefit from being shorter.

[Alan Howe]

You are probably right, Mark. I just find his (orchestral) music rather endearing, that's all.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Well, we are all different - thank God! I'm with Mark on the Symphony - but with Jim on the PC. That may be because I had read the score of the PC in the BL before I heard it, but I don't think so.

[Alan Howe]

Excerpts from the new release are now available at jpc (see above for link).

[Alan Howe]

This is a really lovely 2-CD set, with just over 90 minutes of sheer musical pleasure. Beautifully recorded too, with plenty of impact and yet enough space around the sound to enhance the more reflective pieces. Lovers of piano music broadly in the Schumann-Brahms orbit will just love this stuff. Yes, it is stuffed full of notes (not like Reger, though!), but what passion and what drama - usually followed by something quieter and more contemplative. Wonderful.

[Alan Howe]

Actually, the more I listen to the CDs, the more I am astonished. There is some hair-raisingly virtuosic music here that is way beyond Schumann or Brahms - try the extraordinary fifth of the Five Fantasiestücke, Op.2 from 1872. Of course, he was a pupil of Liszt (as well as Raff)...

[Jonathan]

Alan,
That's all the excuse I need to add this to my wants list!  Many thanks...

[Alan Howe]

OK, I'm going to take a punt here and say that the fifth of the Five Fantasiestücke, Op.2 is one of the most extraordinary piano pieces written in the Romantic era. It is an absolute tour-de-force of virtuoso pianism. I defy anyone not to be totally blown away by it!! And it lasts 13:51, so be prepared!

BTW, the costs of the recording were born by the pianist herself, Ana-Marija Markovina!

[Mark Thomas]

Then we should support her in her endeavour. My order is in too... Thanks for the heads up and strong recommendation, Alan.